Fresno State women win Mountain West

Fresno State, which never trailed, appeared on the cusp of running away from Colorado State several times.

The Rams answered each Fresno State with a run of their own.

But the Bulldogs refused to give up the advantage, and leading from start to finish, they defeated the top-seeded Rams 77-68 to win the Mountain West women’s basketball tournament championship Saturday night at the Thomas &Mack Center.

“It never felt comfortable,” Fresno State coach Raegan Pebley said. “It never felt like we led the whole way. I always felt Colorado State was right on our heels because Colorado State is such a good team.”

Plenty was on the line because the Mountain West is considered a one-bid league for the NCAA Tournament, and only second-seeded Fresno State (22-10) is assured of advancing. Colorado State (25-7) is almost surely headed to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

Colorado State is ranked 86th in the RPI standings. Fresno State is 113th.

Making the NCAA Tournament is commonplace for Fresno State. The Bulldogs will make their seventh consecutive appearance.

This victory also was their fourth conference tournament championship in a row. They won two Western Athletic Conference titles before joining the Mountain West last season and became the first MW team to repeat since New Mexico won in 2007 and 2008.

Fresno State appeared well on its way to a comfortable victory against Colorado State, opening with 8-1 and 21-11 leads. The Rams fought back, closing to within 30-26 at halftime.

The same pattern continued in the second half with the Bulldogs twice leading by as many as 12 points. Colorado State, however, trimmed the deficit to 72-66 with 39 seconds left before Fresno State sealed the victory at the free-throw line.

But it was at the 3-point line where Fresno State made its biggest shots, the ones that repeatedly answered Colorado State surges. The Bulldogs made 10 of 24 3-pointers.

“We definitely went into this tournament knowing what we needed to do,” Fresno State point guard Taylor Thompson said. “We came in confident tonight. I felt like we had a lot of open shots.”

Thompson made 5-of-7 3-pointers, finishing with 23 points and nine rebounds, and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Guard Bree Farley scored 26 points while making 4-of-8 3-pointers.

“I felt like every time we got momentum, they hit a 3,” said guard Gritt Ryder, who led Colorado State with 18 points. “They stepped up when they needed to.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter @markanderson65.