'Dogs open conference play on the road

Thursday, December 28

Reno, Nev.

6:30 p.m. PT

Fresno State

Nevada

Photo by: Kiel Maddox

'Dogs open conference play on the road

12/27/2017 2:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Fresno State opens MW play at Nevada and Air Force.

By: Josh Mitchell / Assistant Director of Communications

Game 12: Fresno State (5-6) at Nevada (7-4)
Dec. 28, 2017 – 6:30 p.m. PT – Reno, Nev.
Video: Mountain West Network
Radio: 790 AM ESPN2
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series History: Fresno State leads 43-10
Last Meeting: Fresno State won 62-57 on March 6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nev.

Game 13: Fresno State (5-6) at Air Force (0-11)
Dec. 30, 2017 – 12 p.m. PT – Colorado Springs, Colo.
Video: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series History: Fresno State leads 11-0
Last Meeting: Fresno State won 72-56 on Feb. 1, 2017 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Opening Tip
• Fresno State will open up its sixth season in the Mountain West on Thursday night at Nevada.
• The Bulldogs will renew their second-longest series in program history with the Wolf Pack on Thursday as the two teams will meet for the 54th time since the 1977-78 season. The 'Dogs will then be on a quick turnaround as they travel to Air Force two days later.
• Both games will stream live on the Mountain West Network, while Wednesday's contest will air on 790 AM ESPN2.

Bulldog Bones
• Fresno State is coming off of its toughest season in the Mountain West, finishing 8-10 and seventh in league play in 2017. The team was picked to finish in the same spot when this year's preseason poll was released in November.
• The Bulldogs finished its nonconference slate with a 4-2 stretch after starting the season 1-4.
• Fresno State has scored 81 points three times this season. It is the first time since the 2013-14 season that the 'Dogs have eclipsed the 80-point barrier more than once in a season. The 2013-14 team scored 80-plus on three occasions.
• Candice White has scored in double figures in 10 out of 11 games this season. The junior guard leads the 'Dogs in points (16.5), rebounds (6.3) and assists (2.6).
• White is the only player in the nation to still be perfect from the free-throw line (45-of-45). Her streak of 45 made free throws ranks first in the country, and is tied for the 11th-longest single season streak in Division I history.
• In the absence of Kristina Cavey, who was averaging 14.0 points per game during the first three games, freshman Maddi Utti has helped out the team's scoring, averaging 9.0 points per contest, while also chipping in 6.2 rebounds per game.
• Fresno State's quartet of freshman of accounted for 29 starts this season and rank second, third, fourth and sixth on the team in total points.

Fresno State vs. Nevada
• Thursday will be the 54th meeting between Fresno State and Nevada. The Bulldogs hold a 43-10 advantage in the all-time series.
• Fresno State went 3-0 against the Wolf Pack during the 2016-17 season.
• The Bulldogs escaped Reno, Nevada with a one-point victory a year ago, staving off three Wolf Pack attempts in the final seconds.

A look at Nevada
• The Wolf Pack enter conference play with a 7-4 record and are scoring as much as they're allowing (68.6 points per game).
• Nevada is riding a four-game winning streak with victories over Montana State, Seattle, Stanislaus State and Santa Clara.
• Teige Zeller is Nevada's top scorer and rebounder with average of 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
• Six Wolf Pack players average over eight points per contest.

Fresno State vs. Air Force
•The Bulldogs are 11-0 versus Air Force all-time.
• In six contests at the Air Force Academy, the 'Dogs have outscored the Falcons by an average of 19.8 points per game.

A look at Air Force
• The Falcons start Mountain West play with a 0-11 record.
• Eight of Air Force's losses have come by 10 points or less, and four have been by three points or less.
• The Falcon's top scorers are freshmen Kaelin Immel at 12.8 points per game and Emily Conroe at 9.8 points.
• AFA leads the league in steals with 11.6 per game while senior Courtney Porter paces the conference with 3.3 per contest.

Finding their rhythm
After starting the season 1-4, the Bulldogs have hit their stride, finishing nonconference play with a 4-2 record over their last six games. During the last four, in which they are 3-1, the 'Dogs used the same starting lineup.
• Fresno State's starters have accounted for 46.0 of the team's 71.2 points per game.
• Becoming more comfortable as a starter, freshman Aly Gamez has average 11.8 points game is coming off of a season-high 18 versus Weber State.
• Bree Delaney, a starter early in the year, has come off of the bench to average 13.3 points per contest.
• Three Bulldogs (Bree Delaney, Aly Gamez, Breanne Knishka) have all shot over 44 percent from 3 while taking at least 13 attempts. Knishka leads the group at 46.7 percent (7-of-15). The 'Dogs as a whole have knocked down 21 more 3-pointers than their opponents and are shooting 16.8 percent better from beyond the arc (40.2-23.4).

It's always FREE
Somewhat of a lost art in today's game, the free throw line has become a spot of consistency for Candice White. After putting together free throw streaks of 15, 16 and 18 during the 2016-17 season, Candice White has gone above and beyond those marks to open this season, more than doubling her previous-best streak. As of Dec. 20, the junior has strung together 45 made attempts. White's 45 straight free throws this season is the 11th-longest streak in a single season in Division I history.
• Dating back to last season, White has made 51 straight free throws which ranks ninth in Division I history.
• White stands alone atop the nation's free-throw percentage leaderboard (100%) as no other player is perfect this season from the line.
• White was 18-of-18 through five games last year, missing her first attempt on Nov. 30, 2016.

Spurtability
Fresno State has shown this season that it has the ability to put together significant runs against its opponents. In five of their 11 games, the Bulldogs have had stretches where they have outscored teams by at least 15 points.
• Against Eastern Washington (21-4 in 7 minutes) and Pacific (24-9 in 9 minutes), the 'Dogs used significant stretches to put distance between them and their opponents.
• Fresno State used a 16-point difference to versus Montana (27-11 in 11 minutes) to overcome a 15-point halftime deficit to win by three.
• The Bulldogs also nearly erased 20-plus point deficits against CSUN (22-2 in 6 minutes) and San Francisco (23-4 in 9 minutes).

Playing from behind
Not something teams want to do, the Bulldogs have found themselves playing from behind more often than not during the nonconference season. In all six of Fresno State's losses, the 'Dogs have trailed after the first quarter. Fresno State is 1-6 this season when trailing after the opening quarter. In those seven games, the 'Dogs have trailed by an average of 7.0 points after the first 10 minutes.
• In five of the Bulldogs' six losses, they have trailed by 12 points or more at the half.
• The 'Dogs have won once this season when trailing after 20 minutes (15 points against Montana).
• Through 11 games, Fresno State has gone into the half facing an average deficit of 6.4 points.

Second-half player
A possible reason for the team's slow starts has been the play of preseason all-conference selection Candice White. This season, the junior has found herself struggling in the first half games, averaging just 5.3 points, but she has jumped that average to 11.2 during second half.
• Looking at shooting percentages, White is at 24.4 percent from the field and 18.5 percent from 3 during the first half but has coming nearly doubling her percentage from field at 44.2 percent and more than doubling her percentage from 3 at 45.5 percent during the second half.

Unquestioned leader
In her third season at Fresno State, and second as a starter, Candice White has become the unquestioned leader for the Bulldogs through her work ethic and production on the court. Whether it's been calmly sinking one free throw after another or exploding for double-digit points in a quarter, White has been the engine that has helped Fresno State run this season. As of Dec. 21, the junior is averaging 16.5 points per game (third in the MW) and has tallied double figures in 10 of 11 games this season.
• In 2016-17, White's 489 points scored was the 10th-most in a single season at Fresno State. She is currently on pace to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for her career this season.
• In the Bulldogs' game at CSUN on Dec. 2, White poured in a career-high 34 points, the first 30-point game for a 'Dog since Raven Fox scored 31 at San Diego on Nov. 28, 2014. The total was two shy of the program record for points in a game.
• On Dec. 20, White twice scored the go-ahead points versus Weber State, including knocking down the game-winning 3-pointer in a tie game with 2.1 seconds on the clock.
• White is currently the only player in the NCAA to be perfect from the free-throw line (45-of-45).
• Nationally, White finished the 2016-17 season ranked No. 15 in free throw percentage in the NCAA at 87.7 percent (100-of-114) and No. 37 in 3-point percentage at 40.1 (69-of-172), and is 11th and 24th, respectively, among returners. The 87.7 percent was the highest free-throw percentage in a single season at Fresno State.

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