A last-second game-winner by sophomore guard Annika Shah propelled Cal Poly women’s basketball to a 48-47 win over Fresno State on Friday, Nov. 18 inside the Save Mart Center.
The Mustangs (2-2) earned their first road win of the season as they did just enough to overcome the Bulldogs (2-2) in nail biting fashion.
The game was tightly contested from the get-go, as a defensive battle led to both teams having lengthy scoring droughts. As a result, the score was 12-10 in favor of Cal Poly after the first quarter.
In the second, the Mustangs looked to break away with a 6-0 scoring run, but Fresno State battled back after multiple Cal Poly turnovers to keep the score close at 22-18 at halftime.
The Mustangs added onto their lead in the third, but the Bulldogs still stayed around as they were down 35-38 heading into the fourth.
Up to this point, Cal Poly had outscored Fresno State in all three quarters, but the Bulldogs had their best scoring quarter in the fourth.
The quarter opened up with a floater from Shah, which was followed up by a Fresno State three-pointer.
Shah answered with a three-pointer of her own, but after Fresno State drained another three-pointer, the Bulldogs began to gain momentum.
After a timeout, Cal Poly’s lead slowly dwindled down to 46-45 with 41 seconds left in the game.
The Mustangs tried to run out the clock as much as they could, but the Bulldogs regained possession with 11 seconds left.
After a timeout, Fresno State made a driving layup to make it 47-46 with 7.2 seconds left to give the Bulldogs their first lead since the second quarter.
After a Mustang timeout, Shah drove to the basket and sank in a reverse layup with 3.7 seconds left to retake the lead at 48-47.
Fresno State took one last timeout to try and win the game at the buzzer, but the shot attempt bounced off the rim and the Mustangs escaped with the road win.
Cal Poly out-rebounded Fresno State 35-26 and forced 19 Bulldog turnovers en route to the win.
Individually, Shah led the Mustangs in scoring with 13 points while graduate guard Niki Kovacikova and sophomore guard Sydney Bourland led in rebounds with seven each.
The Mustangs will look ahead to their biggest challenge yet when they host No. 1-ranked South Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 5 p.m. inside Mott Athletics Center.