The 2019-20 Mountain West preseason poll has the Fresno State women’s basketball team finishing third in the conference, according to a Fresno State Athletics news release.

Fresno State placed third in the poll, one spot higher than they finished last season, with 228 points behind defending MW tournament champions Boise State (305 points) and New Mexico (280 points).

Aside from the Bulldogs being predicted to finish third in the conference, forward Maddi Utti and freshman guard Haley Cavinder received preseason honors.

Utti was selected to this year’s preseason All-MW team, after earning a spot on the 2019 MW All-Defensive team and All-MW honorable mention following last year.

The MW’s preseason all-conference team and individual honors were voted on by a panel of the conference’s 11 head coaches and select women’s basketball media from around the league.

Last year, Utti­ was the only player in the conference to rank in the top 10 in rebounds (7.3), steals (1.9), and blocks (1.1).­

Utti also finished second on the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game while shooting 56.5 percent from the field, which ranked 22nd in the NCAA.

Utti enters this season ranking fifth in league history in career field goal percentage with 55.5 percent, while ranking first in conference games with 56.3 percent.­

Fellow Bulldog Cavinder, was named the Mountain West’s Preseason Co-Freshman of the Year alongside Corina Carter of New Mexico.­

Cavinder came to Fresno State following an accomplished career at Gilbert High School in Arizona, where she surpassed the 2,000 point mark finishing with 2,282 career points and named the Arizona 5A Player of the Year last season.­

Cavinder also finished last season averaging a percentage of 21.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists which helped lead her team to a state runner-up finish.