Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Visit Spartans in San Jose
1/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State heads north to face intrastate rival San Jose State on Saturday afternoon. The matchup at The Event Center is slated for a 2 p.m., PT tipoff and will stream live online on the Mountain West Network. Christian Lukens will be on the call for 790 ESPN "The Deuce."
Game Info
Game #16 • Jan. 16, 2016
Fresno State (8-7, 4-0 MW) at San Jose State (6-10, 4-1 MW)
2 p.m. PT • The Event Center (5,000) • Fresno, Calif.
Video: Mountain West Network • Radio: 790 AM ESPN2 • Live Stats:
Series Record: Bulldogs lead 53-20
Last Meeting: San Jose State won 56-51 on Feb. 4, 2015 in San Jose, Calif.
Bulldog Bites
• Fresno State is seeking its fifth straight win, which would be its longest winning since January of 2015.
• Fresno State is seeking its first win at San Jose State since March 3, 2011.
• Fresno State is one of two remaining undefeated teams in Mountain West play.
• Fresno State was picked fourth in the MW in preseason, and opened the conference season with wins over teams that were picked second (New Mexico) and fifth (UNLV).
• All eight of the 'Dogs' wins have come when holding teams to below 60 points in regulation. Only New Mexico scored more than 60 points in but it came in came double overtime.
• Redshirt sophomore center Bego Faz Davalos ranks in the top 10 in the Mountain West in scoring (9th, 12.8 ppg) rebounding (1st, 10.1 rpg), field goal percentage (4th, .519), blocked shots (1st, 3.6 bpg), assist/turnover ratio (8th, 1.2), offensive rebounds (2nd, 3.5 rpg) and defensive rebounds (1st, 6.5 rpg).
• Three 'Dogs are averaging double-digits through 15 games (Shauqunna Collins, Moriah Faulk, Bego Faz Davalos). Fresno State had just one player average double figures last year.
• Faz Davalos leads the team in both points (12.8) and rebounds (10.1) to go along with 3.6 blocks per game.
• Through Jan. 13, Faz Davalos ranked third in the NCAA in blocks (54), blocked shots per game (3.5), 30th in double-doubles (6), 34th in rebounds (151) and 27th in rebounds per game (10.1). She ranks first in the Mountain West in each category.
• Faulk is at 11.1 points per game after scoring eight double-digit games and posting a trio of double-doubles this season.
• Collins is currently also at 10.9 points per game. She has reached double figures in 10 of her 14 games.
• The Bulldogs have recorded 12 double-doubles on the year. As a team, they recorded 12 in each of the past two seasons.
• Fresno State's bench play has been a component this season as it averages 22.4 of the team's 66.9 points per game
Series History with San Jose State
• Fresno State leads the all-time series 53-20.
• Dating back to Feb. 20, 2003, the Bulldogs have won 22 of the last 25 games in the series.
• Despite holding a decided advantage in the win column against its intrastate rivals, the Fresno State has not won at San Jose State since March 3, 2011 as the Spartans have won the last three games in San Jose.
• In the 'Dogs three losses since 2012, have been by a combined seven points.
• In the Bulldogs three wins since their last victory in San Jose, Fresno State has won its three games by an average of 22 points.
A Look at San Jose State
• The Broncos head into Saturday's matchup with an 6-10 record overall and are 4-1 in MW play.
• Powered by their up-tempo offense, the Spartans lead the conference in scoring at 76.4 per game, but they are last scoring defense, allowing 79.1 per game.
• Their offensive firepower is led by their 3-point shooting as the lead the MW with 8.0 made attempts per contest.
• The Spartans top scoring threat is Weber State transfer Dezz Ramos who is second in the conference with an average of 19.5 points per game.
• Ramos is also second in attempts with 225, making 99 (44.0 percent).
• She is third in the conference in 3-point shooting at 41.8 percent and is second in made 3s per game at 2.5.
• Jasmine Smith is No. 2 on the Spartans in scoring at 10.4, while Nyre Harris is at 10.3 points per game.
• Byrd (6.8 rbg) and Smith (6.4 rbg) are also the team's top two rebounders.
Increased Efficiency From Deep
• Since the start of conference, Fresno State's 3-point shooters have suddenly found their stroke from outside. In MW-games only, the 'Dogs lead the league by shooting at a 37.0 percent clip from 3 compared to just 29.6 percent during non-conference games.
• In MW games, three Bulldogs rank in the top 13 in 3-point percentage: Alex Furr (7th, .455), Moriah Faulk (12th, .375) and Breanne Knishka (13th, .364).
Lockdown
• Since MW play started, Fresno State has locked down on defense, ranking in the top three in the conference in MW games in scoring defense (3rd, 58.8 ppg), field goal percentage defense (2nd, .360) and 3-point percentage defense (1st, .214).
• In overall games, Fresno State allowed teams to score 63.8 points per game, and shoot 39.2 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from 3.
Clutch When It Matters
• In the final two minutes of conference games, Moriah Faulk has been as cool as it gets when games have been on the line. In the last four games, the senior has been 3-of-5 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3, and has scored 13 of the team's 33 points. She has also grabbed six rebounds and come up with a block and a steal.
Right on Cue
• Senior forward Toni Smith has posted double-digit scoring games in three of the team's first four MW games. She had recorded double-figures in 12 of 18 conference games a season ago.
• After posting double figures in four of the first five games of the season, Smith hadn't posted a double-digit scoring game until Jan. 2 at New Mexico.
Spark Off the Bench
• In the last four games, senior guard Brittany Aikens role has increased while playing an average of 24.8 minutes off the bench.
• Since the start of conference play, Aikens has averaged 8.5 points per game to go with nine assists and four steals.
Reversal of Fortune
• Prior to MW play, Fresno State was 1-5 in games decided by 10 points or less and 0-3 in games decided by five points or less. The Bulldogs though have reversed their fortunes with start of conference play, going 4-0 in games decided by 10 points or less with three of those coming by five points or less.
Providing Support
• Fresno State's bench scoring has played a pivotal role for the team this season, especially during its opening two games of conference play. The Bulldogs' bench outscored UNLV and New Mexico's bench players by a combined 47-11.
• All but two of those points came from Moriah Faulk (24) and Brittany Aikens (21).
• The Bulldogs are 7-3 on the year when their bench outscores its opponents' bench.
• Fresno State's bench has only been outscored in three games this season, all resulting in losses (at UC Riverside, George Washington, at Cal Poly).
• The Bulldog bench has scored a total 336 points this season. The bench has accounted for 22.4 points per game.
Tested
• While Fresno State may have gone 4-7 in the non-conference season, the strength of that schedule has already proved to be a benefit as the team has started conference play 4-0 with wins over three teams that were picked to finish in the top five of the league.
• As of Jan. 10, Fresno State's non-conference strength of schedule ranked No. 21, while its overall strength of schedule was No. 63.
• The team's seven losses came to teams who hold an average RPI of 67.
Double Down
• The 'Dogs have posted 12 double-doubles through 15 games. In each of the past two seasons, the team has recorded just 12 in each season.
• This century, the most double-doubles in a season for a Fresno State team is 18.
• During that span, Omelogo Udeze recorded the most in a season at 13. In her career she posted 30 double-doubles.
• Bego Faz Davalos is looking to surpass Udeze's single-season mark as she has posted seven double-doubles so far.
Leading From the Block
• After leading Mexico at the World University Games during the summer, 6-foot-3 Bego Faz Davalos has quickly become Fresno State's most versatile player. She ranks first on the team in points (12.8), rebounds (10.1), blocks (3.6) and field goal percentage (51.9).
• She has recorded seven double-doubles in 15 games which ranks 30th nationally.
• With a career-high 10 blocks versus Cal State Stanislaus, Faz Davalos moved to third in career blocks at Fresno State.
• Her 54 blocks and 3.6 blocks per game this season rank third nationally.
• In the MW, she ranks in the top 15 in scoring (9th), rebounding (1st), field goal percentage (4th), blocks (1st), assist/turnover ratio (8th), offensive rebounds (2nd) and defensive rebounds (1st).
Balanced Scoring
• During the 2014-15 season, Fresno State had at least four players score in double digits just five times. Through 15 games this season, the 'Dogs have had four players record double figures in a single game on four occasions.
• Against Washington on Nov. 20, Fresno State had five players post double figures in the scoring column.
• Three 'Dogs currently average double figures with Shauqunna Collins at 10.9, Bego Faz Davalos at 12.8, and Moriah Faulk at 11.1. Last season, Fresno State had just one player average double figures.
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