Fresno State Athletics
Tuesday, November 12
Fresno, CA
6:00 PM PT
Fresno State
2-0
73
vs
65
UC Davis
0-2
1
2
3
4
F
UC Davis
17
8
16
24
65
Fresno State
8
20
23
22
73
Photo by: Kiel Maddox
Bulldog trio leads Fresno State to 73-65 win over UC Davis
11/12/2019 9:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FRESNO, Calif. – Behind a combined 62 points from Maddi Utti, Hanna Cavinder and Haley Cavinder, Fresno State won its home opener, 73-65, over UC Davis on Tuesday night at the Save Mart Center. Despite a slow start, the Bulldogs shot 45.5 percent during the final three quarters to push past Aggies.
Utti shot a game-high 72.7 percent from the field (8-of-11) to register 21 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Hanna posted her second-straight 20-point game, scoring 21 points while sinking 10-of-11 free throws. In a game-high 40 minutes, Haley poured in 20 points. Unable to get her shot going for the second consecutive game, Aly Gamez gave the 'Dogs a boost on the glass grabbing 12 rebounds, five offensive, while also producing five of the team's seven steals.
Utti shot a game-high 72.7 percent from the field (8-of-11) to register 21 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Hanna posted her second-straight 20-point game, scoring 21 points while sinking 10-of-11 free throws. In a game-high 40 minutes, Haley poured in 20 points. Unable to get her shot going for the second consecutive game, Aly Gamez gave the 'Dogs a boost on the glass grabbing 12 rebounds, five offensive, while also producing five of the team's seven steals.
How It Happened
Fresno State jumped out to a quick 8-5 lead before UC Davis went on a 12-0 run at the end of the first quarter to take a 17-8 lead into the break as the 'Dogs struggled to get their footing, shooting just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) in the period. As the Aggies pushed their lead to 11 behind back-to-back 3's from Nina Bessolo, the Bulldogs responded with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to one at 23-22. Haley Cavinder scored eight of the ten points for the 'Dogs, locking in a double-digit scoring performance for the second consecutive game for the freshman guard. Genna Ogier gave Fresno State its first lead since midway through the opening quarter as the junior hit a jumper in the paint to put the Bulldogs ahead 26-25 with 1:37 left in the quarter. Fresno State finished the second quarter on a 16-2 run to take a 28-25 lead into halftime.
With another offensive burst to start the third quarter, the Bulldogs bolted out to a nine-point lead after a three-point shot from Hanna Cavinder with 7:52 left sent the 'Dogs on an 8-2 spurt. UC Davis was able to find an offensive groove, with former Utah State guard Katie Toole answering Hanna's offense for the Bulldogs, but a 3-pointer from Haley and and-one from Aly Gamez with seven seconds remaining in the quarter kept Fresno State in control at 51-41. Like she did in the season opener last Wednesday, Hanna put together a big third quarter for the Bulldogs scoring 13 of their 23 points.
UCD pulled within three points 56-53 with 6:51 left in regulation. Haley halted the Aggies' run by sinking back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 61-53 with 5:43 on the clock. The Aggies again pulled back to within three after a Bessolo shot from deep with 4:05 left, but once again the Bulldogs had an answer. Playing through foul trouble throughout the night, and missing much of the fourth quarter, Maddi Utti regained momentum for Fresno State with a three-point play and give the Bulldogs a six-point lead with just over two minutes to play. The Bulldogs built their lead back up to 10 while holding the Aggies scoreless for more than three minutes. Mackenze Trpcic brought UC Davis back within six with back-to-back layups with under a minute left but the visitors would get no closer.
Quotes
Head Coach Jaime White
On starting slow...
"Well I thought tonight we just didn't score early. We had that rough patch in the first quarter, I felt it was that same way at Cal Poly and maybe the same way when we played Fresno Pacific here. We have to really get out to a better start in the first half. I think if you can play the rest of the game the way we've been playing, we've been doing pretty good. Distribute the ball a little bit, move the ball a little bit. Just get everybody involved in the offense. Get different scorers going here and there. I know we have twins that look similar but I think it's hard to guard both of them in our quicker lineup. I think that's tough so we have to take advantage of that.
Hanna Cavinder - Guard - Freshman
On her first game at home...
"I just tried to keep my emotions pretty calm out there, trust myself and my teammates. I think with the first game there were some jitters there, and little bit here because it was the home opener. I just think we came out and got the job done."
On getting to the bucket...
"I definitely like to get to the rim and try to get to the free-throw line. If my shots aren't falling, just try to create and help my team anyway I can.
Player Notes
Hanna Cavinder – 21 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Fresno State will go on the road for back-to-back games at Montana (Nov. 15) and Portland (Nov. 17). The Bulldogs will return home on Nov. 21 to host BYU at 6 p.m. PT in the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State jumped out to a quick 8-5 lead before UC Davis went on a 12-0 run at the end of the first quarter to take a 17-8 lead into the break as the 'Dogs struggled to get their footing, shooting just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) in the period. As the Aggies pushed their lead to 11 behind back-to-back 3's from Nina Bessolo, the Bulldogs responded with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to one at 23-22. Haley Cavinder scored eight of the ten points for the 'Dogs, locking in a double-digit scoring performance for the second consecutive game for the freshman guard. Genna Ogier gave Fresno State its first lead since midway through the opening quarter as the junior hit a jumper in the paint to put the Bulldogs ahead 26-25 with 1:37 left in the quarter. Fresno State finished the second quarter on a 16-2 run to take a 28-25 lead into halftime.
With another offensive burst to start the third quarter, the Bulldogs bolted out to a nine-point lead after a three-point shot from Hanna Cavinder with 7:52 left sent the 'Dogs on an 8-2 spurt. UC Davis was able to find an offensive groove, with former Utah State guard Katie Toole answering Hanna's offense for the Bulldogs, but a 3-pointer from Haley and and-one from Aly Gamez with seven seconds remaining in the quarter kept Fresno State in control at 51-41. Like she did in the season opener last Wednesday, Hanna put together a big third quarter for the Bulldogs scoring 13 of their 23 points.
UCD pulled within three points 56-53 with 6:51 left in regulation. Haley halted the Aggies' run by sinking back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 61-53 with 5:43 on the clock. The Aggies again pulled back to within three after a Bessolo shot from deep with 4:05 left, but once again the Bulldogs had an answer. Playing through foul trouble throughout the night, and missing much of the fourth quarter, Maddi Utti regained momentum for Fresno State with a three-point play and give the Bulldogs a six-point lead with just over two minutes to play. The Bulldogs built their lead back up to 10 while holding the Aggies scoreless for more than three minutes. Mackenze Trpcic brought UC Davis back within six with back-to-back layups with under a minute left but the visitors would get no closer.
Quotes
Head Coach Jaime White
On her team's performance...
"They did a great job of attacking, getting to the free-throw line, getting other people open. I thought they did a good job with that, really headsy. Defended well too. It's nice to have three players with 20 points and look at Aly Gamez who had 12 rebounds, that's huge for us."
On Madd Utti's play...
"They did a great job of attacking, getting to the free-throw line, getting other people open. I thought they did a good job with that, really headsy. Defended well too. It's nice to have three players with 20 points and look at Aly Gamez who had 12 rebounds, that's huge for us."
On Madd Utti's play...
"I thought she was a mismatch for their big kid, and you saw us take advantage of that in the inside. Just getting her to the rim, she is going to go against those bigger kids day in and day out, but she really does a great job at getting to the basket and getting them in some foul trouble too."
On starting slow...
"Well I thought tonight we just didn't score early. We had that rough patch in the first quarter, I felt it was that same way at Cal Poly and maybe the same way when we played Fresno Pacific here. We have to really get out to a better start in the first half. I think if you can play the rest of the game the way we've been playing, we've been doing pretty good. Distribute the ball a little bit, move the ball a little bit. Just get everybody involved in the offense. Get different scorers going here and there. I know we have twins that look similar but I think it's hard to guard both of them in our quicker lineup. I think that's tough so we have to take advantage of that.
Hanna Cavinder - Guard - Freshman
On her first game at home...
"I just tried to keep my emotions pretty calm out there, trust myself and my teammates. I think with the first game there were some jitters there, and little bit here because it was the home opener. I just think we came out and got the job done."
On getting to the bucket...
"I definitely like to get to the rim and try to get to the free-throw line. If my shots aren't falling, just try to create and help my team anyway I can.
Player Notes
Hanna Cavinder – 21 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
- Second-straight 20-point performance to start her career.
- Dished a team-high four assists.
- Scored a season-high 21 points.
- Recorded 20-point performance of the season.
- Shot 8-of-11 from the field.
- First-career 20-point game.
- Played a team-high 40 minutes.
Fresno State will go on the road for back-to-back games at Montana (Nov. 15) and Portland (Nov. 17). The Bulldogs will return home on Nov. 21 to host BYU at 6 p.m. PT in the Save Mart Center.
"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please call 559-278-7160.
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Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateWBB
Instagram: fresnostwbb
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics
Team Stats
UCD
FS
FG%
.382
.387
3FG%
.267
.261
FT%
.500
.760
RB
39
45
TO
10
8
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
21
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
10
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
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