'Dogs and Rams to square-off in Fort Collins

Wednesday, January 18

Fort Collins, Colo.

6 p.m. PT

Fresno State

Colorado State

'Dogs and Rams to square-off in Fort Collins

1/17/2017 5:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Fresno State and Colorado State to meet on Wednesday night for first time since 2016 MW Championship game.

By: Josh Mitchell / Assistant Director of Communications

Game 18: Fresno State (10-7, 3-3 MW) at Colorado State (12-5, 4-1 MW)
Jan. 18, 2017 – 6 p.m. PT – Fort Collins, Colo. (Moby Arena)
Video: Mountain West Network
Series History: Colorado State leads 12-7
Next Up: vs. Nevada (Jan. 21 • 2 p.m. PT), vs. Utah State (Jan. 28 • 2 p.m. PT)

Opening Tip
• Fresno State heads to Fort Collins, Colo., on Wednesday night for a clash with Mountain West preseason-favorite Colorado State. The Rams currently sit in second place, a game back of Wyoming. Tipoff at Moby Arena is slated for 6 p.m. PT and will broadcast live on the Mountain West Network.

Bulldog Bones
• Junior Bego Faz Davalos ranks in the top 10 in the NCAA in seven stat categories. The 6-foot-3 center ranks fourth in the country in blocks per game (3.7) and second in total blocks (63), third in triple-doubles (1), fourth in double-doubles (12), seventh in total rebounds (193), ninth rebounds per game (11.4) and sixth in defensive rebounds per game (8.0).
• Faz Davalos is one of five players in the NCAA to average at least 14 points and 11 rebounds.
• Faz Davalos leads the Bulldogs in points (14.4), rebounds (11.4), blocks (3.7) and steals (1.6) per game.
• After struggling during the opening three games of the conference season, not reaching double figures in each contest, Faz Davalos has since broken out by averaging 14.7 points and 15.7 rebounds during the following three games.
• Sophomore Candice White ranks second on the team in points (13.9) and steals (1.6), and is third rebounds (5.3) per game.
• In the last three game, Tory Jacobs has taken more of a role in finding open teammates as she is averaging five assists per game during the stretch. Her production as floor general has coincided with four teammates (Faz Davalos, White, Emilie Volk and Kristina Cavey) averaging double figures and shooting over 50 percent from the field.
• Fresno State is 22nd nationally in least committed fouls. The 'Dogs commit just 14.2 personal fouls per game.

Series history with Colorado State
• Colorado State leads the all-time series 12-7.
• The Rams got the better of the Bulldogs in their two matchups last season, with CSU winning 68-55 in Fort Collins, Colo., on March 1, 2016. Ten days later, the Rams came back from 15 points down in the MW Championship games to defeat the 'Dogs 55-54 on a pair of free throws with less than five seconds remaining.
• Fresno State is 3-6 all-time against the Rams in Fort Collins with the last winning coming on Jan. 27, 2013 (69-58).
• The Bulldogs have lost by an average of 13.5 points in its last two trips to Colorado State.
• Since joining the Mountain West, Fresno State is 5-4 against CSU.

A look at Colorado State
• Colorado State enters Wednesday's game with a 12-5 record overall and sit second in the conference at 4-1.
• Colorado State is 8-1 at Moby Arena this season with its lone loss coming to Boise State, 51-45 on Dec. 31.
• CSU is on a three-game winning streak with its last two coming on the road, a 37-point defeat of Air Force and a 15-point victory at New Mexico.
• The Rams return 2016 MW Player of the Year Ellen Nystrom. The senior has taken over more scoring role this season, pacing CSU with 15.8 points per game to go along with 8.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists.
• Nystrom's four-year running mate, Elin Gustavsson, also returns and is the Rams' other player averaging double digits at 10.9 per game
• Colorado State ranks at the top of the conference in defensively and is one of the best in the NCAA, leading the MW in scoring defense (52.9), field goal percentage defense (32.6), 3-point percentage defense (27.4), and is second in steals (9.2). CSU ranks No. 2 nationally in field goal percentage defense, No. 6 is scoring defense and is No. 19 in defensive rebounds (30 rpg).

Chasing 60
• With the strength of Jaime White's teams being on the defensive side of the ball, a benchmark for its offense has been to score 60 points. Under White, Fresno State has won 73.6 percent of those games (39-14). The Bulldogs' record when scoring between 60-69 points is 24-11.
• This season, the 'Dogs are 10-1 when scoring more than 60 points, with only loss coming at Boise State on Jan. 14 in a one-point contest.

Holding teams down
• The Bulldogs have held its opponents to 60 points or less in seven of its 10 wins.
• Only three teams have scored more than 70 points against the 'Dogs this season (Washington, 85; New Mexico 80; San Jose State 74). Fresno State allowed four teams to score at least 80 points during the 2015-16 season. All four games resulted in losses. Washington scored the most of any Bulldog opponent that season (89).

Breaking 3-point curse
• During the past two seasons, Fresno State has struggled in the win column when making six or more 3-pointers. The Bulldogs' record in such games during the first two seasons under Jaime White was 11-11.
• The 'Dogs have seemingly reversed the trend this year by holding a 7-1 record when knocking down at least six 3's.

Erasing deficits
• Heading into its last game of nonconference play, Fresno State was 0-3 when trailing at the half. The Bulldogs reversed that trend at Weber State, turning a six-point halftime deficit into a three-point win.
• Fresno State is 3-3 when trailing at the half since the Weber State contest and is 16-19 under Jaime White.
• Since the start of conference play, Fresno State has outscored its opponents by 27 points in the third quarter (+4.5) and is plus-35 in the second half.

Same player, new year
• It may be another year but junior Bego Faz Davalos hadn't seen a drop off from last year. Through 17 games, the center's numbers are on par from last season as she is averaging 14.4 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals.
• Faz Davalos leads the Bulldogs in points, rebounds, blocks and steals.
• She ranks fourth nationally in double-doubles with 12 and ranks third in program history with 28.
• She has recorded at least four blocked shots in eight games this season.
• With 12 double-doubles this season, she is two away from tying the single-season school record which she set during the 2015-16 season.

Time to shine
• After playing in 11 games as a freshman, and logging 6.3 minutes per game, Candice White leads team in minutes (33.1), is second in points (13.9) and steals (1.5), and third in rebounds (5.3).
• The sophomore has swiped three or more steals in five games, including a career-high five against CSU Dominguez Hills.
• She has reached double figures in scoring in 13 of 17 games.
• White has recorded three of the team's top five scoring performances this season, including a career-high 25 points at Nevada and 21-point games versus UC Irvine and CSU Dominguez Hills.
• The 25-point effort (9-of-13) was the most points by a Bulldog since Alex Sheedy scored 25 points against Wyoming on Feb. 25, 2015.
• In conference, White is seventh in scoring (13.9), ninth in field-goal percentage (47.9) first in free-throw percentage (90.2), 12th in steals (1.5), 11th in 3-point field goals made per game (1.9), eighth in 3-point percentage (38.8) and fourth in minutes played (32.9).

Taking charity
• Prior to missing three free throws versus CSU Dominguez Hills, sophomore Candice White ranked fourth nationally in free-throw percentage. She is currently No. 15 at 90.2 percent (46-of-51).
• White opened the season with 18 consecutive free throws which is the most on record to start a season by a Bulldog dating back to the 1983-84 season. Records are not available prior to the 1983-84 season.

Sparking the offense
• Despite not making a field goal in her Bulldog debut, freshman Kristina Cavey displayed her potential impact against Utah (Nov. 15) as she recorded 11 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes off of the bench. She has since posted three more double-digit performances.
• On the year, Cavey is averaging 7.8 points per game, shooting 41.2 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from 3 but her production has gone up in conference play with increased playing time. Since Breanne Knishka's season-ending injury, the freshman has stepped up, scoring 10.7 points on 11-of-20 (55.0 percent) shooting from the field and is 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from 3 during the last three games.

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