Cal Poly Women’s Basketball Hosting UC Riverside Thursday

Thursday, January 11

San Luis Obispo, Calif.

6 P.M.

UC Riverside

Tickets

Cal Poly Women’s Basketball Hosting UC Riverside Thursday

1/10/2024 6:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball

WEEKLY NOTES (PDF)

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Off to a 3-1 start to Big West play, Cal Poly women's basketball embarks on two more Big West games this week seeking their best start to Big West since the 2010-11 season. The Mustangs (7-7, 3-1 BW) will return to Mott Athletics Center to host UC Riverside Thursday at 6 p.m. They head back on the road Saturday to face UC San Diego at 2 p.m. Both those games will air live on ESPN+. Last week, Cal Poly split a pair of games, knocking off Long Beach State 64-56 before suffering a close overtime road loss to UCSB, 65-64 to hand the Mustangs their first conference loss of the season. Junior guard Annika Shah notched double figures in both games last week, notching 18 points against The Beach and 12 against the Gauchos. Shah continues to lead the Mustangs in scoring at 12.8 points per game which ranks ninth in the Big West. Shah has been strong shooting behind the three-point line, ranking second in the Big West at 39.7 percent. She's also one of the top free throw shooters in the league and is 24-25 on the year. Also having a big year for the Mustangs has been senior forward Natalia Ackerman, who is second on the team in scoring at 12 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounds at 8.1 per game which ranks fifth in the Big West. She also leads the league in blocks at 2.0 per game and field goal percentage at 56.5 percent. As a team in solely conference games, the Mustangs are leading the conference in offensive rebounds at 14.5 per game. They are also third in steals, third in scoring, and third in rebounding margin. The Mustangs have been doing this all with a very new and young team. There are nine newcomers to the team with just four returners. The four returners are Shah, Ackerman, redshirt freshman Sierra Lichtie, and junior guard Sydney Bourland. The nine newcomers consist of four Division I transfers and five true freshmen. Following Saturday's game against the Tritons, Cal Poly will host Cal State Bakersfield Saturday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. inside Mott Athletics Center. SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE: The Highlanders come into Thursday's game 6-8 overall and 1-3 in Big West play. They picked up their first win of conference play last week, beating Long Beach State 49-43. Guard Jordan Webster leads the Big West in scoring at 16.3 points per game. The Mustangs were 2-1 against UC Riverside last year. However, the Mustangs will be looking for revenge after the Highlanders were the team that knocked them out of the Big West Championships, winning the first round game 63-54. SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO: The Tritons come into the week 6-8 overall and 2-1 in Big West play. Last week, they beat UCSB and Cal State Fullerton after starting off conference play with a loss to Cal State Bakersfield. In their win over Cal State Fullerton, forward Katie Spriggs set UC San Diego's program record for rebounds in a game after she notched 20. Freshman Sumayah Sugapong ranks second in the Big West in scoring at 15.3 points per game. They return seven players from last year's team, including two starters. UC San Diego is still not eligible for postseason play this year as they are in their last year of their transition to Division I.