FRESNO, Calif. – Ahead of traveling across the country, Fresno State ran away with a 71-28 win over UC Merced on Tuesday afternoon at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs held the Bobcats to 21.6 percent shooting, forced 21 turnovers and limited the visitors to 10 points or less in each quarter.
Yanina Todorova led the Bulldogs with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 26 minutes. Elif Dila Bayrak joined her in double figures, scoring 11 points in just under 10 minutes on the court.
How It Happened
The Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-0 lead after a layup by Thea Mikkelsen with UC Merced finally getting on the scoreboard with a 3-pointer just over four minutes into the game. It was the last points of the half for the Bobcats as the 'Dogs closed out the quarter on a 10-0 run to post a 21-3 lead after the opening quarter.
The second quarter saw the Bulldogs pick up where they left off in the first reeling off 15 straight points to cap a 25-0 run that saw the 'Dogs build a 36-3 lead after a layup by Amiee Book.
With the Bobcats scoring 10 of the final 11 points of the second quarter, the Bulldogs took a 37-13 lead to the halftime break.
A layup from Yanina Todorova got the scoring started for the 'Dogs in the second half and after a 3-pointer by UC Merced, a 10-0 run for Fresno State extended its lead to 49-16 after a 3-pointer by Elif Dila Bayrak.
A 3-pointer from Todorova got the fourth quarter started for a 54-19 advantage. The 'Dogs finished the game holding the Bobcats to only one field goal over the final 4:32.
Team Notes
Fresno State held its fourth opponent in five games to under 50 points this season. It is the most times that has happened in a season since 2016-17.
The Bulldogs shot a season-high 49.2 percent from the field.
Player Notes
Yanina Todorova scored a game-high 17 points on an efficient 8-of-10 shooting, her fourth game in double figures.
The senior tied her career high in rebounds with seven.
Elif Dila Bayrak poured in 11 points and grabbed five rebounds in just under nine minutes off the bench.
The freshman shot 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3.
Franka Wittenberg had season highs of three assists and three steals to no turnovers.
Amaya West chipped in eight points and was tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven.
Amiee Book recorded nine points and had six rebounds. The senior is 10 points shy of 1,000 in her career.
Up Next
Fresno State will head to the East Coast this week to compete in the Daytona Beach Invitational. The Bulldogs will play Delaware on Friday and Penn State on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 8 a.m. PT and can be watched on FloHoops.com