Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Open Season With Cal Poly
11/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2014
Bulldog Bites
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State opens the 2014-15 season Sunday as the squad welcomes Cal Poly to the Save Mart Center for the third matchup between the schools since 2010. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m., PT, with Christian Lukens on the call for ESPN2 790 AM. Fans can also watch the game live on the Mountain West Network. Following the game, Bulldog players will be signing autographs on the main concourse by the northwest entrance.
Bulldog Bites
• Jaime White enters her first season at the helm of the Bulldog program. The 10th head coach in program history, White comes to Fresno State after eight seasons at Northern Colorado.
• White is joined by assistant coaches Mandi Carver, Keith Ferguson and Laura Dinkins, along with director of operations Tom Perkins and graduate assistant Erik DeRoo.
• The Bulldogs return 11 letterwinners, including two seniors in forward Alex Sheedy and guard Robin Draper.
• In 2014, Fresno State earned its seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
• Last season, the Bulldogs captured their second Mountain West Conference Tournament championship in only its second season in the league. The last team to repeat as MW Tournament champions was New Mexico in 2007 and 2008.
• Dating back to its days in the Western Athletic Conference, Fresno State has won four consecutive conference tournament championships (MW: 2013 & 2014; WAC: 2011 & 2012).
• Fresno State was selected to finish in fourth place in the 2014-15 Mountain West Women's Basketball Preseason Poll. 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.
• Senior forward Alex Sheedy was one of five players from the conference 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.
Closing in on 1,000-Point Club
Closing in on 1,000-Point Club
• Senior forward Alex Sheedy is 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.
• Despite missing half of the 2013-14 conference season with a foot injury, Sheedy averaged 16.3 points in the eight Mountain West games 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.
Series History with Cal Poly
Series History with Cal Poly
• Fresno State leads the all-time series with Cal Poly 28-12, but the two schools have only played three times since 2000.
• Each of the last three games has been decided by five points or less.
• The Bulldogs won the most recent contest, defeating the Mustangs 79-76 on the road on Nov. 20, 2011, yet fell a year earlier in Fresno, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2011, 72-67.
A Look at Cal Poly
A Look at Cal Poly
• The Mustangs finished second in the Big West a year ago, advancing to the conference tournament championship game for the fourth time in six years.
• The run marked the program's sixth consecutive winning record and a bid in the WNIT, the team's fourth straight national postseason appearance.
• Senior guard Ariana Elegado leads the Mustangs' offense. She enters her final season No. 8 in school history in career scoring (with 1,065 points).
• During her junior year, Elegado mad the sixth-most 3-pointers in Big West history (86) as she averaged a team-high 17.0 points while tying for the Big West lead in assists (4.5 per game).
Opening Up Against the State of California
Opening Up Against the State of California
• Dating back to the 1996-97 season, Fresno State is 7-3 when opening up the season against teams in the state of California.
• The only three losses have come against current Pac-12 school (Cal, Stanford, USC), two of which were ranked in the Top 25 at the time.
White Signs Five in Early Signing Period
• Fresno State first-year women's basketball head coach Jaime White has announced the signing of five players to her 2015 class. The group includes junior college standout Anais Kirvan, California natives Zaria Branch and Candice White, Raven Johnson from Dallas, Texas, and Breanne Knishka from central Washington.
• "We are extremely pleased with our recruiting class this year," White said. "The five players we have signed bring a multitude of talent and diversity. We are pleased to welcome them to the Bulldog family and anticipate much success. All five recruits have high character and will be a positive addition to our Fresno State tradition of excelling in the classroom and on the basketball court."
• Anais Kirvan | Forward/Center | 6-2 | Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia | Burwood Girls High (Vincennes University)
• Zaria Branch | Guard | 5-10 | San Diego, Calif. | Mt. Miguel High School
• Raven Johnson | Guard | 5-11 | Dallas, Texas | Skyline High School
• Breanne Knishka | Guard | 5-10 | Dryden, Wash. | Cashmere High School
• Candice White | Point Guard | 5-8 | Modesto, Calif. | Modesto Christian
"Be Bold" - ESPN2 790 AM is the home of the Fresno State women's basketball team.
Players Mentioned
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