The SMU women’s basketball team fell short to Fresno State 88-67 in the Championship game of the SMU Hoops for the Cure Tournament in Moody Coliseum.

Early in the game, the Mustangs were forced to play catch-up as they went down 39-20 in the first half.

The Bulldogs shot 51.7 percent from the field and 11 of 22 from beyond the arc. In the second quarter, the Mustangs did played catch up as they were only out scored by two points, 49-47.

The Bulldogs were led by tournament MVP Ki-Ki Moore who finished with a tournament high 28 points three rebounds and five assists, she shot 10-13 from the field and a perfect 3-3 from the three point line.

“What hurt us was defending one-on-one. Two of our biggest keys were first, defending one on one, and second, defending the three-ball,” SMU coach Rhonda Rompola said on SMUMustangs.com.

The Mustangs made 25 of 62 shots, shooting an efficient 40.3 percent from the field. Unfortunately the Mustangs were unable to spread the floor only making one three-point shot. Forward Akil Simpson stood out for the Mustangs, scoring a career high 22 point on eight of 11 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.

When commenting on Akil’s play coach Rompola said, “She is a gritty player, she got to play more today because she stayed out of foul trouble.”

Samantha Mahnesmith added nine more points while Sabrina McKinney and Alisha Filmore each added eight points. Over the last two games McKinney averaged 10 points.

The Mustangs travel to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the Jayhawks Dec. 1.