FRESNO, Calif.- Fresno State women's basketball team falls to No. 25 UNLV in a Saturday afternoon match up at the Save Mart Center, 63-49
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a tough battle on the court from the tip-off, Taija Sta. Maria gets the 'Dogs on the board first with a jumper in the paint. A 6-0 Lady Rebels run ties it up at six a piece after a strong shot from the arc by Sta. Maria. Mia Jacobs wraps up the first ten with a three of her own.
Strong defense from both ends of the courts saw scoreless play for over five minutes before the first field goal went up by Franka Wittenberg. Bulldogs held their own with the Lady Rebels in the second, both scoring eleven points. 'Dogs closed in on the double-digit lead in the final two minutes of the first half on a 9-2 run. Tamia Stricklin scored five points, getting her hand on the ball for the final two shots with a layup and a three.
'Dogs go into the half down by seven, shooting 28% to UNLV's 32% from the field and out shooting the Lady Rebels from the three, 33% to 11%.
UNLV extended their seven point lead to as much as nineteen in the final quarter. Lady Rebels opened on a 7-0 run until Malaya LeSueur got in on the action off a layup in the paint. Back for more LeSueur scored another layup in the paint followed by an and one (1-1). Sta. Maria and Stricklin came back into play to score back-to-back three's for the Bulldogs, each seeing their second shot from the arc of the game. The last three and a half minutes winded down scoreless from both sides of the court. Jacobs makes it happen in the final twenty seconds scoring a layup in the paint from a turnover.
UNLV was led by Kiara Jackson (15 points, 10 rebounds), Desi-Rae Young (10 points, 14 rebounds) and Amarachi Kimpson (10 points) . Lady Rebels remain in first place in the Mountain West with a 10-1 record in conference play.
NOTES:
Fresno State drops down to 4-8 in conference play
Taija Sta. Maria enters back into double-figures for the first time since mid-January at New Mexico (10)
Fresno State shot 34% from the field, 40% from the three and 50% from the foul line
Fresno State held a team that averages 79 ppg to 63 ppg
Bulldogs saw more points off of turnovers (13-to-11) and the bench (24-to-21)
Team highs: points (Taija Sta. Maria, 11) Rebounds (Sydney Dethman, 5) Assists (Keely Brown, 3)
UP NEXT: Bulldogs start the next week back on the road to visit the Air Force Falcons for a Wednesday night match up. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT / 6:30 p.m. PT streaming on the Mountain west Network.