Fresno State’s Cavinder twins pummel Boise State in a bit of ‘revenge basketball’
It’s been nearly eight years since the Boise State women’s basketball team absorbed a loss this bad.
And last year’s Boise State squad probably owes the current Broncos an apology.
Fresno State returned all five starters from a team that lost in overtime to Boise State in the 2020 Mountain West Tournament championship game, and those Bulldogs exacted their revenge with a 92-57 win over the Broncos on Thursday at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.
The 35-point loss was the Broncos’ worst since an 86-45 setback against San Diego State on March 9, 2013.
“I think our freshmen got their hands full tonight with some revenge basketball,” Boise State assistant coach Cariann Ramirez said in a postgame Zoom interview. “But hopefully now we know what it’s like. We know what they’re going to bring to the table and then we’re able to have a better reaction to it.”
Fresno State sophomore twins Haley and Hanna Cavinder entered Thursday’s game as the top two scorers in the Mountain West, averaging 20.2 and 18.1 points per game, respectively.
The 5-foot-6 guards contributed in every facet of the game as Hanna poured in a game-high 19 points with eight assists, two steals and a rebound. Haley finished a rebound short of a double-double with 15 points, nine boards, five assists and two steals.
“They’re a quality duo,” Ramirez said. “Unless you’re on the court competing against them, you don’t know what they actually bring as far as their feistiness and just their confidence. … It has nothing to do with them making a ton of points or anything but just the way they conduct themselves as leaders. … I think that’s something that gets overlooked a little bit, because they do have obviously great games.”
Senior Bree Delaney was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range, with all of her triples coming in the second half. She made three over the final 3:49 of the third quarter, which saw the Bulldogs outscore the Broncos 33-12. Fresno State emptied its bench in the second half as 15 Bulldogs logged playing time and 12 scored two points or more.
Fresno State shot 51.4% from the floor and 52.6% from beyond the arc (10-for-19) while holding Boise State to a season-low 34.8% from the field.
Freshman forward Alexis Mark scored Boise State’s final eight points of the first half to keep the Broncos within 36-29. Mark knocked down 7-of-8 shots and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Boise State played eight true freshmen and one redshirt freshman, and the group combined for 44 points. Junior Rachel Bowers had 10 points and five rebounds.
But Boise State junior Jade Loville, the No. 3 scorer in the Mountain West, was limited to two points on 1-for-11 shooting. Redshirt senior Mallory McGwire got in early foul trouble and never got it going offensively. She played 17 minutes and scored one point.
“There’s lots of film to watch,” McGwire said. “I think all the things that went wrong are controllables, and they’re just mistakes that we can fix easily in practice tomorrow and focus on.”
With the loss, the Broncos (8-2, 5-2 MW) sit in a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings with the Bulldogs (7-5, 5-2) and Colorado State (9-2, 5-2). New Mexico (6-1, 3-1) holds the top spot with a .750 winning percentage.
Boise State and Fresno State meet again Saturday at Save Mart Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. MT, and the game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network, which is available at BroncoSports.com/mwn.
MEN’S GAME CANCELED: Friday’s Mountain West men’s basketball game between Boise State and Fresno State was postponed “due to COVID-19 issues within the Boise State men’s basketball program,” the Mountain West announced Friday afternoon. “Future activity will be determined based on further testing,” a Boise State spokesperson told the Idaho Statesman.
FRESNO ST. 92, BOISE ST. 57
BOISE STATE (8-2, 5-2 MW)
Alexis Mark 7-8 0-0 14; Rachel Bowers 5-7 0-0 10; Abby Muse 3-10 0-0 6; Elodie Lalotte 1-6 4-4 6; Raigan Reed 2-6 0-0 5; Martina Machalova 1-1 1-2 3; Kimora Sykes 1-4 0-2 3; Anna Ostlie 1-5 0-0 3; Mary Kay Naro 1-2 0-0 2; Jade Loville 1-11 0-0 2; Cristina Gil 1-4 0-0 2; Mallory McGwire 0-5 1-2 1. Totals 24-69 6-10 57.
FRESNO STATE (7-5, 5-2 MW)
Hanna Cavinder 9-17 1-3 19; Haley Cavinder 5-15 4-4 15; Bree Delaney 4-5 0-0 12; Wytalla Motta 4-7 1-2 9; Kendyll Kinzer 3-3 0-0 9; Aly Gamez 3-7 0-0 7; Genna Ogier 3-3 0-0 6; Maddi Utti 2-7 0-0 5; Maria Guimaraes 2-2 0-0 4; Brooke Walling 1-3 0-0 2; Aunjona James 1-2 0-0 2; Daylee Dunn 1-1 0-0 2; Yanina Todorova 0-0 0-0 0; Charisse Fairley 0-1 0-0 0; Keely Brown 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 38-74 6-11 92.
Boise State................... 13 16 12 16 — 57
Fresno State.................. 23 13 33 23 — 92
3-point goals — Boise State 3-15 (Ostlie 1-3; Reed 1-2; Sykes 1-4; Loville 0-1; Gil 0-2; McGwire 0-3), Fresno State 10-19 (Delaney 4-4; Kinzer 3-3; Gamez 1-3; Haley Cavinder 1-5; Utti 1-2; Walling 0-1; Hanna Cavinder 0-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Boise State 44 (Mark 7), Fresno State 41 (Haley Cavinder 9). Assists — Boise State 8 (Naro 2; Mark 2), Fresno State 21 (Hanna Cavinder 8). Total fouls — Boise State 14, Fresno State 9. Technical fouls — None.
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 11:17 PM.
