Fresno State Athletics
WBB Picked to Finish 4th in MW Preseason Poll
10/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 14, 2014
By Jason Clay
jaclay@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Fresno State, the two-time defending Mountain West tournament champions, was selected to finish in fourth place in the 2014-15 Mountain West Women's Basketball Preseason Poll released Tuesday.
The Bulldogs received 181 points in the preseason poll, which selected Colorado State as the preseason favorite with 21 first-place votes followed by Boise State (four first-place votes) and Wyoming (three first-place votes). The voting panel consisted of the league's 11 head coaches and select women's basketball media from around the Conference.
Entering the first year under new head coach Jaime White, the Bulldogs return 11 letterwinners and two starters - senior forward Alex Sheedy and senior guard Robin Draper.
"It is not where you are picked at the beginning, it is where you finish at the end that is important," White said. "Schools are picked based on who they have coming back and where they finished the year before. This is a very good conference and for us to be picked in the top half says a lot for Fresno State and where we are at, especially after losing two all-conference players in Taylor Thompson and Bree Farley.
"Obviously our expectations are to finish a lot higher, but this is a good starting point for us to strive for."
Sheedy was one of just five players from the conference that was selected to the 2014-15 Mountain West Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team. She was a third-team All-MW selection in 2012-13 and enters her senior season on the verge of becoming the 22nd Bulldog in program history to score over 1,000 career points, as she has posted 862 points in her first three seasons in the program.
"I think Alex Sheedy is hands down one of the best players at her position in the Mountain West, if not in the entire west region," White said. "With her size, athleticism and her ability to score, she definitely is going to make an impact in the Mountain West this year."
Last year, despite missing half of the conference season with a foot injury, Sheedy averaged 16.3 points in the eight MW games played and averaged 12.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game overall for the entire season in helping lead the Bulldogs to a 22-11 record and their seventh-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Sheedy is the team's top returning scorer, but also coming back for the Bulldogs are guards Moriah Faulk, Draper and Alex Furr who all played crucial roles in last season's Mountain West Tournament championship season.
Faulk averaged 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds playing in all 33 games last year while making five starts. Draper, who started in 28-of-33 games, was third on the team in 3-pointers made with 45 and Furr started the final 15 games of the season for the Bulldogs, scoring in double-figures five times with a high of 22 points in a win at New Mexico.
Inside, center Toni Smith returns as the most experienced player in the paint along with Sheedy who plays both inside and outside. Smith averaged 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game while averaging 7.5 minutes in 22 contests a year ago.
Fresno State begins its quest for an eighth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance on Nov. 9 when it hosts Notre Dame De Namur for an exhibition game in the Save Mart Center at 2 p.m.
The first two regular season games for the Bulldogs will also be played at home in front of the Red Wave, as the Bulldogs host Cal Poly on Nov. 16 and Cal State Stanislaus on Nov. 19.
2014-15 Mountain West Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Colorado State - 276 points (21 first-place votes)
2. Boise State - 241 points (4 first-place votes)
3. Wyoming - 235 points (3 first-place votes)
4. Fresno State - 181 points
5. Nevada - 155 points
6. UNLV - 143 points
7. San Diego State - 134 points
8. Utah State - 123 points
9. New Mexico - 122 points
10. San Jose State - 81 points
11. Air Force - 27 points
"Be Bold" - ESPN2 790 AM is the home of the Fresno State women's basketball team.
