Courtesy of Braidon Nourse

LAS VEGAS – The run that swung the game for good reflected what No. 6 Fresno State needed in the moment.

It happened in the third quarter, went for 11 unanswered points and included four free throws, two layups and a 3-pointer. The 3s weren’t falling the way the Bulldogs would have wanted — they shot just 26.3 percent as a team on the night — so they went the more traditional route: get downhill.

The strategy jumpstarted the final kick required for victory. And it was even more pivotal as game time wound down and they needed a final push to scrape by No. 11 San José State, 67-62, in the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Women’s Basketball Championship.

The Spartans guarded the Bulldogs more tightly as the night went on, which opened driving lanes too open for someone not to hit with speed. Sometimes, it produced a layup; most often, free throws.

The game was made close at the line, and it ended up being won at the line.

“Free throws in general were huge for us. I thought they came out and were physical and wanted to take us out in that way,” Fresno State coach Jaime White said. “I thought everybody stayed their ground and just kept working through that physicality, especially in the second half when we turned the ball over a little bit.

“We really needed to take care of the ball in the second half. We talked about taking care of it, making sure we’re rebounding, getting shots at the rim or getting multiple drives.”

The Bulldogs’ run gave them their first lead since the beginning of the second quarter. San José State took it back with its own 11-0 streak late in the fourth quarter to take a lead, but Fresno State just found the line again.

The last 10 Bulldogs points were all free throws. In total, they went 24-29 from the line. Mia Jacobs shot a perfect and team-best 9-for-9.

“Every basketball game has runs. Every team has runs throughout the ball game,” said Bulldogs guard Saga Ukkonen, who dropped 14 points on 5-10 shooting. “I think when we go on a run, obviously we feel really good and then when San José (State) went on their run, we just have to regroup and come back together and just focus on every possession.

“Get stops and get something good on offense — either get fouled, get to the free-throw line or just hit an open shot.”

Fresno State will match up with No. 3 Colorado State, which boasts the Mountain West newcomer of the year, an all-defensive teamer and a pair of all-freshman teamers.

For White, it’ll be a unique sort of challenge to play a team with no true big. San José State, with its numerous tall and muscly bigs, is more straightforward to guard as opposed to a more diverse Rams attack. And they’ve only played each other once this season.

“(We’ve) got to try to score in the middle of the floor because if you have the ball on one side, they’re extensively helping over. So then you’re not getting to the paint,” White said. “That all sounds really good right now but we’re going to have to get something together. But at the end of the day, they’ve got to play well too. They’ve got to guard our players.”

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