‘Dogs drop first game of the season, 75-64, at Portland

Sunday, November 17

Portland, OR

1:00 PM PT

Fresno State

3-1

Portland

4-0

Fresno St.

Portland

Photo by: Kiel Maddox

‘Dogs drop first game of the season, 75-64, at Portland

11/17/2019 4:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Josh Mitchell / Assistant Director of Communications

PORTLAND – Despite closing to within one with just over five minutes to play, Fresno State was unable to pull ahead on the road as the Bulldogs were outscored 12-2 during the final minutes to fall 75-64 to Portland on Sunday afternoon at the Chiles Center. The loss was Fresno State's first of the season.

For the second time this week, the bulk of the Bulldogs' offense came from Maddi Utti, Haley Cavinder and Hanna Cavinder. The Pilots though had four players in double figures and their starters accounted for 67 points.

Shooting 14-of-24, Utti dropped in a career-high 29 points to go with 11 rebounds to post her first double-double of the year. Haley added 15 points and five assists while Hanna chipped in 14 poitns and three assists.

How It Happened
Through a balanced offense early, Fresno State built a 12-5 lead just over five minutes into the game as the Pilots started just 2-of-7 from the floor. The 'Dogs took a five-point advantage into the second as Portland tried to cut into its deficit. Three-pointers from Jordanna Porter and Hanna pushed the Bulldogs' lead back up to 25-18 with 6:41 on the clock. But from that point, the Pilots connected on seven of their final 10 shots to close the half on a 15-5 run to take a 38-32 lead.

Fresno pulled back to within five with 6:50 in the third quarter after a 3-pointer from Haley. Portland quickly built its lead back up to nine on back-to-back layups. On her 10^th point of the quarter, Maddi Utti trimmed the Bulldogs' deficit to 57-50 to close the period.

The junior then scored the first six points of the fourth to pull the 'Dogs within at three at 59-56 with 7:47 to play. After a jumper from Haley with 5:40 on the clock, Fresno State trailed 63-62. That was as close as the 'Dogs would get. Trailing three with under three minutes to go, Fresno State missed a pair of attempts from beyond the arc. Portland came up with three offensive rebounds at the other end before Haylee Andrews hit a jumper to extend the Pilots' advantage to five with 1:11 on the clock. Fresno State hit just one of its final 10 shots of the game as Portland closed out the game at the line.

Team Notes

Fresno State dropped to 0-2 all-time in Portland.
The Bulldogs' suffered their first loss of the season after starting the year 3-0 for the first time since 2008.
Fresno State and Portland each entered the game with 3-0 records.
Fresno State had a season-high 14 turnovers.
The Bulldogs were out-rebounded by 10 (38-28) and out-shot at the free-throw line by 10 (13-3).

Player Notes
Maddi Utti – 29 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists

Scored a career-high 29 points on 14-of-24 shooting.
Second 20-point game of the season.
First double-double of the season, 12^th of her career.

Haley Cavinder – 15 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds

Third double-figure game of the season.
Dished team-high five assists.
Logged team-high 40 minutes for the second game this season.

Hanna Cavinder – 14 points, 3 assists

Registered fourth straight double-figure game.

Up Next
Fresno State returns home on Thursday night to face its second straight West Coast Conference opponent in BYU. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center.

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