Fresno State Athletics
Thursday, January 28
Canyon, TX
5 P.M. PT
Fresno State
8-6,6-3Mountain West
80
vs
82
New Mexico
7-1,4-1Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Fresno St.
23
11
23
23
80
New Mexico
19
19
20
24
82
Fresno State drops Game 1 against New Mexico, 82-80
1/28/2021 10:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CANYON, Texas – A layup from New Mexico's Shaiquel McGruder with less than three seconds to go was the difference between the Fresno State dropping its third Game 1 of the season and Thursday's contest going another five minutes. The Bulldogs fell to 8-6 overall and 5-3 in Mountain West play with the 82-80 defeat at First United Bank Center.
Hanna Cavinder led all scorers with 20 points with 15 of those coming in the second half. The sophomore also added a career-best nine rebounds. Kendyll Kinzer came off the bench to score a career-best 18 points on 6-of-7 from 3. Haley Cavinder posted 16 points and eight rebounds. Maddi Utti notched her fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Five Lobos reached double figures, led by 16 from Antonia Anderson.
How It Happened
Following a slow start as New Mexico jumped out to an 8-0 lead, Fresno State got going and took the lead through three consecutive 3-pointers, two from Kinzer and a third from Bree Delaney to go up five with 4:21 on the clock. LaTaysca Duff twice pulled the Lobos back within one but a deep 3 from Kinzer at the buzzer gave the 'Dogs a 23-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs extended their lead 27-22 early in the second but a stretch that saw them go 1-of-15 flipped the first half in New Mexico's favor. A 3-pointer from Ahlise Hurst with 70 seconds to go in the half gave UNM a 38-31 advantage but late in the period, Kinzer found the bottom of the net from deep to bring Fresno State back within four at the break.
The 'Dogs leveled the game three-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter as the Cavinders got going. The two combined for 12 of the team's 20 points in the period following just nine in the opening 20 minutes. New Mexico took a four-point lead with back-to-back buckets late in third but Utti narrowly beat the buzzer from the top of the key to bring the 'Dogs within one with 10 minutes to play.
The Lobos twice led by as much as four in the fourth. The Bulldogs, though, took their own four-point lead with 2:28 remaining through a 7-2 spurt in 90 seconds. New Mexico answered with eight of the next 10 points. Utti then leveled the game at 80-all on a jumper with 50 seconds left on the clock. Fresno State forced a stop at the other end but Haley Cavinder's attempt to regain the lead with the shot clock winding down was just off the back of the rim. McGruder then found an open lane off the Lobos' inbound pass to give UNM the go-ahead basket.
Team Notes
Hanna Cavinder – 20 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists
Kendyll Kinzer – 18 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Head Coach Jaime White
On what she saw from New Mexico looking ahead to Game 2…
"I thought their intensity and their pressure and their quick shots, it kind of turned into a foot race for us. I thought our transition was better in the second half than the first half. We're still turning over the ball too much. The first half we had 10 turnovers. We ended with 16 so the second half was better but we're playing with three and four point guards at a time, we need to take care of the ball a little bit better."
On the rebounding…
"We knew that they would be shooting the 3 so we knew those boards would be coming off long and I thought our guards did well chasing the ball which sparked some transition. We just weren't as efficient as we needed to be in transition."
On Kendyll Kinzer's play…
"She's been shooting well. I thought she shot well during the Boise State series. She's been feeling good and that helps too. She's long and tall so we can move her around to the three to the four and even to the five. Tonight she was the five a little bit. I think she's at least earned those minutes. Her shooting has been great. She can get that shot off pretty quick. She's obviously shooting deep and at halftime our best play was the half-court 3. Gotta go with what's working."
Next Up
Fresno State will face New Mexico on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT in the series finale. The game will stream live on the Mountain West Network.
"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
Hanna Cavinder led all scorers with 20 points with 15 of those coming in the second half. The sophomore also added a career-best nine rebounds. Kendyll Kinzer came off the bench to score a career-best 18 points on 6-of-7 from 3. Haley Cavinder posted 16 points and eight rebounds. Maddi Utti notched her fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Five Lobos reached double figures, led by 16 from Antonia Anderson.
How It Happened
Following a slow start as New Mexico jumped out to an 8-0 lead, Fresno State got going and took the lead through three consecutive 3-pointers, two from Kinzer and a third from Bree Delaney to go up five with 4:21 on the clock. LaTaysca Duff twice pulled the Lobos back within one but a deep 3 from Kinzer at the buzzer gave the 'Dogs a 23-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs extended their lead 27-22 early in the second but a stretch that saw them go 1-of-15 flipped the first half in New Mexico's favor. A 3-pointer from Ahlise Hurst with 70 seconds to go in the half gave UNM a 38-31 advantage but late in the period, Kinzer found the bottom of the net from deep to bring Fresno State back within four at the break.
The 'Dogs leveled the game three-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter as the Cavinders got going. The two combined for 12 of the team's 20 points in the period following just nine in the opening 20 minutes. New Mexico took a four-point lead with back-to-back buckets late in third but Utti narrowly beat the buzzer from the top of the key to bring the 'Dogs within one with 10 minutes to play.
The Lobos twice led by as much as four in the fourth. The Bulldogs, though, took their own four-point lead with 2:28 remaining through a 7-2 spurt in 90 seconds. New Mexico answered with eight of the next 10 points. Utti then leveled the game at 80-all on a jumper with 50 seconds left on the clock. Fresno State forced a stop at the other end but Haley Cavinder's attempt to regain the lead with the shot clock winding down was just off the back of the rim. McGruder then found an open lane off the Lobos' inbound pass to give UNM the go-ahead basket.
Team Notes
- Fresno State dropped to 0-5 when shooting below 44 percent. The Bulldogs shot 43.7 percent from the field.
- Fresno State is 0-3 all-time against New Mexico at neutral sites.
- The Bulldogs attempted their second-most 3-pointers of the season (25) and made their most (11).
- Fresno State had nine more turnovers than New Mexico, its largest differential in any game this year.
- The Bulldogs grabbed a season-high 46 rebounds.
Hanna Cavinder – 20 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists
- Fifth 20-point game of the season.
- Grabbed career-high nine rebounds
Kendyll Kinzer – 18 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
- Scored career-high 18 points.
- Made a career-best six 3-pointers on seven attempts.
Head Coach Jaime White
On what she saw from New Mexico looking ahead to Game 2…
"I thought their intensity and their pressure and their quick shots, it kind of turned into a foot race for us. I thought our transition was better in the second half than the first half. We're still turning over the ball too much. The first half we had 10 turnovers. We ended with 16 so the second half was better but we're playing with three and four point guards at a time, we need to take care of the ball a little bit better."
On the rebounding…
"We knew that they would be shooting the 3 so we knew those boards would be coming off long and I thought our guards did well chasing the ball which sparked some transition. We just weren't as efficient as we needed to be in transition."
On Kendyll Kinzer's play…
"She's been shooting well. I thought she shot well during the Boise State series. She's been feeling good and that helps too. She's long and tall so we can move her around to the three to the four and even to the five. Tonight she was the five a little bit. I think she's at least earned those minutes. Her shooting has been great. She can get that shot off pretty quick. She's obviously shooting deep and at halftime our best play was the half-court 3. Gotta go with what's working."
Next Up
Fresno State will face New Mexico on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT in the series finale. The game will stream live on the Mountain West Network.
"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
Fresno
UNM
FG%
.437
.452
3FG%
.440
.200
FT%
.778
.833
RB
46
35
TO
16
7
STL
4
10
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
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