Fresno State women’s basketball: Bulldogs fall to San Diego State in 2-OT

By the numbers it wasn’t pretty: a combined 45 turnovers and 87 missed shots for San Diego State and Fresno State in a double-overtime game Wednesday night at Viejas Arena.

And it was the Aztecs who got the last say in the otherwise offensive debacle, outscoring the Bulldogs 19-8 in the final extra period to escape with a 65-54 win.

It was the second loss in three games for Fresno State (13-9, 9-2) after an 8-0 run to start Mountain West play, while San Diego State (8-15, 3-9) picked up its first back-to-back conference wins this season.

With her team trailing 50-46 with 3:49 remaining in the second overtime, Fresno State’s Shauqunna Collins hit a 20-foot jumper, drawing the foul and converting a three-point play to bring the Bulldogs within one.

The Aztecs, however, pulled away at the free throw line, making 10 of 12 down the stretch. McKynzie Fort scored eight of her game-high 22 points in the second overtime and also had a career-high 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

“We just were struggling,” Bulldogs coach Jaime White said in a phone call after the game. “We couldn’t find the right combination.”

The Bulldogs missed their first six shots to start the third quarter and a seven-point halftime lead was quickly erased by the Aztecs, who hit three straight three-pointers to take their first lead, 23-21, on Kymberly Ellison’s dagger with 4:27 left in the period.

Fresno State freshman Breanne Knishka answered with a three-pointer to put the Bulldogs back up one, and it went back and forth as the teams exchanged leads into the fourth.

San Diego State went up five on Ahjalee Harvey’s three-pointer with 3:36 left in regulation.

Bulldogs redshirt sophomore Bego Faz Davalos scored nine straight points, including a tying layup with 23 seconds left to make it 44-44.

Fresno State had a chance to steal the game near the end of the first overtime, but shots from Collins and Faz Davalos missed their target.

Faz Davalos finished with team highs of 13 points and 16 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season. Senior Toni Smith was held to nine points, her first conference game where she did not reach double digits.

“We turned the ball over way too much and I thought we missed a lot of open shots,” White said. “San Diego State played really good defensively and forced us to catch outside the block. Usually we adapt but today we didn’t.”

The Bulldogs host Nevada at 2 p.m. Sunday, when White hopes her team snaps out of its funk.

“We gotta get the ones at home now,” White said. “We’re definitely going to have to address what we saw tonight, but more than that we have to play better or Nevada is going to get us.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 9:24 PM with the headline "Fresno State women’s basketball: Bulldogs fall to San Diego State in 2-OT."