With seven games to go in Mountain West conference play, the Fresno State men’s and women’s basketball teams look to finish the regular season strong going into tournament play.
Both teams find themselves in the top five of their respective standings. The men have a record of 14-9, 6-5 Mountain West (MW), and the women have a record of 13-9, 6-5 MW.
The women’s team has won its last two games and has fallen in a groove as of late. The Bulldogs are led by the trio of junior center Bego Faz Davalos and sophomore guards Tory Jacobs and Candice White.
Davalos was named Mountain West Player of the Week for averaging 20 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in the team’s victories against Air Force and San Diego State.
Freshman guard Kristina Cavey and senior forward Emilie Volk have stepped up for the ’Dogs
after losing sophomore guard Breanne Knishka early in the season,
The team will host second-place Wyoming (17-5, 9-2 MW) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The men’s team will need to rebound quickly after seeing its 13-game home winning streak come to end when the ’Dogs lost to San Diego State on Saturday.
Despite being productive at home, the team has gone 1-4 playing away from the Save Mart Center.
The Bulldogs have played well against the top teams in the conference, defeating Boise State (15-7, 8-3 MW), Colorado State (15-9, 7-4 MW) and beating Nevada twice (18-5, 7-3 MW). But they have struggled playing against teams in the lower standings, losing to San Jose State (11-10, 4-6 MW) and Utah State (10-12, 4-7 MW).
Head coach Rodney Terry has shifted his rotation around, and the players have responded. Since moving to the starting lineup, sophomore guard Deshon Taylor has upped his scoring and has played well on both ends of the court. Junior guard Jaron Hopkins and senior forward Karachi Edo both come off the bench and provide a spark and create matchup problems for the opposing team’s second unit.
Freshman center Bryson Williams has played well in his first year of collegiate basketball, and junior guard Jahmel Taylor’s shooting has him in the top of several statistics in the conference. Senior forward Paul Watson has provided leadership throughout the season, and his consistent style of play has played a big role in the ’Dogs’ success.
The ’Dogs will travel to Wyoming and face off against the Wyoming Cowboys (15-9, 5-6 MW) Wednesday at 6 p.m.
