Fresno State Athletics
Friday, March 19
Fort Worth, TX
12 P.M. PT
Fresno State
17-10,12-6Mountain West
78
vs
75
Missouri
9-12,5-9SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Fresno St.
15
14
23
26
78
Missouri
17
23
22
13
75
'Dogs rally from 20 down to defeat Missouri, 78-75
3/19/2021 8:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FORT WORTH, Texas – Trailing by 20 points with 15 minutes to play, Fresno State outscored Missouri 42-19 the rest of the way to upset the highest-ranked team in the Women's National Invitation Tournament on Friday, 78-75, in its first round game. The win is the Bulldogs' first over a Power 5 opponent since 2014.
Fresno State will face Rice on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT in the semifinals of the Fort Worth Regional.
Haley Cavinder put together an all-around performance, leading all scorers with 25 points to go with eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Sharpshooter Yanina Todorova dropped in 19 points with 14 coming in the second half. The junior knocked down 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Hanna Cavinder added 14 points with 12 coming in the second half.
Missouri was led by Aijha Blackwell who had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
How It Happened
While Fresno State held a small lead in the opening minutes, Missouri grabbed the advantage with an early 3-pointer from Shannon Dufficy as the Tigers held a slim lead throughout much of the quarter. A 7-0 Tiger run opened up the second and gave them a 24-15 advantage. While the Bulldogs pulled back to within three after three minutes had passed behind a 3-pointer from Haley Cavinder, Missouri took an 11-point lead into half after closing the period with a 14-6 stretch. Twenty-four of the Tigers' 40-first half points came in the paint as they flexed their muscle and size inside, doubling up the Bulldogs' production inside.
Fresno State's deficit ballooned during the opening five minutes of the second half as Missouri continued to work the ball inside to its bigs and outside to its shooters. The Bulldogs trailed 56-36 with 4:49 remaining in the third. Aided by 3-pointers from Yanina Todorova and Daylee Dunn, the Bulldogs were able to cut the deficit to 10 by the end of the quarter, 62-52.
The 'Dogs tried to continue chipping away but Missouri had answers early in the fourth. With under four minutes to play, and trailing by nine, Fresno State hit its closing stretch. A jumper from Hanna Cavinder was followed by a stop. Then Todorova dropped in a triple to cut the deficit to four with 3:15 to play. Following a missed attempt from 3, the Tigers pushed their lead back to six but buckets from Hanna and Haley brought the 'Dogs back to within two at 75-73. At the other end, Missouri's attempt in the paint rimmed off. After an unsuccessful drive, Wytalla Motta came up with an offensive rebound and found Todorova at the top of the key. The junior put up a shot that caught the rim, bounced up to the top of the backboard and dropped in with 21 seconds remaining. Fresno State held on during its final two possessions, topping the Tigers 78-75.
Team Notes
Haley Cavinder – 25 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals
Jaime White, Fresno State Head Coach
Opening statement…
"Great game. Our team really played together. I thought we started well. I thought we had good energy. We had people coming in and playing a couple different positions. I thought we stayed out of foul trouble which was really important. Huge games from Haley, and then Hanna down the stretch. Yanina had a huge game. I thought we had key moments where kids really stepped up. The 10 3's that we had were really important and the free throws that Hanna had were really important. Just really proud of our kids, and for us, that was one of the biggest wins that Fresno State has had since I've been here."
On why it was one of the biggest wins for White…
"It's an SEC team. We were down 20 points in the third quarter. And postseason play. I think those things have been huge. Missouri had us outsized so we had to figure that out, and I think our kids just never flinched. It was great."
On the six players who were not with the team…
"We wanted to honor everybody if they felt that this had been a long year and their choice was to opt out, then that was something we were OK with. Obviously, you can't not be OK. We really feel like the players that we had stepped up and really did a good job under those circumstances and we're really proud of the kids we brought here."
On appreciating the postseason…
"I am so appreciative that we were able to come. I am so appreciative of our administration for supporting us in that. We did feel a little jipped last year and we didn't want to have that hanging out there again this year. Our players are very respectful of the postseason and really came to win, play hard and represent Fresno State the best way we can."
Up Next
Fresno State will square off with Rice in the first of two regional semifinals on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. PT and will stream on FloHoops.
"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
Fresno State will face Rice on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT in the semifinals of the Fort Worth Regional.
Haley Cavinder put together an all-around performance, leading all scorers with 25 points to go with eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Sharpshooter Yanina Todorova dropped in 19 points with 14 coming in the second half. The junior knocked down 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Hanna Cavinder added 14 points with 12 coming in the second half.
Missouri was led by Aijha Blackwell who had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
How It Happened
While Fresno State held a small lead in the opening minutes, Missouri grabbed the advantage with an early 3-pointer from Shannon Dufficy as the Tigers held a slim lead throughout much of the quarter. A 7-0 Tiger run opened up the second and gave them a 24-15 advantage. While the Bulldogs pulled back to within three after three minutes had passed behind a 3-pointer from Haley Cavinder, Missouri took an 11-point lead into half after closing the period with a 14-6 stretch. Twenty-four of the Tigers' 40-first half points came in the paint as they flexed their muscle and size inside, doubling up the Bulldogs' production inside.
Fresno State's deficit ballooned during the opening five minutes of the second half as Missouri continued to work the ball inside to its bigs and outside to its shooters. The Bulldogs trailed 56-36 with 4:49 remaining in the third. Aided by 3-pointers from Yanina Todorova and Daylee Dunn, the Bulldogs were able to cut the deficit to 10 by the end of the quarter, 62-52.
The 'Dogs tried to continue chipping away but Missouri had answers early in the fourth. With under four minutes to play, and trailing by nine, Fresno State hit its closing stretch. A jumper from Hanna Cavinder was followed by a stop. Then Todorova dropped in a triple to cut the deficit to four with 3:15 to play. Following a missed attempt from 3, the Tigers pushed their lead back to six but buckets from Hanna and Haley brought the 'Dogs back to within two at 75-73. At the other end, Missouri's attempt in the paint rimmed off. After an unsuccessful drive, Wytalla Motta came up with an offensive rebound and found Todorova at the top of the key. The junior put up a shot that caught the rim, bounced up to the top of the backboard and dropped in with 21 seconds remaining. Fresno State held on during its final two possessions, topping the Tigers 78-75.
Team Notes
- Friday's win marked Jaime White's second over a Power 5 opponent during her seven seasons at Fresno State.
- The Bulldogs last defeated a P5 opponent on Dec. 21, 2014 at Oregon (68-59).
- Jaime White is 1-0 against the SEC in her Bulldog tenure.
- The win marked the 10th win ever against the SEC for the current 11 members of the Mountain West.
- Fresno State shot 7-of-12 from 3 in the second half (58.3%).
- The Bulldogs were outshot 52.5-44.4 percent. It was just their second win this season when being outshot.
- After Missouri led the rebounding battle by 11 in the first half, the final deficit for the 'Dogs finished at just four (35-31).
Haley Cavinder – 25 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals
- 14th 20-point game of the year.
- Second-most assists in a game this season.
- Eighth game this season with at least eight rebounds.
- Second-most points in a game this season.
- Made a season-high five 3-pointers on eight attempts.
- Scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half.
- Scored 11 of her 14 points in the second half.
- Fourth game this year with at least 7 assists.
- Second-most rebounds in a game this season.
Jaime White, Fresno State Head Coach
Opening statement…
"Great game. Our team really played together. I thought we started well. I thought we had good energy. We had people coming in and playing a couple different positions. I thought we stayed out of foul trouble which was really important. Huge games from Haley, and then Hanna down the stretch. Yanina had a huge game. I thought we had key moments where kids really stepped up. The 10 3's that we had were really important and the free throws that Hanna had were really important. Just really proud of our kids, and for us, that was one of the biggest wins that Fresno State has had since I've been here."
On why it was one of the biggest wins for White…
"It's an SEC team. We were down 20 points in the third quarter. And postseason play. I think those things have been huge. Missouri had us outsized so we had to figure that out, and I think our kids just never flinched. It was great."
On the six players who were not with the team…
"We wanted to honor everybody if they felt that this had been a long year and their choice was to opt out, then that was something we were OK with. Obviously, you can't not be OK. We really feel like the players that we had stepped up and really did a good job under those circumstances and we're really proud of the kids we brought here."
On appreciating the postseason…
"I am so appreciative that we were able to come. I am so appreciative of our administration for supporting us in that. We did feel a little jipped last year and we didn't want to have that hanging out there again this year. Our players are very respectful of the postseason and really came to win, play hard and represent Fresno State the best way we can."
Up Next
Fresno State will square off with Rice in the first of two regional semifinals on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. PT and will stream on FloHoops.
"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
Team Stats
Fresno
Mizzou
FG%
.444
.525
3FG%
.385
.316
FT%
.545
.583
RB
31
35
TO
10
18
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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