Fresno State Athletics
Wednesday, January 8
Fresno, CA
6:00 PM PT
Fresno State
12-4 (5-0MW)
84
vs
81
New Mexico
9-8 (0-4MW)
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
New Mexico
17
17
21
14
12
81
Fresno State
16
14
13
26
15
84
Photo by: Keith Kountz
Bulldogs' run of fourth-quarter rallies continue with 84-81 overtime win over Lobos
1/8/2020 11:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FRESNO, Calif. – If coming back from 12 down on the road with 8:30 remaining wasn't heart-stopping enough on Saturday in San Jose, Fresno State took it one step further on Wednesday night, rallying from 16 down with nine minutes on the clock to force their second-straight game into overtime before defeating New Mexico 84-81 at the Save Mart Center.
The Bulldogs forced overtime with a 16-4 run during the final 5:19 in regulation. The win kept the Bulldogs atop the Mountain West at 5-0, 12-4 overall, their best start to a season since Jaime White's first year in Fresno.
Following one of the best overall performances of her career in San Jose, Maddi Utti got whatever she wanted inside the paint, pouring in a game-high 28 points along with going through, over and around the Lobos to snare a career-high 17 rebounds. Not to be overshadowed, Haley Cavinder, who was having one of the toughest nights of her young career, broke out in a big way late, scoring 15 of her 21 points in final 13 minutes. The 5-foot-6 point guard also grabbed 13 boards for her third consecutive double-double.
How It Happened
With back-and-forth first quarter that saw New Mexico take a five-point lead with under three minutes on the clock, Fresno State hit a quick 6-0 spurt to take a 16-15 with a minute remaining. Jayla Everett gave the Lobos a one-point lead through 10 with a layup just before the buzzer. UNM pushed its lead up to eight through a five-minute stretch, outscoring the 'Dogs 12-4. Four quick points cut the deficit to four at the half.
New Mexico caught fire in the third, racing out to 48-36 during a stretch that saw the Bulldogs commit six turnovers in less than four minutes. With five points coming from Kendyll Kinzer in the final four minutes of the quarter, the 'Dogs pulled back to within seven but the Lobos had answer through a 3-pointer from Ahlise Hurst and a layup from Jordan Hosey with seconds remaining to extend the lead back to 12 at 55-43. The Lobos' run stretched to nine a minute into the fourth with back-to-back layups.
Fresno State then came to life, hitting a 9-3 stretch that was capped by its first 3-pointer of the night coming from Haley Cavinder. UNM responded though with back-to-back buckets to push its advantage back to 13 with 5:38 on the clock. Started by a steal from Haley and outlet to Utti in transition, the Bulldogs countered with an 8-0 run, capped by Haley's second 3 of the quarter to cut the deficit to 65-60 with 3:24 remaining. Everett halted the run with a steal on Haley that she turned into a layup at the other end. But the Bulldog freshman answered with another shot from deep to cut the deficit to four with just over three minutes to play.
Down six with 90 seconds to go, the Haley and Hanna Cavinder each got into the paint and dropped in buckets on back-to-back possessions to pull the 'Dogs within 45 seconds on the clock. Hanna then drew a foul with 16 seconds to go, and knotted the game up at 69-69 at the line. The Bulldogs came up with a stop at the other end in the final seconds to force overtime, their second in as many games.
Utti gave Fresno State a two-point lead on their first possession in the period but Hurst answered with a corner triple. The 'Dogs then scored five unanswered with four coming from freshman center Brooke Walling. With just over a minute to play, Walling grabbed a missed three-point attempt from the 'Dogs and went back up with it to extend the advantage to six, scoring her sixth point of the game with all six coming in overtime. Jaedyn De La Cerda knocked down a 3-pointer at the end for the Lobos but that was as close as they would get as Utti would tack on four points in the final 30 seconds to keep the Lobos at arms length.
Team Notes
Maddi Utti – 28 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
Head Coach Jaime White
On the game…
"I thought defensively we were OK. We just kept staying within 10. Felt like we needed to hit a couple outside shots. Haley came up big for us at the three."
On Maddi Utti's performance.
"Maddi—oh my gosh. We played at Portland and they kind of did the same thing and I told Maddi, 'Maddi if you gotta score 40, you gotta score 40.' And I think she took that to heart tonight. She was beyond aggressive, a good leader. Just physical, kept battling back."
On Haley Cavinder's play late…
"Haley came up huge in that last quarter. We had a good fourth quarter against them last year here, and at one of the timeouts I said, 'Guys, listen—we had a 27-point quarter against them here.' I think I made that up—but I was like, 'We can do it, we can come back.' Ten points is nothing. Not with this group. Not this year."
On New Mexico's defense…
"They did the same thing to San Jose State. We knew that was an option that they would be able to do that. We had prepared for man-to-man all week, so brilliant coaching. But we had just gone against the zone at San Jose State, and again we hadn't seen a lot of zone. Our shooters have just got to get set and knock that down."
On freshmen Brooke Walling playing a season-high 23 minutes…
"I thought we had great minutes from Brooke Walling, huge baskets down the stretch."
On the matchup…
"Just a good, hard-fought battle. New Mexico—their record does not represent what they can do. We knew that coming in and I felt like we did what we had to do to win the game. I would not like that every time, but for now I'm OK with it."
On upcoming schedule…
"We played good on the road for three quarters at San Jose. I was hoping that we would play a little bit more consistently tonight. But we're going to go down to a hungry and mad San Diego State and the list just keeps going. It'll be nice to have this weekend off. Our kids will be able to relax and then we'll go back to work next week."
Maddi Utti, junior forward
On playing New Mexico…
"They're really long, they've always been long. It's tough and you have to grind it out and that's definitely what we did. We came back and ended up winning, so it's great. It's always a good game against them."
On confidence when coming back from a 16-point deficit…
"I think that it's from practice and consistently working on situational stuff in practice, too. We just did it against San Jose and we knew we could do it. We just had to grind it out."
On playing 43 minutes four days after playing 45 minutes…
"We conditioned quite a bit in the summer and had to pass a conditioning test and all that. I think every game you just have to be prepared to play as many minutes as the team needs you to."
Next Up
Fresno State will take Saturday off with one of its two conference byes before heading to San Diego State on Jan. 15, a team the Bulldogs defeated 79-54 a week ago. Tipoff at Viejas Arena is slated for 6:30 p.m. PT.
"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 visit bulldogfoundation.org.
The Bulldogs forced overtime with a 16-4 run during the final 5:19 in regulation. The win kept the Bulldogs atop the Mountain West at 5-0, 12-4 overall, their best start to a season since Jaime White's first year in Fresno.
Following one of the best overall performances of her career in San Jose, Maddi Utti got whatever she wanted inside the paint, pouring in a game-high 28 points along with going through, over and around the Lobos to snare a career-high 17 rebounds. Not to be overshadowed, Haley Cavinder, who was having one of the toughest nights of her young career, broke out in a big way late, scoring 15 of her 21 points in final 13 minutes. The 5-foot-6 point guard also grabbed 13 boards for her third consecutive double-double.
How It Happened
With back-and-forth first quarter that saw New Mexico take a five-point lead with under three minutes on the clock, Fresno State hit a quick 6-0 spurt to take a 16-15 with a minute remaining. Jayla Everett gave the Lobos a one-point lead through 10 with a layup just before the buzzer. UNM pushed its lead up to eight through a five-minute stretch, outscoring the 'Dogs 12-4. Four quick points cut the deficit to four at the half.
New Mexico caught fire in the third, racing out to 48-36 during a stretch that saw the Bulldogs commit six turnovers in less than four minutes. With five points coming from Kendyll Kinzer in the final four minutes of the quarter, the 'Dogs pulled back to within seven but the Lobos had answer through a 3-pointer from Ahlise Hurst and a layup from Jordan Hosey with seconds remaining to extend the lead back to 12 at 55-43. The Lobos' run stretched to nine a minute into the fourth with back-to-back layups.
Fresno State then came to life, hitting a 9-3 stretch that was capped by its first 3-pointer of the night coming from Haley Cavinder. UNM responded though with back-to-back buckets to push its advantage back to 13 with 5:38 on the clock. Started by a steal from Haley and outlet to Utti in transition, the Bulldogs countered with an 8-0 run, capped by Haley's second 3 of the quarter to cut the deficit to 65-60 with 3:24 remaining. Everett halted the run with a steal on Haley that she turned into a layup at the other end. But the Bulldog freshman answered with another shot from deep to cut the deficit to four with just over three minutes to play.
Down six with 90 seconds to go, the Haley and Hanna Cavinder each got into the paint and dropped in buckets on back-to-back possessions to pull the 'Dogs within 45 seconds on the clock. Hanna then drew a foul with 16 seconds to go, and knotted the game up at 69-69 at the line. The Bulldogs came up with a stop at the other end in the final seconds to force overtime, their second in as many games.
Utti gave Fresno State a two-point lead on their first possession in the period but Hurst answered with a corner triple. The 'Dogs then scored five unanswered with four coming from freshman center Brooke Walling. With just over a minute to play, Walling grabbed a missed three-point attempt from the 'Dogs and went back up with it to extend the advantage to six, scoring her sixth point of the game with all six coming in overtime. Jaedyn De La Cerda knocked down a 3-pointer at the end for the Lobos but that was as close as they would get as Utti would tack on four points in the final 30 seconds to keep the Lobos at arms length.
Team Notes
- Fresno State has started 5-0 in Mountain West play for the third time since joining the league.
- The Bulldogs are the last remaining unbeaten team in the Mountain West.
- The 'Dogs grabbed 59 rebounds, their most against a Division I opponent this season. Second consecutive game with 50+ rebounds.
- Fresno State overcame a 16-point fourth-quarter, its largest comeback win of the season.
- Fresno State's second consecutive overtime game.
- Fresno State has won the last two matchups with the New Mexico.
- The 'Dogs moved to 3-4 when trailing at the half after win each of its last two when trailing.
- Fresno State is 12-0 when scoring at least 70 points.
- The Bulldogs won their first game of the season when committing more turnovers than their opponent after a season-high 21 on Wednesday. The 'Dogs were previously 0-2.
- Fresno State entered tonight with a 1-3 record when losing points off turnovers but won despite its largest deficit of the season in the category (24-7)
Maddi Utti – 28 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
- Second-highest point total of her career, most in a win.
- Career-best 17 rebounds, passing the 15 that was set four days ago.
- Second straight double-double.
- 15th career double-double moves her into a tie for eighth in program history with Alex Sheedy.
- Started the game 1-of-9 but finished 5-of-6 with 3-pointers for 15 points during the final 13 minutes.
- Posted third straight double-double, fourth in the last five games.
- Recorded assists since dishing nine on Dec. 3 at UNLV.
Head Coach Jaime White
On the game…
"I thought defensively we were OK. We just kept staying within 10. Felt like we needed to hit a couple outside shots. Haley came up big for us at the three."
On Maddi Utti's performance.
"Maddi—oh my gosh. We played at Portland and they kind of did the same thing and I told Maddi, 'Maddi if you gotta score 40, you gotta score 40.' And I think she took that to heart tonight. She was beyond aggressive, a good leader. Just physical, kept battling back."
On Haley Cavinder's play late…
"Haley came up huge in that last quarter. We had a good fourth quarter against them last year here, and at one of the timeouts I said, 'Guys, listen—we had a 27-point quarter against them here.' I think I made that up—but I was like, 'We can do it, we can come back.' Ten points is nothing. Not with this group. Not this year."
On New Mexico's defense…
"They did the same thing to San Jose State. We knew that was an option that they would be able to do that. We had prepared for man-to-man all week, so brilliant coaching. But we had just gone against the zone at San Jose State, and again we hadn't seen a lot of zone. Our shooters have just got to get set and knock that down."
On freshmen Brooke Walling playing a season-high 23 minutes…
"I thought we had great minutes from Brooke Walling, huge baskets down the stretch."
On the matchup…
"Just a good, hard-fought battle. New Mexico—their record does not represent what they can do. We knew that coming in and I felt like we did what we had to do to win the game. I would not like that every time, but for now I'm OK with it."
On upcoming schedule…
"We played good on the road for three quarters at San Jose. I was hoping that we would play a little bit more consistently tonight. But we're going to go down to a hungry and mad San Diego State and the list just keeps going. It'll be nice to have this weekend off. Our kids will be able to relax and then we'll go back to work next week."
Maddi Utti, junior forward
On playing New Mexico…
"They're really long, they've always been long. It's tough and you have to grind it out and that's definitely what we did. We came back and ended up winning, so it's great. It's always a good game against them."
On confidence when coming back from a 16-point deficit…
"I think that it's from practice and consistently working on situational stuff in practice, too. We just did it against San Jose and we knew we could do it. We just had to grind it out."
On playing 43 minutes four days after playing 45 minutes…
"We conditioned quite a bit in the summer and had to pass a conditioning test and all that. I think every game you just have to be prepared to play as many minutes as the team needs you to."
Next Up
Fresno State will take Saturday off with one of its two conference byes before heading to San Diego State on Jan. 15, a team the Bulldogs defeated 79-54 a week ago. Tipoff at Viejas Arena is slated for 6:30 p.m. PT.
"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 visit bulldogfoundation.org.
Team Stats
NM
FS
FG%
.375
.432
3FG%
.276
.143
FT%
.636
.773
RB
41
59
TO
11
21
STL
15
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
12
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
C
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