Fresno State Athletics
Sunday, March 6
Las Vegas, NV
2 P.M. PT
Fresno State
vs
Utah State
Photo by: CARY EDMONDSON - FRESNO STATE BRAND STRATEGY AND MARKETING
Eyes on Vegas and MW Championships
3/5/2022 2:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Mountain West First Round
Game 29: 8-Seed Fresno State (11-17, 7-10 MW) vs. 9-Seed Utah State (10-18, 5-13 MW)
March 6, 2022 • 2 p.m. PT • Las Vegas, Nev. (Thomas & Mack Center)
TV/WEB:Â Mountain West Network
RADIO:Â Bulldog Sports Network/KRDU 1130AM (Matt Norville)
LIVE STATS:Â BulldogsLive.com
SERIES HISTORY:Â Fresno State leads 28-5
LAST MEETING: Utah State 96, Fresno State 90  [3/2/22 – Logan, Utah]
THE BREAKDOWN
'DOG SHOW IN MARCH
Since Fresno State joined the Mountain West for the 2012-13 season, Fresno State has been one of the league's top dogs when tournament time rolls around. In nine tournaments, the Bulldogs have posted a conference-best 17 wins and have appeared a league leading six championship games during that span.
While common sense says you want to win your final game of the regular season going into a conference tournament for momentum, Fresno State hasn't done that in recent years, losing its last six final regular season games following Wednesday's loss at Utah State. The losses haven't hurt though as the Bulldogs are 4-1 in the Mountain West tournament after losing the regular season finale. Â Â Â
Following a season-low seven turnovers versus a D-I opponent, Fresno State sits comfortably in the nation's Top 10 in turnovers per game at No. 7, committing 11.7 per contest. The 'Dogs finished each of the last two seasons ranked inside the Top 20 with a high of 16th.
Following a string of poor shooting games from 3 to end the month of November, the Bulldogs began to heat up in December, and that continued into the New Year. During a nine-game stretch Fresno State shot north of 38 percent seven times. Then a stretch that saw more of a simmer as the 3-point shooting dropped. While the Bulldogs saw themselves drop out of the top 30 in the NCAA, they have quickly returned during in recent weeks with red-hot shooting from deep.
With the conclusion of the regular season Wednesday, Haley Cavinder became the first player since 2006 to lead the Mountain West in both scoring and rebounding in a conference season. She joins UNLV's Linda Frolich and Utah's Kim Smith.
Haley Cavinder has had her hand in everything that the Bulldogs have done. The 5-foot-6 point guard is averaging 19.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and in 5.7 assists per game. The Bulldog sits first in scoring, rebounding, double-doubles (12) and free throw percentage (.972) in the MW and second in assists.
"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.
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Game 29: 8-Seed Fresno State (11-17, 7-10 MW) vs. 9-Seed Utah State (10-18, 5-13 MW)
March 6, 2022 • 2 p.m. PT • Las Vegas, Nev. (Thomas & Mack Center)
TV/WEB:Â Mountain West Network
RADIO:Â Bulldog Sports Network/KRDU 1130AM (Matt Norville)
LIVE STATS:Â BulldogsLive.com
SERIES HISTORY:Â Fresno State leads 28-5
LAST MEETING: Utah State 96, Fresno State 90  [3/2/22 – Logan, Utah]
- Fresno State will head to Utah State for its final game of the regular season, ending the regular season in the state where the season had begun.Â
- The Bulldogs have won the seven games in the series and last four meetings at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
- Fresno State's 14-point win (71-57) against Utah State earlier this season was their second-largest win in conference play.
- The 'Dogs have won their last two games to give them their first two-game wins streak in a month.
- Last week's wins were the Bulldogs' first two this season against opponents who are sitting in the top-five of the conference standings. Both wins saw the 'Dogs eclipse 70 points, a bench mark as 10 of their wins have come when scoring more than 70.
- The Bulldogs have held a lead at some point during the fourth quarter of 12 of 16 conference games.
- Fresno State ranks No. 5 nationally in turnovers per game, committing just 11.5 per game.
- The 'Dogs rank No. 16 in the NCAA in 3-point percentage (36.3%) following shooting 19-of-42 (45.2%) from deep in the past two games.
- Haley Cavinder is the only player in the only player in the country to rank in the Top 50 in points (19.4), rebounds (9.6) and assists (5.7) per game.
- Cavinder also leads the nation in free throw shooting, converting 104-of-106 (98.1%) on the year.
- Coming off four straight games below 20 points, her longest stretch of the season, Cavinder has scored 77 points in the last three games (30, 25, 22).Â
- The point guard is currently 6th on Fresno State's all-time scoring list with 1,591 points, four behind Wendy Martell.
Since Fresno State joined the Mountain West for the 2012-13 season, Fresno State has been one of the league's top dogs when tournament time rolls around. In nine tournaments, the Bulldogs have posted a conference-best 17 wins and have appeared a league leading six championship games during that span.
- Fresno State's 70.8 percent winning percentage (17-7) in the tournament since 2013 ranks only second in the league to Boise State's 75 percent (16-4).
- The next closest teams to Fresno State's six and Boise State's five championship game appearances since 2013 are Colorado State and Wyoming who each have two.
- Under Jaime White, Fresno State has appeared in four title games in the last six years, including the last two.
- In nine tournaments, Fresno State has missed the semifinals just once.
While common sense says you want to win your final game of the regular season going into a conference tournament for momentum, Fresno State hasn't done that in recent years, losing its last six final regular season games following Wednesday's loss at Utah State. The losses haven't hurt though as the Bulldogs are 4-1 in the Mountain West tournament after losing the regular season finale. Â Â Â
- Following losses to close the regular season, Fresno State has combined to go 8-5 in the tournament, reaching the championship game in three of those five years.
Following a season-low seven turnovers versus a D-I opponent, Fresno State sits comfortably in the nation's Top 10 in turnovers per game at No. 7, committing 11.7 per contest. The 'Dogs finished each of the last two seasons ranked inside the Top 20 with a high of 16th.
- Prior to the 2019-20 season, Fresno State had not finished the season inside the Top 60 and had finished outside the Top 100 three times since the start of the 2014-15 season.
Following a string of poor shooting games from 3 to end the month of November, the Bulldogs began to heat up in December, and that continued into the New Year. During a nine-game stretch Fresno State shot north of 38 percent seven times. Then a stretch that saw more of a simmer as the 3-point shooting dropped. While the Bulldogs saw themselves drop out of the top 30 in the NCAA, they have quickly returned during in recent weeks with red-hot shooting from deep.
- Nationally, Fresno State ranks 17th in 3-point percentage, shooting 36.2 percent, tops in the Mountain West.
- Fresno State sharpshooter Amiee Book has been a big part of the recent resurgence as the Cal State Fullerton transfer is shot 47.0 percent from 3 in conference play.
With the conclusion of the regular season Wednesday, Haley Cavinder became the first player since 2006 to lead the Mountain West in both scoring and rebounding in a conference season. She joins UNLV's Linda Frolich and Utah's Kim Smith.
- Cavinder averaged 20.8 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per game.
- Her 20.8 ppg ranks sixth in conference history, 0.2 better than her average a year ago.
Haley Cavinder has had her hand in everything that the Bulldogs have done. The 5-foot-6 point guard is averaging 19.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and in 5.7 assists per game. The Bulldog sits first in scoring, rebounding, double-doubles (12) and free throw percentage (.972) in the MW and second in assists.
- Nationally, Cavinder is 14th in assists per game, 24th in points per game and 46th in rebounds per game.
- Cavinder is the only D-I player to rank in the Top 50Â in all three categories this season.
- She is also just one of two players this season to record at least three triple-doubles.
Follow us on:Â
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateWBBÂ
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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