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Las Vegas • When it mattered most Tuesday night, Utah State couldn't score.

The result? The Aggies' third close loss to Fresno State in the past three weeks and the end of their season.

Bego Faz Davalos poured in 23 points and Alex Furr hit four free throws in the final 36 seconds, leading the Bulldogs to a 55-47 victory over Utah State in the Mountain West quarterfinals at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Aggies led by as many as six points midway through the third quarter. It was 44-43 after Rachel Brewster buried a jumper with 7:15 left.

From there, Utah State could not handle Fresno State's aggressive defense. The Aggies committed six of 21 turnovers down the stretch and went 0-for-8 from the field.

Funda Nakkasoglu finished with 16 points. The Bulldogs made a priority of getting the ball out of her hands. The strategy worked. Nakkasoglu, the leading scorer in the Mountain West this season, got just 11 shots.

"We knew if we guarded [Nakkasoglu] away from the basket, we'd have a better chance of stopping her," Bulldogs coach Jaime White said.

"[Fresno's defense] slowed us down and, having inexperienced players, it shook us up a bit. … " said Nakkasoglu.

It was Utah State's third loss to the Bulldogs in 18 days. Fresno State's other two victories: 66-62 and 67-61.

"If you want to know how the other two games went," Utah State coach Jerry Finkbeiner said, "it was just like this one. … We had a chance but they are an experienced team with an understanding how to win games."

Utah State, looking for its first trip to the Mountain West semifinals, struggled early. The Aggies converted only one of their first 10 possession into points and Fresno State bolted to a 7-2 lead.

It was 13-9 after the first quarter, after the Aggies made three of 15 field-goal attempts.

In the opening three minutes of the second quarter, however, Aggie senior Julianne Anchling and Brewster buried three-pointers. They sparked a 10-2 run that gave Utah State a 19-15 lead.

Fresno State countered and regained a 28-25 halftime lead when Furr turned one of 10 Aggie turnovers into a transition three with 30 seconds left.

In the first half, Davalos had half of the Bulldogs' points — 14 — on 7-for-11 shooting. Her teammates were a combined 6-for-24 from the field.

luhm@sltrib.com

Twitter: @sluhm