University of Washington
Fresno State
Dawgs Tested, Respond To Beat Fresno State, 89-79
November 21, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Box Score
FRESNO, Calif. – Washington kept things rolling, winning their first road game of the season, downing Fresno State, 89-79. The win improved the Dawgs to 3-0 on the season, their fastest start since 2005 when the Huskies went 5-0.
Friday night was their toughest test of the season as Fresno State gave the Dawgs a game until late in the second half when Kelsey Plum proved to be too much for the Bulldogs to handle. She finished with 32 points, her 10th career 30-point game that included 21 in the second half, while adding six assists.
Plum was not alone, however, as a pair of Husky post players had career-highs to help their star guard. Chantel Osahor followed up her 20-rebound performance with a career-best 17 points to go with nine rebounds, while Katie Collier had her best game as a Dawg with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Fresno State came out as the team with more energy, taking a quick 7-2 lead. The Dawgs responded to grab a lead, but back and forth it would go with eight lead changes in the first half. Fresno State ended the half fast and took a 39-34 lead to the break.
The Huskies shot themselves in the foot at times in the first half, turning the ball over nine times and shooting just 3-18 from 3-point range, despite a lot of open looks. Brianna Ruiz was the only Husky to connect from deep, making 3-8 in the half.
Plum led Washington with 11 points in the half, picking up her aggressiveness as the half wore on.
The Dawgs came out with renewed energy in the third quarter, while also finding their stroke from beyond the arc. The Huskies made 4-5 from distance, while Plum went into attack mode, scoring 10 in the quarter. The Huskies scored 31 points in the quarter to take a 65-64 lead going to the final period.
The Huskies continued to take it to Fresno State in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs looked to wear down after a game effort for three quarters. Plum continued to dominate, but the offensive rebounding of Osahor and Collier really made things tough on Fresno State.
Washington also got a couple of big 3-pointers, one from Ruiz who made five in the game and one from Osahor who made three. Overall, the Huskies shot 6-11 from beyond the arc in the half. Ruiz finished with 15 points, tying a career high, connecting on 5-11 from 3-point range.
For the game, Washington shot 47 percent (31-66), while Fresno State won the battle on the glass, 43-36. Washington forced 17 Fresno State turnovers, most coming in the second half. Talia Walton was the main defensive force, grabbing a career-best seven steals. Walton already had a six-steal game against Santa Clara and is now among the national leaders with 15 steals on the season.
Next up, the Dawgs return to Alaska Airlines Arena to face San Diego State on Monday night at 7 p.m. The Huskies will look to keep a perfect record going into their Thanksgiving tournament in Las Vegas.
