Fresno State women’s basketball: Bulldogs ready to battle at San Diego State

As quickly as the Fresno State women’s basketball team got back to campus, players and coaches were already on their way out.

The Bulldogs (13-8, 9-1 Mountain West) play Wednesday at San Diego State. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Viejas Arena.

It is their second away game in four days, one of their quickest road back-to-backs of the season.

But it comes at a good time for Fresno State, which regained momentum by winning 57-52 at UNLV on Saturday after its eight-game conference winning streak was snapped by San Jose State. That loss pushed the Bulldogs into second place in the Mountain West race.

The Bulldogs are one game behind Colorado State (20-1, 10-0), which plays at third-place Boise State (16-6, 9-2).

Fresno State will have to get by an Aztecs team coming off a 51-46 win at New Mexico to snap a nine-game losing streak.

The Bulldogs hope defense continues to show the way, after a strong performance over the weekend.

Fresno State forced the Lobos into 33.3 percent shooting (18 of 54), including 2 of 10 to close out the game. The Bulldogs also had 10 steals and Bego Faz Davalos a game-high six blocks. Faz Davalos is averaging a nationally second-bsest 3.9 blocks per game, , trailing Chattanooga’s Jasmine Joyner (4.2).

“We did a better job at UNLV than at San Jose State, especially after that fourth quarter,” coach Jaime White said. “It was a good team win, and we’re excited to take that down to San Diego State.”

Faz Davalos added that the Bulldogs must be consistent, if they are to avoid another disaster like the loss at San Jose State.

“Every play is important and every quarter is important,” she said. “We can’t have one good quarter and the other one be horrible. I think we have to start strong and be consistent so we can finish.”

Scouting the Aztecs – San Diego State (7-15, 2-9) started the conference with an 84-77 win at Wyoming but lost nine in a row before the 51-46 weekend win at New Mexico. McKyznie Fort averages 14.5 points per game, fifth best in the Mountain West. The Aztecs lead the all-time series 26-17, but Fresno State has won 10 of 13, including three in a row at Viejas Arena.

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Fresno State women’s basketball: Bulldogs ready to battle at San Diego State."