Not close this time. Fresno State women’s hoops takes control early to stay perfect

There would be no need for a furious comeback or a buzzer beater or any last-minute drama for the Fresno State women’s basketball team this time.

Sure, the Bulldogs changed leads six times Wednesday.

But by midway through the second quarter, Fresno State essentially secured a 79-61 victory against the host Colorado State Rams.

Fresno State overcame a four-point deficit after one quarter by outscoring Colorado State 29-7 during the decisive second quarter en route to the Bulldogs’ 11th straight victory.

Fresno State (19-4, 12-0), which remains undefeated in the Mountain West, moved to 16-0 when scoring more than 70 points this season.

The Bulldogs had been playing with danger lately, needing to rally to overcome double-digit fourth-quarter deficits four times during the past four weeks.

When Fresno State played Colorado State the first time this season, the Bulldogs needed a buzzer-beating shot from Aly Gamez to escape wtih a 55-53 victory back on Jan. 22.

On Wednesday, Gamez did her damage early and often while amassing a game-high 27 points.

Gamez drained 11 of 13 shots from the field, including 5-of-7 shooting on 3-pointers, for the junior’s best scoring performance in her career.

Haley Cavinder, who shot 4 of 7 on 3-pointers, added 20 points and 13 rebounds.

And as a team, Fresno State went 12 of 22 from behind the arc.

In comparison, Colorado shot 9 of 30 on 3-pointers.

During the second quarter, the Rams shot just 3 of 15 from the field, including 1 of 6 on 3-pointers, and didn’t attempt any free throws.

This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 9:20 PM.