Bulldogs have won eight-straight games in the month of January, 17-straight at the Save Mart Center
Jan. 11, 2013
New Mexico Lobos (8-6, 0-1 MW) at Fresno State Bulldogs (9-5, 1-0 MW)
Game #15 - Jan. 12, 2013
2 p.m. PT • Save Mart Center (15,546) • Fresno, Calif.
Radio: ESPN2 790 AM with Christian Lukens • Live Stats: gobulldogs.com
Series Record: New Mexico leads 7-4 • Last Meeting: 2/13/99 - UNM 71, FS 59 in Fresno, Calif.
Fresno State Game Notes
Opening Tip
The Fresno State Bulldogs return home for the first time in 35 days to host the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Save Mart Center.
Saturday's game is the first at home since Dec. 8, as Fresno State recently completed a six-game road trip where it went 3-3. The Bulldogs are 6-0 at home this year and have won 17-straight at the Save Mart Center dating back to Dec. 4, 2011 when it lost to No. 4 Stanford.
The Bulldogs have won their six home games this year by an average of 19.8 points and the 'Dogs have held opponents to just 52 points per game and only 34 percent shooting at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State (9-5, 1-0 MW) is coming off a big road win in its first conference game of the season. The Bulldogs went to San Diego State and upset the conference's preseason favorite when it outplayed the Aztecs in the 80-72 victory.
The Bulldog offense was as efficient has it has been all year in the win over the Aztecs. Fresno State shot 44.4 percent from the field, hit 9-of-21 3-point attempts (.429), was 15-for-18 at the free-throw line and its 18 assists are the second-most in any game this season.
Sophomore forward Alex Sheedyscored a career-high 18 points in the win and hit a personal-best four 3-pointers against the Aztecs. She was one of four Bulldogs in double-figures.
The Bulldogs have shot 46.4 percent from the field in their last two games, including a 48.5 clip from 3-point land.
Bulldog Headlines
► The Bulldogs won their first-ever Mountain West game, 80-72 at San Diego State on Wednesday.
► In her last four games, junior guard Taylor Thompsonhas averaged 16.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.3 steals and shot 57.6 percent from the field. She is second in the MW in free throw percentage at .851 and has made 15 of her last 16 free-throw attempts.
► Fresno State has won eight-straight games in the month of January and is 30-4 in the first month of the year since 2009.
► UNM leads the series with Fresno State 7-4 and this is the first meeting between the two schools since Feb. 13, 1999.
► Fresno State's next home game lies on Jan. 12 when it hosts New Mexico. The Bulldogs have won 17-straight home games, which is the fifth-longest active home winning streak in the NCAA.
Fresno State vs. New Mexico - Scouting Report
Saturday's game between Fresno State and New Mexico will be the 12th all-time between the two schools and the first since Feb. 13, 1999. The Lobos won the last game between the two schools, 71-59, in Fresno back in February of 1999. That is the only time Fresno State has lost to UNM at home, as they hold a 4-1 advantage over the Lobos in Fresno. New Mexico has the last three games in the series that began in 1993 and all 11 meetings in this series were played when both schools were members of the Western Athletic Conference from 1993-99.
New Mexico, under second-year head coach Yvonne Sanchez, is off to an 8-6 start to the season. UNM fell 68-57 at UNLV on Wednesday in its conference opener. The Lobos come to Fresno State having lost three-straight and six of their last nine. UNM is 1-4 on the road this year. Senior guard Caroline Durbin, a preseason all-conference selection, leads the Lobos in scoring at 12.7 points per game. She is shooting 43 percent on the year and had made nearly half (26) of New Mexico's 54 3-point field goals this season.
Bulldogs Open Up Mountain West Era with Win
Fresno State won its first-ever Mountain West league game, doing so in impressive fashion when the 'Dogs defeated preseason favorite San Diego State 80-72 on the road Wednesday. Fresno State outplayed the Aztecs for 40 minutes, led by 10 at halftime and by as many as 20 points in the second half of the victory. Four Bulldogs scored in double figures and the team shot 44.4 percent from the field with 18 assists on 28 made field goals. Fresno State went 15-for-18 at the free-throw line, including going 7-for-8 in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
Sheedy Posts Career-High at SDSU
Sophomore forward Alex Sheedyscored a career-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting in the 80-72 win at San Diego State on Wednesday. Her 11 points in the first half helped Fresno State jump out to a 10-point lead and she hit three 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. Sheedy finished the game with a career-high four 3-pointers and she added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals to her solid stat-line. Six of her eight rebounds in the game were on the offensive glass.
Double-Double
Preseason all-conference selection Ki-Ki Moorerecorded her third double-double of the season and ninth of her career when she had 15 points and 11 rebounds at SDSU. It was her ninth game this year scoring over 15 points and her 11th career game with 10 or more rebounds. Moore continues to be the fourth leading scorer in the conference this season at 16.1 points per game.
At the Line
Fresno State was 15-for-18 at the free-throw line last Wednesday in the win at SDSU. For the season, the Bulldogs are shooting only 69.4 percent at the charity stripe. However, over the last two games the 'Dogs have been much improved at the line, hitting 37-of-44 free throws (84.1 percent). Junior guard Taylor Thompson is Fresno State's top free-throw shooter at 85.1 percent. She has the second-highest free-throw percentage in the MW.
