Fresno State women look to cap run of four on road with second straight win
Fresno State, fresh off its first road win of the season, can gain a measure of revenge Saturday night when it faces Cal State Northridge in a nonconference women’s basketball game.
The Bulldogs a little more than a year ago blew a 15-point halftime lead in losing to the Matadors 61-57 at Save Mart Center. Cal State Northridge closed with a 20-2 run over the final 7-plus minutes.
Fresno State (2-4) gained a little momentum for the latest installment in a series it has dominated (the Bulldogs lead 21-4 all-time and the 2016 win was the Matadors’ first since 1975) by beating UC Santa Barbara 64-57 on Thursday.
In the third of four straight road games, Maddi Utti became the first true freshman to score 20 points in a game for the Bulldogs since Rosie Moult versus Idaho on Feb. 10, 2010. Utti hit 9 of 10 shots and had eight rebounds and two assists.
Junior Candice White had 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals while extending her perfect start at the free-throw line this season to 19 of 19. Sophomore Katelin Noyer had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
The Bulldogs led 44-42 through three quarters and were up 60-54 after Jordanna Porter hit a pair of free throws with 46 seconds to play. UC Santa Barbara’s Aliceah Hernandez hit a 3-pointer and the Gauchos quickly fouled, but couldn’t grab the defensive rebound following two missed free throws by the Bulldogs’ Breanne Knishka.
White grabbed that rebound, was fouled and hit her two foul shots to effectively ice the game.
Fresno State, shooting at a .358 clip on the season, made 25 of 53 (47.2 percent) frrom the field and outrebounded the Gauchos 45-32 while surviving 21 turnovers. The Bulldogs outscored UCSB in the paint 28-18.
UC Santa Barbara (1-6), playing without injured star forward Drew Edelman, was limited to 33.9 percent shooting to negate its 18-10 edge in points off turnovers.
Chaya Durr led UCSB with 15 points and six rebounds. Freshman Sarah Bates, the former Clovis West High star, was one of three Gauchos in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go with two rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes.
Up next
FRESNO STATE AT CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
- Saturday: 2 p.m. at the Matadome
- Records: Bulldogs 2-4, Matadors 1-6
- Of note: CS Northridge pulled off huge comeback from down 15 at halftime when the teams last met Nov. 18, 2016 at Save Mart Center. Then-freshman Hayley Tanabe scored 13 of her team-high 14 points after halftime while Channon Fluker tied a career high with 19 rebounds. … Fluker, a 6-4 junior center, leads the team in scoring this season at 16.1 points per game. … Tanabe, the point guard, played in her first game Thursday, a 64-61 home loss to Weber State. … The Matadors were picked second in the Big West media and coaches preseason polls. UC Santa Barbara was third in both. … Fresno State after this game will have played four true consecutive road games for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Bulldogs are back home Thursday to face University of the Pacific at 7 p.m.
This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Fresno State women look to cap run of four on road with second straight win."