Fresno State women’s hoops finding its groove, going on big run in final quarter for the win

The Fresno State women’s basketball team swept its back-to-back series against Nevada, defeating the Wolf Pack for the second time in three days with a 75-61 victory Saturday at the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State’s Hanna Cavinder led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting and teammate Aly Gamez added 18 points and two steals.

The Bulldogs (6-5 overall, 4-2 Mountain West) never trailed from the 8:28 mark of the first quarter and led by as many as 18 points.

Fresno State disrupted the Wolf Pack so much that Nevada (5-6, 1-5) finished with just five assists.

The Wolf Pack, which also lost to the Bulldogs 78-70 on Thursday in Fresno, did not make a 3-pointer on eight attempts — marking the first time this season that Fresno State held an opponent scoreless from beyond the arc this season.

It also helped Fresno State’s efforts that Nevada ranks last in the Mountain West in 3-point shooting at 22.2% with just 38 makes on 171 attempts.

Nonetheless, Fresno State’s lead was cut to one point with 8:57 remaining following a Wolf Pack layup.

But the Bulldogs responded with a 19-3 run, including six points from the leading scorer Cavinder during that stretch. Nevada committed four turnovers during Fresno State’s pivotal run.

Fresno State senior Maddi Utti finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while logging her third straight double-double and 25th double-double of her career.

Next for Bulldogs

BOISE STATE AT FRESNO STATE

When/where: 6 p.m. Thursday, 2 p.m. Saturday, Save Mart Center

Records: Boise State 8-1 overall, 5-1 MW; Fresno State 6-5, 4-2

Of note: First meeting since the Broncos beat the Bulldogs 80-76 in overtime last March for the MW tournament championship — the last game of the season because of the pandemic. Boise State comes in as the conference leader; Fresno State, last year’s regular-season champ, is tied with Colorado State for second.

This story was originally published January 16, 2021 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Fresno State women’s hoops finding its groove, going on big run in final quarter for the win."