After losing two games in a row, freshman Haley Cavinder put the Fresno State Bulldogs back in the win column following a record setting performance against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at the Save Mart Center.
The true freshman guard put up a total of 29 points, made 10-for-18 of her field goals and made 7-for-11 3-pointers. Cavinder’s teammate, junior guard/forward Bree Delaney, previously set the record back in 2017 as a freshman versus Pacific. Delaney had scored a total of 28 points in that game.
“Honestly, I had no idea I had [seven 3-pointers] but I was just trying to take the open shot and read what the defense gave me,” said Cavinder.
Head coach Jaime White said that the way Cavinder has been able to step up as a true freshman has been efficient. White went on to explain her efficiency on how she is able to “bring the ball down” and “play the bottom of the zone” which allows Cavinder to rebound the ball.
“When you have a player like that, you’re lucky,” said White. “She’s done a really good job to be efficient and give us the production we need when other players are not hitting.”
Fresno State was matched in points scored by the end of the first quarter at 19 apiece. The Bulldogs field goal percentage was 35 percent (7-for-20) and its 3-point percentage was 45.5 percent (5-for-11). The Lumberjacks started off hot, following Cavinder’s opening 3-pointer, with six consecutive points. For the rest of the quarter, however, they were more conservative, shooting only 15 shots with one shot being a 3-pointer,
The second quarter was the breakout performance from the Bulldogs as it outscored the Lumberjacks 25-8. 13 of these points came off of the seven steals Fresno State had in the second quarter. The Dogs’ field goal percentage for the second quarter was 42.1 percent (8-for-19) with a percentage of 33.3 percent from 3-point range.
By halftime, the Bulldogs were up 44-27 against the Lumberjacks. Cavinder led the team 12 points and also had was second in rebounds (4) and assists (2). Leading in assists was Aly Gamez with three assists and the leading Bulldog in rebounds was Jordana Porter with five rebounds.
Fresno State’s third quarter was the most efficient shooting of the night. The Bulldogs scored 22 points as a team in the third to the Lumberjacks 21 points. The Bulldogs shot 53.3 percent in field goals (8-for-15) and 80 percent from three point range (4-for-5). Both Haley Cavinder and Hanna Cavinder, Haley’s twin sister, were the only Bulldogs in the third quarter to make their 3-point shots.
The Lumberjack continued to fight back throughout the fourth quarter, eventually cutting its lead down to 13 with roughly seven minutes on the clock still. However, their shooting performance was still no match as the Dogs’ put the game officially out of reach with a 7-0 run with four minutes left in the game.
The Bulldogs shakes off its two-game losing streak with its 83-66 victory and will now travel down to Los Angeles to compete in the Loyola Marymount University Thanksgiving Classic, where Fresno State will compete against Yale and Georgetown.
“We dropped two games in a row which is unlike us and its disappointing,” said White. “I really think our kids took that to heart and we were ready to play tonight.”