For the second straight season, the Fresno State women’s basketball team was rated the ninth-best team in the Mountain West in the conference’s preseason poll.
Following the team’s loss to the Wyoming Cowgirls in the semi-finals of the Mountain West Tournament last season, the team has undergone several changes.
The Bulldogs are now led by Head Coach Ryan McCarthy, who had lots of success at his last stop.
As head coach for the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves, McCarthy compiled a 309-67 overall record, winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors six times.
McCarthy brings a winning pedigree but also some former Seawolves with him.
Jaisa Gamble, Hedda Köehne, Emilia Long, Ashlyn Rean and Kenzie Sirowich all transferred from Alaska Anchorage with McCarthy.
With a mixture of talent coming from around the country and even the world, building a strong culture was key for McCarthy and his staff.
“I think that’s something that we’ve really tried to establish from, you know, day one,” McCarthy said. “That’s been really important for us, is to establish that culture, because that’s part of our identity.”
McCarthy didn’t just bring players from his former school, but also an intensity to swarm opposing offenses.
“I think getting stops at the end of the day is something that you can control, and you know, with us, that’s something that we take a lot of pride in,” McCarthy said.
Despite not playing an official game at the Save Mart Center, McCarthy has already kept up with his history of the program at Fresno State.
“The school record here at Fresno State is 42 [forced] turnovers in a game, and in our first competition, we forced 38,” McCarthy said. “So that’s definitely going to be something that we’re chasing down this season.”
So far, the emphasis has been on the defensive end with a “mayhem” style of play he coined back at his introductory press conference in April.
In the Bulldogs’ preseason exhibition against the University of California, Merced, the ‘Dogs swarmed the visiting Bobcats, winning 73-49.
While the team was able to come out on top, McCarthy still sees room for improvement before the season starts, particularly on the offensive end.
“I got a 10-year-old daughter that could make more layups than what we did this last game,” McCarthy said. “But that’s something, definitely, I think once the nerves kind of get out, those will, those will go in for us.”
McCarthy and the ‘Dogs will get their first chance to shake out the nerves in their season opener against Fresno Pacific University on Monday, Nov. 3. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at the Save Mart Center.
