Fresno State Athletics
Wednesday, February 12
Fresno, CA
6:00 PM PT
Fresno State
21-4 (14-0MW)
78
vs
76
San Jose State
15-9 (9-4MW)
1
2
3
4
F
San Jose St.
12
21
18
25
76
Fresno State
18
16
25
19
78
Photo by: Keith Kountz
Bulldogs capture first MW regular season title in dramatic fashion
2/12/2020 11:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FRESNO, Calif. – 0.9 seconds. That's the difference between overtime and a championship. With 3.7 seconds remaining in a tie game, Fresno State's Bree Delaney, seeing her first action of the game, lobbed an inbound pass to the backside of the rim where Maddi Utti caught and shot the ball while in midair for the go-ahead basket. Fresno State's defense stood tall on the final possession, defeating San Jose State 78-76 on Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center to claim a share of the program's first Mountain West regular season championship.
Leading up to the game-winning bucket, the Bulldogs trailed by two with 31 seconds remaining with the Spartans inbounding the ball under their basket. Utti snared a lob out of the air, dished it over to Hanna Cavinder where the junior raced down court and dumped the ball down to Wytalla Motta for the tying layup with 22 ticks left.
Utti finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the year. Haley Cavinder also posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to go with seven assists. Hanna Cavinder dropped her second straight 20-point outing with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting while dishing out five assists.
How It Happened
Trading buckets to open the game, Fresno State got some early breathing room through a 12-0 run with four each coming from the Cavinders to give the 'Dogs a 14-2 lead with 3:39 on the clock. The Spartans countered right back with 10 of the next 16 points in the game as the Bulldogs took an 18-12 lead into the break.
Fresno State continued to hold a slim advantage through the early minutes of the second quarter but following a 3-pointer from Haley that gave the 'Dogs a 22-18 with 6:55 on the clock, the Spartans hit a surge. An 11-2 run during the next two-and-half minutes gave the visitors a 29-24 lead but the Bulldogs struck back. A 3-pointer from Kendyll Kinzer ignited eight unanswered as the 'Dogs regained their lead. With the team's trading runs throughout the opening 20 minutes, Fresno State led 34-33 at the half.
The 'Dogs came out of the break scorching from beyond the arc, draining their first four attempts from deep, with back-to-back treys from Haley, but still led by just four at the 6:48 mark. SJSU grabbed their second lead of the period with 2:54 on the clock. Two and-1 conversions from the Cavinders in the ensuing 90 seconds started an 8-0 spurt by the 'Dogs and Gamez sank a triple in the final minute as the Bulldogs took a 59-51 lead into the final period.
While Fresno State has made a habit of coming from behind this season, leading was a different story. San Jose State chipped into its deficit, working the ball inside to Tyra Whitehead, who had 28 points on the night. Leading by five with under five minutes to play, Fresno State saw their lead slip away through seven unanswered for the Spartans in less than 90 seconds. With 2:15 left, Hanna got to the bucket and laid it in the through contact. The freshman converted from the line as Fresno State took a 72-71 lead.
SJSU answered through Whitehead to retake the lead, but Motta scored with 1:26 remaining for the Bulldogs. The one-point lead was short-lived as Fieme'a Hafoka drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 1:19 to play. Fresno State turned the ball over on its next possession and were forced to start fouling. After being whistled for their fourth team foul, Utti changed the game in the blink of an eye. Nearly missing a steal seconds earlier, the junior didn't miss again, picking off Ayzhiana Basallo's inbound to flip the game and the score as Fresno State scored twice in the final 30 seconds to secure the 78-76 win.
Team Notes
Haley Cavinder – 21 points 10 rebounds, 7 assists
Jaime White, Fresno State Head Coach
On the intensity and atmosphere…
"This is the all-time best crowd that I have ever been a part of since I've been here and they were really the sixth man. They helped us with our energy all the way through to the end."
On having the alumni there…
"A lot of our alumni were here. When you win like this, there's a part of me that's even more proud of those alumni and grateful for what they did before us and I think we were feeling that too. Candice (White) was in the trenches with us for four years, which is a huge part of this along with all of our alumni. I saw a lot of them out there just enjoying the team and I think that's really important and that's what it means to be a Bulldog. That makes me as a coach feel really good about what we've done."
On the specific "IT" factor for tonight…
"Confidence that we beat them at their place on a very hard court and in an overtime and we had to come back was one thing, and knowing that we've been in so many close games that we've won and that even though it looks like it's not going to happen, you know it can. I know we've been in five games that we've been in these same situations so you never say never."
On the message to the team tomorrow…
"We want to finish out strong and be confident and ready to go into the tournament. I felt like it was important to win this game and to celebrate a championship so that we get used to it. Then when we get into the championship game in the tournament, we will feel the same way, have the same nerves, we'll know that we can win at that point too."
On emotions after the win…
"I thought looking out and seeing the crowd, the kids, hoop club members, the students that came out and supported us, and the band who is with us day-in and day-out, they are all apart of this. This is their championship just as much as it's ours."
Maddi Utti, Junior Forward
On what it feels to win the Mountain West and hit the game-winner...
"Oh my gosh. I'm speechless still. My heart's still racing, I'm just so happy. It was a great team win and that last play was set up perfectly. Aly (Gamez) set a great back-screen, Bree Delaney's pass couldn't be any better than it was, and it went in. I'm honestly just speechless."
On what makes the team special…
"I think we work really hard and when we get ourselves in those holes a little bit, we are determined to get out of them. I think that's what we did tonight, and I think we did it well."
Haley Cavinder, Freshman Guard
On playing against San Jose State's speed…
"They definitely match our speed, which is why we focused on getting back in transition, not having everyone crash the boards, and just trying to prevent them on scoring on transition layups because we know that's the threat they bring."
On how special this season has been so far…
"I'm just on cloud nine. It just feels crazy and just to go out and get that win, it's indescribable."
Up Next
Fresno State heads to Logan, Utah on Saturday as the Bulldogs look to capture the Mountain West outright title against Aggies. Tipoff at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum is slated for 1 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 call 559-278-7160.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateWBB
Instagram: fresnostwbb
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics
Leading up to the game-winning bucket, the Bulldogs trailed by two with 31 seconds remaining with the Spartans inbounding the ball under their basket. Utti snared a lob out of the air, dished it over to Hanna Cavinder where the junior raced down court and dumped the ball down to Wytalla Motta for the tying layup with 22 ticks left.
Utti finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the year. Haley Cavinder also posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to go with seven assists. Hanna Cavinder dropped her second straight 20-point outing with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting while dishing out five assists.
How It Happened
Trading buckets to open the game, Fresno State got some early breathing room through a 12-0 run with four each coming from the Cavinders to give the 'Dogs a 14-2 lead with 3:39 on the clock. The Spartans countered right back with 10 of the next 16 points in the game as the Bulldogs took an 18-12 lead into the break.
Fresno State continued to hold a slim advantage through the early minutes of the second quarter but following a 3-pointer from Haley that gave the 'Dogs a 22-18 with 6:55 on the clock, the Spartans hit a surge. An 11-2 run during the next two-and-half minutes gave the visitors a 29-24 lead but the Bulldogs struck back. A 3-pointer from Kendyll Kinzer ignited eight unanswered as the 'Dogs regained their lead. With the team's trading runs throughout the opening 20 minutes, Fresno State led 34-33 at the half.
The 'Dogs came out of the break scorching from beyond the arc, draining their first four attempts from deep, with back-to-back treys from Haley, but still led by just four at the 6:48 mark. SJSU grabbed their second lead of the period with 2:54 on the clock. Two and-1 conversions from the Cavinders in the ensuing 90 seconds started an 8-0 spurt by the 'Dogs and Gamez sank a triple in the final minute as the Bulldogs took a 59-51 lead into the final period.
While Fresno State has made a habit of coming from behind this season, leading was a different story. San Jose State chipped into its deficit, working the ball inside to Tyra Whitehead, who had 28 points on the night. Leading by five with under five minutes to play, Fresno State saw their lead slip away through seven unanswered for the Spartans in less than 90 seconds. With 2:15 left, Hanna got to the bucket and laid it in the through contact. The freshman converted from the line as Fresno State took a 72-71 lead.
SJSU answered through Whitehead to retake the lead, but Motta scored with 1:26 remaining for the Bulldogs. The one-point lead was short-lived as Fieme'a Hafoka drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 1:19 to play. Fresno State turned the ball over on its next possession and were forced to start fouling. After being whistled for their fourth team foul, Utti changed the game in the blink of an eye. Nearly missing a steal seconds earlier, the junior didn't miss again, picking off Ayzhiana Basallo's inbound to flip the game and the score as Fresno State scored twice in the final 30 seconds to secure the 78-76 win.
Team Notes
- Fresno State clinched a share of its first Mountain West regular season championship. The Bulldogs have previously won two MW tournament championships (2013, 2014).
- The 'Dogs need to win one of their final four games to clinch the outright title.
- The Bulldogs clinched the No. 1 seed in next month's MW Tournament.
- It is the fifth time in program history that the Bulldogs have won a regular season conference championship (4* in the WAC).
- Fresno State is the first team in Division I women's basketball to clinch a conference championship this season.
- The 14 straight wins to open conference play is the second-longest win streak to open a conference season in program history.
- Fresno State's current 13-game win streak is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the nation.
Haley Cavinder – 21 points 10 rebounds, 7 assists
- 10th 20-point game.
- Sixth double-double.
- Scored 14 points in the second half.
- Eighth 20-point game.
- Scored 14 of her in the first half.
- Ninth double-double of the season, 20th of her career.
- Moves into sole possession of fifth on the all-time Fresno State double-doubles list.
- Scored half her points in the fourth quarter.
Jaime White, Fresno State Head Coach
On the intensity and atmosphere…
"This is the all-time best crowd that I have ever been a part of since I've been here and they were really the sixth man. They helped us with our energy all the way through to the end."
On having the alumni there…
"A lot of our alumni were here. When you win like this, there's a part of me that's even more proud of those alumni and grateful for what they did before us and I think we were feeling that too. Candice (White) was in the trenches with us for four years, which is a huge part of this along with all of our alumni. I saw a lot of them out there just enjoying the team and I think that's really important and that's what it means to be a Bulldog. That makes me as a coach feel really good about what we've done."
On the specific "IT" factor for tonight…
"Confidence that we beat them at their place on a very hard court and in an overtime and we had to come back was one thing, and knowing that we've been in so many close games that we've won and that even though it looks like it's not going to happen, you know it can. I know we've been in five games that we've been in these same situations so you never say never."
On the message to the team tomorrow…
"We want to finish out strong and be confident and ready to go into the tournament. I felt like it was important to win this game and to celebrate a championship so that we get used to it. Then when we get into the championship game in the tournament, we will feel the same way, have the same nerves, we'll know that we can win at that point too."
On emotions after the win…
"I thought looking out and seeing the crowd, the kids, hoop club members, the students that came out and supported us, and the band who is with us day-in and day-out, they are all apart of this. This is their championship just as much as it's ours."
Maddi Utti, Junior Forward
On what it feels to win the Mountain West and hit the game-winner...
"Oh my gosh. I'm speechless still. My heart's still racing, I'm just so happy. It was a great team win and that last play was set up perfectly. Aly (Gamez) set a great back-screen, Bree Delaney's pass couldn't be any better than it was, and it went in. I'm honestly just speechless."
On what makes the team special…
"I think we work really hard and when we get ourselves in those holes a little bit, we are determined to get out of them. I think that's what we did tonight, and I think we did it well."
Haley Cavinder, Freshman Guard
On playing against San Jose State's speed…
"They definitely match our speed, which is why we focused on getting back in transition, not having everyone crash the boards, and just trying to prevent them on scoring on transition layups because we know that's the threat they bring."
On how special this season has been so far…
"I'm just on cloud nine. It just feels crazy and just to go out and get that win, it's indescribable."
Up Next
Fresno State heads to Logan, Utah on Saturday as the Bulldogs look to capture the Mountain West outright title against Aggies. Tipoff at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum is slated for 1 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 call 559-278-7160.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateWBB
Instagram: fresnostwbb
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics
Team Stats
SJSU
FS
FG%
.437
.478
3FG%
.333
.250
FT%
.875
.778
RB
38
37
TO
8
11
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
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