LAS VEGAS - No. 6 Fresno State upset No. 3 Colorado State in the quarterfinal match up on Monday night at the Thomas and Mack Center, 54-52.
Fresno State spent all but 27 seconds with the lead against Colorado State to secure their spot in the semifinal game on Tuesday night. Mia Jacobs 19th double-double of the season was two rebounds short of a 20-20 game. Jacobs finished with 20 points and a new career-high 18 rebounds. Maria Konstantinidou had a hefty 25 minutes with six points, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and matched her career-high nine rebounds. Mariah Elohim also finished in double-figures for the 16th time this season with ten points, two 3PFG, and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
How it happened
Fresno State let the three's roll to start the fourth quarterfinal game of the day. Bulldogs launched three 3PFGM in the first minute of play, Elohim grabbed two and Jacobs with one for a 9-2 lead. Bulldogs first double-digit lead came just under four minutes after Kylee Fox landed the fourth deep three of the game, 14-4. Biggest lead of the night for a 12 point push came from Jacobs, both times, with shots from inside the paint. Rams closed on a 4-0 run to trail by eight after ten, 18-10.
Jacobs continued with the deep shooting to open the second period. Colorado State hopped on a 5-0 run before both teams missed the basket in the last four field goal attempts. Konstantinidou dropped in a three, halting the scoring drought. Fresno State forced Colorado to another 3:55 scoring drought as they missed seven straight attempts from the field. Colorado State was 1-of-12 as the first half winded down. Ukkonen continued the trend for the Bulldogs final points of the period with a shot from beyond the arc. All of the Bulldogs made shots from the period were three's. Fresno State held a ten point advantage going into the half, 27-17.
Colorado State got on the board first to start the second half after three minutes of play. Fox fought against the double team for a basket in the final five minutes. Five point scoring run presented a ten point lead as Jacobs got the and-1 and Konstantinidou's second three-pointer of the night. Fresno State remained with the lead after a 2-2 run, 39-31.
Colorado State put up 21 points in the final period for a long shot at the lead, Rams were as close as two points, three times in the final ten. Sta. Maria to the line (1-of-2) but Rams respond with a deep three. Jacobs sends Colorado's Simental to the line (1-of-2) and Frobe (1-of-2). Rams' tried to shift the momentum but were stuck on a two minute scoring drought. Fresno State took no more chances as Jacobs notched up seven points on an and-1, layup and two made shots from the charity stripe. It was a four point game as the final minute ticked down, Colorado State knocked down a three by Simental. Colorado State had one more three to give by Simental to make it a one possession game, 52-50 with eight seconds to go. Fresno State's final points came from the foul line. On the 'Dogs final trip, Elohim (2-of-2) secured the four point lead to make Colorado's Frobe's buzzer-beater layup redundant.
Notable
For the first time in four years, No. 6 Fresno State is back in the Mountain West semifinals
This is the second consecutive year that the No. 6 seed has earned a spot in the semifinals
The No. 3 seed has failed to advance to the semifinals in back-to-back years
Bulldogs improve to 20-10 in all-time MW championship history
This marks the Bulldogs ninth semi finals appearance
Mia Jacobs scored 20 points with 18 rebounds to become the 4th MW athlete to do so in a MW tournament contest
Back-to-back double-doubles for Mia Jacobs marks the second Bulldog in program history (Bego Faz Davalos, 4, 2017) and the first since Desi-Rae Young in 2023
Fresno State connected 7-of-14 from beyond the arc in the first half, becoming the only second team in the MW tournament history to make 50% on at least 14 attempts
Fresno State forced Colorado State to their lowest scoring output of the season with 52 points
Head coach Jaime White is 4-2 in semifinal games
Coach White is two wins away from tie Bob Spencer as Fresno State's most winningest coach (198 wins)
Mia Jacobs earns her 19th double-double of the season ties her for fourth in the national rankings
Fresno State held the lead for 39 minutes and thirty-three seconds
For the first time this season, all points scored in a single period were three pointers, in the second quarter with nine points