LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KSEE/KGPE) – The Fresno State women’s basketball team beat Nevada Monday afternoon, 70-56, in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The Bulldogs (15-9, No. 4 seed) were led by Haley Cavinder, who finished with a game-high 17 points. Cavinder, who was named the Mountain West Player of the Year on Sunday, also grabbed nine rebounds.
Senior guard Aly Gamez was also a big factor in the win for the Bulldogs. She finished with 14 points, 11 of which came in the first half, which helped the Bulldogs build a 33-20 halftime lead.
Hanna Cavinder had 13 points and three steals, and Bree Delaney came off the bench to score nine points, on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc for Fresno State.
“We didn’t know we were going to play Nevada until probably Thursday-ish,” said Fresno State head coach Jaime White. “So we weren’t able to go over a lot of their stuff. But at the end of the day I thought we prepared well, our kids were very focused. A little bit mad about how we ended our regular season, so that’s always nice coming in with a chip on our shoulder.”
The Bulldogs entered the Mountain West Tournament coming off two straight losses at home to UNLV.
Amaya West and Nia Alexander both finished with a team-high 15 points for the Wolf Pack (13-9, No. 5 seed).
With the win, the Bulldogs now face top-seeded New Mexico in one semifinal Tuesday at 5 p.m. The Lobos beat ninth-seeded Air Force 67-51 earlier on Monday.
The Bulldogs and Lobos split a pair of meetings during the regular season in late January. Playing in Canyon, Texas because of coronavirus restrictions in the state of New Mexico, the Bulldogs lost 82-80 on Jan. 28, but bounced back two days later to beat the Lobos 91-69.
