Second-half surge powers Fresno State women past Nevada

After a disappointing start, Fresno State found the path to a come-from-behind win Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs beat Nevada 68-54, outscoring the Wolf Pack 42-20 after halftime at Save Mart Center to end a two-game skid in the Mountain West Conference women’s basketball race.

Fresno State shooting guard Tory Jacobs scored a career-high 21 points, including 17 in the second half. She was 6 for 6 from the foul line.

The Bulldogs (11-8, 4-4 Mountain West) ran into trouble early, as starting point guard Candice White picked up her second foul with 4:08 left in the first quarter. The sophomore was benched in favor of freshman Kristina Cavey.

Nevada (7-11, 1-6) took advantage, taking the lead on a 6-0 run. The momentum continued to shift in the Wolf Pack’s favor, as they scored on each of their final seven possessions of the half to head into the locker room ahead 34-26.

It was a familiar feeling for Fresno State, the ninth time in the past 10 games the Bulldogs found themselves trailing at the half.

“It seems to be the trend, although I feel like we just adapted pretty well,” coach Jaime White said. “We were able to turn around and adapt, and that says a lot about our team, that they can believe in what we’re doing and the changes we’re making. It’s a sign of a good team.”

With Candice White back after halftime, Fresno State went on an 8-0 run to take a 40-38 lead with 3:20 left in the third.

Defensively, the Bulldogs switched from a man to a zone defense in the second half. The Wolf Pack made 5 of 12 3-pointers in the first half, but fell off to 1 of 12 in the final two quarters.

“I kinda sensed that we were down and starting to lose communication because of the fact we were outrebounded and boxed out,” Candice White said. “I just tried to be a spark to the team and get some energy going.”

That included back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs pulled away.

“Having Candice on the bench wasn’t fun,” Jaime White said, “but she came in and really answered the bell.”

Junior center Bego Faz Davalos finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for her 14th double-double this season, tying the school single-season record she set last year. She added five blocks, increasing her career total to 303.

Nevada was led by AJ Cephas, who had 13 points and 14 rebounds.

This story was originally published January 21, 2017 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Second-half surge powers Fresno State women past Nevada."