Home at last

Game 10: Fresno State (3-6) vs. UC Merced (6-7)
Dec. 18, 2021 • 2 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
TV/WEB: Mountain West Network (Matt Norville)
RADIO: Bulldog Sports Network/KRDU 1130AM (Matt Norville)
LIVE STATS: BullodgsLive.com
SERIES HISTORY: Fresno State 2-0
LAST MEETING: Fresno State 92-26 [12/28/19 – Fresno, Calif.]

Game 11: Fresno State (3-6) vs. Portland (9-2)
Dec. 20, 2021 • 12 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
TV/WEB: Mountain West Network (Matt Norville)
RADIO: Bulldog Sports Network/KRDU 1130AM (Matt Norville)
LIVE STATS: BullodgsLive.com
SERIES HISTORY: Portland 2-1
LAST MEETING: Portland 75, Fresno State 64 [11/17/19 – Portland, Ore.]

THE BREAKDOWN

Fresno State returns home on Saturday to play its first home game since Nov. 23.
After five straight away from home, the Bulldogs will their next four at home (UC Merced, Portland, UNLV, San Diego State).
Five the Bulldogs' 11 nonconference opponents sit inside the Top 100 in the NET rankings.
Tamia Stricklin is the reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week after a season-high 17-point, 4-assist effort in her first career start on Saturday in the Bulldogs' win at CSU Bakersfield.

PROMOTIONS

Tickets for Saturday are buy one get one free when you buy in person at the Save Mart Center
On Monday, donate a new or unused toy for our Toys for Tots drive and receive free admission.

HOME AT LAST

After playing its last five games away from home, Fresno State returns to the Save Mart Center for its first game in front of the Red Wave since Nov. 23. Along with playing the last five away from home, the Bulldogs have played seven contests outside of Fresno with six of those being true road games.

The 'Dogs have not played seven nonconference games away from home since 2012. That year, Fresno State also played two more nonconference games (13) compared to this season (11).

TOUGH SCHEDULE TO START

With a team that brought in six players, the Bulldogs have faced a difficult stretch of games to start the season. In their first six games they have played three teams which reached the 2021 NCAA Tournament (Utah Valley, BYU, Drexel) all away from home.

Six of Fresno State's eight opponents have at least four wins including BYU which is 8-0 is ranked in the Top 25.
Five of the Bulldogs' opponents on their nonconference schedule rank in the Top 101 of the NET rankings. Portland will be the final one the 'Dogs will face. The Pilots are the second-highest ranked team on Fresno State's schedule at 60.

GETTING BACK ON TRACK

On Dec. 11, Fresno State snapped its five-game losing streak with a 77-64 win at CSU Bakersfield. It was the Bulldogs first win since since Nov. 17.

This is the third season since 2015-16 that Fresno State has lost six or more games during nonconference play. Following the first two times, the 'Dogs went on to earn a bye in the Mountain West tournament, and the 2015-16 season saw the Bulldogs go 15-3 in league play and earn spot in the championship game.

5 X 10

In its game against CSU Bakersfield, the Bulldogs saw a rare occurrence when all five starters reached double figures. It was the first time Fresno State has had all five starters in double figures in a game since Dec. 10, 2016 at Pacific.

With Haley Cavinder leading the team with 20 points and Hanna Cavinder adding 15, both near their season averages, Wytalla Motta, Yanina Todorova and Tamia Stricklin each upped their averages. Stricklin had a career-high 17 points while Motta tied her career-high with 13 and Todorova added 10.
The group was efficient in doing so as four of the five 50 percent or better.

LIMITING MISCUES

A continuing trend in recent years, Fresno State once again is one of the top team's in the country in turnovers per game. Committing 11.4 per contest, the Bulldogs rank No. 7 in the NCAA. The 'Dogs finished each of the last two seasons ranked inside the Top 20.

Prior to the 2019-20 season, Fresno State had not finished the season inside the Top 60 and had finished outside the Top 100 three times since the start of the 2014-15 season.

HEATING UP IN DECEMBER

Following a string of poor shooting games from 3 to end the month of November, the Bulldogs have began to heat back up in December. During their last three games, the 'Dogs have hit 27 3-pointers, connecting at a 39.7 percent clip.

Fresno State sits third in the Mountain West in 3-pointers made per game (7.7) and 3-point percentage (.361).

SCOUTING UC MERCED

UC Merced enters Saturday with a 6-7 record against non-Division I competition.
The Bobcats have dropped their last two non-DI games.
UC Merced is averaging 71.3 points per game compared to allowing 56.2. As a team, the Bobcats are shooting 41.0 percent from the field and 29.0 percent from 3.
Senior guard Haylee Owen is averaging a team-high 12.5 points per outing.
Senior forward Rainah Smith is grabbing a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game to go along with 9.4 points per contest.
The Bobcats are 0-3 in exhibitions against Division I opponents and have been outscored by an average of 40.3 points per game. Their closest defeat was a 76-41 result at Nevada.

SCOUTING PORTLAND

Portland sits at 9-2 and on a three-game winning streak.
The Pilots' two losses have come to a pair of ranked teams in Stanford and Oregon.
Portland's strength is inside with the combination of 6-foot-2 Alex Fowler and 6-foot-6 Lucy Cochrane. With their size, UP ranks 29th in blocks per game (5.1) and 35th in rebounds per game (43.09).
The Pilots also rank in the top 11 in both assists and steals, ranking No. 4 assists per game (19.9) and No. 11 in steals per game (13.3).
Portland is outscoring opponents by 17.6 points per contest which leads the WCC.
All-WCC performer Alex Fowler leads the Pilots in scoring and rebounding with 16.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She ranks seventh nationally in offensive rebounds, grabbing 4.5 per outing.
Cochrane ranks No. 2 in the NCAA in blocked shots, swatting 4.0 per game.
Haylee Andrews runs the point, dishing out 5.9 per game which is 16th in NCAA.

UPDATED SAVE MART CENTER GAME DAY INFORMATION

Based on public health guidelines, all Save Mart Center attendees must be fully vaccinated OR have obtained a negative COVID-19 test (persons 3 years and older).
Masks will be required for all indoor areas. At the Save Mart Center, masks will be required at all times, with exception for when actively eating or drinking.
For non-vaccinated guests 3 years or older, proof of a negative PCR test will be required within 2 days of the event OR an antigen test within 1 day of the event.
Guests will need to show the negative results of their tests, or show proof of full vaccination at one of the tents outside of the arena prior to entry.

BULLDOG SQUARE
The Biggest Party in the Valley keeps getting bigger as Fresno State Athletics is presenting new pre-game fan fest for basketball. Bulldog Square for the 2021-22 Men's and Women's seasons will be in the plaza at Campus Pointe across from Maya Cinemas.

Highlighting Bulldog Square will be various on-site vendors, music, cornhole, inflatables, game sneak peeks by members of the Bulldog Sports Network broadcast teams, and more. The official broadcast partner of Fresno State Athletics, iHeart Media, will provide live music at Bulldog Square.

Bulldog Square will run 10 times over the course of the basketball season with its season debut December 11 before the Bulldogs' men's basketball game vs. UC Irvine. Bulldog Square will open two hours before tip-off and be open to fans of all ages.

The Bulldog Square schedule is listed below:

December 11 – 2pm-4pm
December 18 – 12pm-2pm
December 28 – 4pm-6pm
January 15 – 12pm-2pm
January 18 – 6pm-8pm
January 28 – 6pm-8pm
February 4 – 6pm-8pm
February 19 – 5pm-7pm
February 23 – 4pm-6pm
March 1 – 6pm-8pm

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit bulldogfoundation.org.

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Twitter: @FresnoStateWBB
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Players Mentioned

Haley Cavinder

Hanna Cavinder

Wytalla Motta

Tamia Stricklin

Yanina Todorova