Fresno State hits the road for first time in 2019

Saturday, January 5

Fort Collins, Colo.

1 p.m. PT

Fresno State

Colorado State

Photo by: Keith Kountz/Fresno St

Fresno State hits the road for first time in 2019

1/4/2019 2:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Bulldogs and Rams will square-off on Saturday for the fourth time in less than a year.

By: Josh Mitchell / Assistant Director of Communications

Game 13: Fresno State (8-4) at Colorado State (7-5)
Jan. 5, 2019 – 1 p.m. PT – Fort Collins, Colo. (Moby Arena)
Live Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: Sidearmstats
Series History: Colorado State leads 15-0
Last Meeting: Colorado State won 71-55 on March 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Up Next: Utah State (Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. PT)

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State sits at 7-4 heading into Mountain West play, its second-best record heading into league play during Jaime White's tenure.
Fresno State is 5-1 in its first road contest of conference play since joining the Mountain West.
The Bulldogs are averaging 73.2 points per game, the first time they have averaged over 70 points since the 2013-14 season.
Like a season ago, Fresno State's top scorers have remained the same: Candice White (17.0 ppg), Maddi Utti (11.3 ppg) and Aly Gamez (10.4 ppg).
Reaching double figures in scoring in all but one game this season, Candice White leads the MW in scoring.
White has already moved up nine spots to No. 11 in career scoring at Fresno State with 1,296 points.
Fresno State ranks No. 13 in the NCAA and first in the conference in steals per game, averaging 12.3 per game. The 'Dogs also sit at No. 51 in the country and second in the conference in turnovers forced with 20.2 per outing.
The 'Dogs rank 14th in the NCAA and second in the conference in free-throw percentage, knocking them down at a clip of 77.9 percent. Hitting 26-of-28 on the season, Utti's 92.9 percent leads the team and conference with respect to players with over 25 attempts.
Shooting 53.5 percent from the field (3rd in MW) while averaging 11.4 points per game and leading the team in rebounding (6.3 rbg), Utti also ranks fifth in the conference in steals per game, averaging 1.8 per game.
Bree Delaney has been an X-factor for the 'Dogs, averaging 13.3 points per game in the team's eight wins, scoring at least eight in each game.
The Bulldogs are averaging 77.5 points during their last six games, a stretch that includes four games with 80 or more points.
Since the start of December, Fresno State has won its five games by an average of 28 points.

Scouting Colorado State

Colorado State enters Saturday's matchup with a 7-5 record.
The Rams are coming off a 52-49 win in their Mountain West opener over UNLV, also riding a three-game winning streak.
As the record would suggest, Colorado State is averaging a +2.2 scoring margin this season.
The Rams are nearly the top team in the country in free-throw percentage, ranking second in the NCAA and leading the Mountain West at 81.4 percent.
Colorado State is also second in the NCAA and leads the conference in fouls per game, only committing 12.2 per game.
To further prove their fundamentally sound style of play, the Rams are 25th in the nation and lead the Mountain West in scoring defense at 55.1 ppg while also placing 14th in the NCAA and second in the conference in turnovers per game at 13 per contest.
Sophomore Lore Devos leads the squad in scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg).

Series History with Colorado State

Colorado State holds the all-time series lead, 15-9.
Fresno State's best stretch was winning five out of six games from the 2012-13 season through the 2014-15 season.
The Rams have gone on two runs of five straight wins over the course of the series.
The 'Dogs claimed both regular-season matchups last season, but Colorado State won the most recent battle in the Mountain West tournament, 71-55.

Built around offense
Unlike the first four seasons under head coach Jaime White, this year's Bulldogs have been built on offense. The 'Dogs are currently averaging 73.2 points per game, their highest scoring output since the 2011-12 season (74.9 ppg).

Fresno State has not averaged over 70 points per game in a season since the year prior to White's arrival when the team scored 70.1 points per game.
The increase in scoring on offense has had its effect on the defense as the Bulldogs gave up the fifth-most points per game in program history last year (67.8 ppg). It was the most since 2001-02 season. That has since dropped to 61.1 points per game this year, closer the 59.8 they allowed on average during the previous three seasons.

Offense trending up
Fresno State has increased its scoring average during each of the past two seasons since posting the program's third-lowest single-season average (60.1 ppg) during the 2016-17 season. That season was the Bulldogs' lowest output since the 1996-1997 season (58.8 ppg).

The 'Dogs increased their scoring average by 6.3 points per game during the following season, and have added another 6.8 points to that this year.

Offensive distribution
Fresno State has seen three players score double figures in all but one game this season. The 'Dogs have seen three games with four players in double digits and in their last two games, five Bulldogs have scored in double figures with two coming from players off of the bench in each outing.

The Bulldogs are 4-1 when at least four players reach double figures.
Three Bulldogs are averaging doubles figures: Candice White (17.0), Maddi Utti (11.3) and Aly Gamez (10.4).
Fresno State is the only team in the Mountain West to have four players rank in the top 25 in scoring.

Taking the easy ones
The 'Dogs are ranked No. 14 in the country and second in conference in free-throw percentage, knocking down 116-of-149 to shoot 77.9 percent on the season. This comes a year after setting the program's single-season record at 75.2 percent (369-491).

Fresno State's best percentage of the season came at USC when the team shot 10-of-10 from the line in a one-point defeat.
The Bulldogs have not missed a free throw in three different games.
Three Bulldogs to have attempted at least 20 free throws are shooting above 90 percent. Maddi Utti (26-of-28) is converting at a team-high 92.9 percent clip.

We'll take that
A key to Fresno State's success thus far has been through active hands on defense. The Bulldogs are forcing the second-most turnovers in the Mountain West at 20.2 per game.

Candice White is ranked fourth in the league, averaging 2.0 steals per game while Maddi Utti is fifth (1.9), and Bree Delaney and Aly Gamez are tied for sixth at 1.8 per game.
The Bulldogs are the only team in the conference to have four players rank in the top 10 in steals.
The 'Dogs have three players with 20+ steals through 12 games – Bree Delaney (22), Aly Gamez (22), Maddi Utti (23) and Candice White (24).

New year, same scorer
One of the top shooting guards in the country, Candice White has scored 204 points through 12 games this season, averaging a team-high 17.0 points per game to lead the Mountain West.

She currently sits at No. 11 on the all-time scoring list, moving up nine spots during the first 12 games of the season. White has made her mark on the list in essentially two-plus seasons after playing only 69 minutes during her freshman year, scoring just 13 points.
The senior is 31 points behind Omelogo Udeze for 10th with 1,342 points

Spark off the bench
During the Bulldogs' early season three game homestand, Bree Delaney was a catalyst for the Bulldogs off of the bench. During those three games, the sophomore averaged 14.3 points 2.5 assists. Her production has continued through the season as she leads the team in assists (3.8 apg), ranks third in steals (1.8 spg) and fourth in scoring (9.8 ppg).

The sophomore has scored at least eight points in each of the Bulldogs' eight wins.
Delaney ranks third in the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.0, fifth in 3-point percentage at 43.3 percent and seventh in the league in assists with 3.8 per game.
Playing only 23.0 minutes per game, the sophomore ranks fourth in the league in assists per minute at one assist for every 5.75 minutes on the court.

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.