FRESNO STATE (10-9, 3-3 MW) AT NEW MEXICO (13-6, 4-2 MW)
Wed. Jan. 24, 2024 | 6 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. MT | Mountain West Network | The Pit | Albuquerque , N.M.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Watch: Mountain West Network
Stats: Statbroadcast
Listen: BulldogSportsNetwork
Play-by-Play: Matt Norville
Twitter (X): @FresnoStateWBB
FRESNO, Calif.- Fresno State women's basketball team is headed to The Pit to take on the New Mexico Lobos on Wednesday night. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. MT streaming live on the Mountain West Network.
BULLDOG BONES
Fresno State is now 3-3 in conference play
Head Coach Jaime White is one more win away from reaching 100 wins in conference play
Staying on the road this week, Bulldogs have another opportunity to earn their second true road win this season
Of the fourteen meetings at The Pit, Fresno State has only recorded four wins
Against Nevada Sophomore Mia Jacobs has recorded her fourth 20+ point game and her 12th 10+ point game this season
Fresno State goes into Wednesday's match with +4.17 scoring margin (No. 5 MW) and +0.00 rebounding margin (No. 6 MW)
Fresno State has seen strong success if they can hold their opponent to shooting 40% or less from the field, 5-0
Fresno State sees three No. 1 team rankings in the Mountain West
With the win against Utah State, Fresno State has already tied its win total and conference win total from a season ago. (10-22, 3-15 MW)
Three Bulldogs have been tabbed with Mountain West honors so far this season, Taija Sta. Maria (2x, Freshman of the Week, Oct. 6 & Nov. 16 ), Kylee Fox (Freshman of the Week, Nov. 11) and Mia Jacobs (Player of the Week, Dec. 26)
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
Fresno State and New Mexico will meet for the 34th time, since their first meeting in 1993 and for the 15th time in Albuquerque. New Mexico leads the series by a single game, 17-16. The Lobos last win came in Fresno in the 2023-24 season with a double-digit win, 88-68. The last time Fresno State won at The Pit was in Feb. of 2021 with a six-point margin, 84-78. New Mexico enters Wednesday's matchup on a one game win streak.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Head coach Mike Bradbury enters his eighth season leading the Lobos
The Lobos are coming off big back-to-back wins, in which they knocked off the two remaining undefeated Mountain West teams, Wyoming (W, 68-61) and No. 25 UNLV (W, 69-66 )
New Mexico has seen three players earn MW honors this season; most recently Aniyah Augmon (Player, Dec. 22), Paris Lauro (Freshman, Dec. 26) and Charlotte Kohl (Player, Nov. 20)
Top players for the Lobos are Wilson and Augmon who both played career high games against the Lady Rebels; Wilson with 23 points & 4 steals and Augmon with 22 points
New Mexico has played two ranked teams in the Top 25, falling to No. 20 Gonzaga (67-56) and earning their first ranked win since 2017 against No. 25 UNLV
Of the four new additions to the Lobos roster this season two have made the biggest impact, in Charlotte Khol, a graduate transfer from Mississippi State and Nyah Wilson a transfer from Syracuse. Both have been core starters for the Lobos going 19-of-19 on starts this season.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE LOBOS
The Bulldogs and Lobos saw each other once in the 2022-23 campaign in the final conference match up before the start of Mountain West tournament play at the Save Mart Center. New Mexico played big with a 20 point win and handed the 'Dogs their fifteenth conference loss of the season, 88-68.
Lobos will see a fresh set of starters in the Bulldogs with a new lineup, but the return of four players who played off the bench last time out (Dethman, Mikkelsen, Wittenberg and Brown.) The lone starting Lobo returning is Vianè Cumber who recorded 14 points and two 3-pointers.
ROAD BLOCK
In Reno the Bulldogs saw their sixth road loss. Staying on the road this week the 'Dogs continue to see another opportunity to win. This team has struggled to close out a game on the road sitting at a 1-6 road record.
On the road Fresno State has struggled to shoot over 40% from the field in the first stretch of road games. In the Bulldogs one road win, the team shot over 40%, (41%, at SJSU) and in the neutral site game at ASU (47%).
20/20
Mia Jacobs earns her fourth game scoring 20 or more points and her 12th game scoring in double-digit figures. Jacobs is currently ranked at No. 7 in scoring for the Mountain West in all games this season with 262 points (14.5 avg) and No. 5 in 3PFGM with 38 (2.11 avg).
Jacobs has been a consistent leader for the Bulldogs as the leading scorer eight times this season and leading rebounder ten times this season. Her efforts have earned her a Mountain West Player of the Week honor (Dec. 26) when she played a career-high game against Arizona State with 31 points and seven 3-pointers.
Jacobs was just shy of two points to adding her name to the 'Last time in Bulldogs History' for an individual player scoring 25 or more points in back-to-back games, ( 23, vs Utah State), (25, at Nevada.)
BULLDOG HIGHLIGHTS
Fresno State is 3-3 in conference play and moves down to 1-6 on the road this season
Fresno State has not had more than two-losses in a row this season
Mia Jacobs is the lone Bulldogs to record double-digits with 25 points
Fresno State's largest lead of the night came in the second quarter up 15, 34-19
Bulldogs shot 33% from the field (19-of-57), 39% from the three (11-of-28) and 81% from the line (13-of-16)
Fresno State saw their biggest shooting drop from the field starting at 57% and finishing at 33%
Bulldogs are 0-4 when scoring 10 points or less in the third quarter
Fresno State has been held to less than 10 points in the third quarter for the fourth time this season
Team highs: Points (Mia Jacobs, 25) Rebounds (Jacobs, 6) assists (Taija Sta. Maria, 7)
Fresno State saw their fourth game recording more than 10 three-pointers, 11 at Nevada
For the second time this season Fresno State has lost when leading at the half, 7-2
MW STANDINGS
Conference play has begun along with a fresh set of rankings. Fresno State remained high in the Mountain West rankings all through the non-conference portion of the season and still sees time at the top into another week of conference play. Mia Jacobs, Kylee Fox, Taija Sta. Maria and Deajanae Harvey start the Bulldogs off in the individual rankings. Four Bulldogs see top-ten rankings and Mia Jacobs still leads the team with five.
In the top-ten…
Mia Jacobs is…
T2 in 3PFGM with 15 (2.50 avg)
No. 3 in 3PF% at 44% 15-of-34
No. 6 in scoring with 97 points (16.17 avg)
No.6 in FT% at 75% 24-32
No. 7 in rebounds with 45 (6.70 avg)
Kylee Fox is T8 in 3PFGM with 12 (2.0 avg)
Taija Sta. Maria is…
No. 6 in assists with 22 (3.67 avg)
No. 4 in asst/TO with a 2.44 ratio (22-to-9)
Deajanae Harvey is…
No. 2 in steals with 14 (2.3 avg)
T11 in assists with 16 (2.67 avg)
Fresno State is…
No. 1 in 3PFGM with 51 (8.50 avg)
No. 1 in TO margin +4.17
No. 1 in 3PFG% at 36% going 51-of-139
No. 3 in scoring offense with 406 points (67.6 ppg)
No. 3 in steals with 48 (8.0 avg)