UCLA
Mustangs Head to Los Angeles Monday to Face Top Ranked UCLA
12/15/2024 3:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After an almost 10 day break between games because of finals week, Cal Poly women’s basketball gears up to return to action this week with a pair of games.
The Mustangs (4-5) will head south to face the nation’s top team in No. 1 UCLA Monday at 7 p.m. in Los Angeles. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten+ and live stats will also be available for fans to follow. Links to both of those can be found on the schedule page.
Cal Poly will then host Seattle University on Friday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. inside Mott Athletics Center for the penultimate game of non-conference play. Friday’s game against the RedHawks will be streamed live on ESPN+.
In their most recent game, the Mustangs got their first win of Big West play on the road as they took down CSUN back on Dec. 7, 58-45. In that game, sophomore forward Mary Carter matched a career high with 18 points and notched her first double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Carter has taken a big leap in her second season as she has scored double digits in eight of the first nine games. She is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game.
Leading the scoring for Cal Poly this season has been senior guard Annika Shah at 14.2 points per game. She also leads the team in assists, three point shooting, and free throw percentage. Shah has scored in double digits in eight of the nine games and ranks fifth in the Big West in scoring.
The Mustangs are coming off their best season in a decade in 2023-24. Last year, head coach Shanele Stires directed the team to a 17-14 overall record in her second season at the helm, finishing tied for third in the Big West regular season standings and went to the program’s first WNIT postseason tournament since 2014.
Cal Poly returns six letterwinners from that team, including three starters. They are headlined by senior guard Annika Shah, who earned Honorable Mention All-Big West honors last season after being second on the team in scoring and leading the team in three pointers made and three point percentage. She also set the program record last year for highest free throw percentage, shooting 94.4 percent.
Two starters also back are redshirt sophomore forward Sierra Lichtie, who was fourth on the team in scoring last year, and senior guard Sydney Bourland who was fifth on the team in scoring and led the team in minutes. They also return their top two scorers off the bench in sophomore forward Mary Carter who was named to the Big West All-Freshman team last year and was second on the team in threes made as well as senior guard Sidney Richards who averaged 6.2 points per game last year.
The Mustangs have nine newcomers for the second straight year, eight freshmen and one grad transfer. The transfer is Ashley Hiraki, who played four years at Santa Clara and averaged 6.1 points per game in 118 career games there.
MUSTANGS VERSUS UCLA: This will be the 11th all-time meeting against the Bruins. Cal Poly, who has faced UCLA last season, is seeking the program’s first ever win over the Bruins.
SHAH SCORES: Senior guard Annika Shah comes into the week with 767 career points scored, the most by any Mustang on the team. She will seek to become the 16th player in program history to hit the 1,000 career points milestone. She is also on track to become the program’s leader in career free throw percentage as she currently sits at 92.4 percent for her career. The current leader in that category is Dynn Leaupepe, who was 81.8 percent for her career.
TURN AROUND: In her first two seasons as head coach, Shanele Stires has accumulated a record of 31-37 overall and 21-20 in Big West play. She has improved Cal Poly’s win total in each year, taking a three win team in 2022 to 10 in 2023 and 17 last year.
HOME COOKIN’: Since 2008, Cal Poly is 136-85 (.619) in games played at Mott Athletics Center.
LOOKING AHEAD: Cal Poly hosts Seattle University Friday at 2 p.m. inside Mott Athletics Center before an eight day gap between games.
