LAS VEGAS- Fresno State took a tough loss against the No. 1 seed Lady Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center for the Mountain West championship quarterfinal match up on Monday afternoon, 83-35.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Fresno State opened hanging in tight with the Lady Rebels matching shot-for-shot through the first six minutes tied at four a piece. Mia Jacobs sinks in a three to take a one point lead for the next minute. Kylee Fox keeps the game within one after a jumper in the paint. Fox gets another jump shot in the last thirty seconds, but a back court turnover from Deajanae Harvey, giving the Lady Rebels one last shot at the buzzer to hold a six point lead.
The rest would be in the hands of the Lady Rebels as they held the Bulldogs to less than ten points in the remaining three periods. Maria Konstinidou led the Bulldogs in scoring in the second half with seven points and Harvey close behind with four. Fox and Taija Sta. Maria got points on the board for the 'Dogs with two each. Bulldogs best scoring run was brought by the hands of Franka Wittenberg on a solo 5-0 run. Wittenberg subbed in a quickly got to work with a layup in the paint then sank in a shot from downtown to beat the shot-clock buzzer. Lady Rebels were led by four players finishing in double-figures; Alyssa Brown, Desi-Rae Young, Kiara Jackson and Amarachi Kimpson.
NOTES
Fresno State closes out the season 15-18 overall
Fresno State faced a No. 1 seed for the 6th time in program history and now holds a 3-3 record against No. 1 seeds in tournament play
A No. 9 seed advances to the quarter finals for the first time since 2021 and seventh time overall in MW history
Fresno State advances to the quarterfinal for the first time since 2021 and the 10th time in the last 12 tournaments
Head coach Jaime White advanced to the quarterfinal for the 8th time in her ten years leading the Bulldogs
Fresno State drops to 18-10 all-time in the MW tournament
Fresno State closes out the season with two players receiving MW postseason accolades with Taija Sta. Maria named to All-Freshman team and Mia Jacobs names to All-MW Honorable mention
Bulldogs close the 2023-24 campaign with five more season wins then the 2022-23 campaign
For the second consecutive time Fresno State has scored two or less 3-pointers in a game