Mustangs Begin Big West Championship Thursday Against UC Davis

Thursday, March 14

Henderson, NV

2:30 P.M.

UC Davis

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Mustangs Begin Big West Championship Thursday Against UC Davis

3/13/2024 7:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

WEEKLY NOTES (PDF)

HENDERSON, Nev. — After a strong regular season in which Cal Poly women's basketball finished in the top four in the Big West standings, earning a first-round bye in the Big West Championship, the Mustsangs will begin their journey for a Big West title starting Thursday in the Quarterfinals against UC Davis. The Mustangs (17-12, 13-7 BW) will take on the Aggies, who on Wednesday beat Cal State Fullerton in the first round of the Big West Championship, Thursday at 2:30 p.m. from inside the Dollar Loan Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and locally on ESPN Radio 1280 and GoPoly.com. Links to all those can be found on the schedule page. The winner of Thursday's game will move on to Friday's semifinal game against No. 1 seed Hawai'i at 12 p.m. It has been a great ride so far this season for Cal Poly, who has already won the program's most games since the 2017-18 season. They also finished the regular season winning seven of their final 10 games. Earlier this week, three Mustang players earned All-Big West honors after having strong regular seasons. Senior forward Natalia Ackerman garnered First Team All-Big West and Big West All-Defensive Team honors. Junior guard Annika Shah received All-Big West Honorable Mention. Freshman forward Mary Carter was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team. It has been a career season for Ackerman as she is the co-leader in scoring for the Mustangs (12.1 ppg), rebounding (8.7 per game), and blocks (2.1 per game). She leads the Big West and is top-30 in the nation in blocks, is second in the Big West in rebounding, 10th in scoring and leads the Big West in field goal percentage, shooting 59 percent. She's scored in double figures 20 times this season and has 11 double-doubles. Last week, she broke Cal Poly's single season block record and currently ranks third all-time in program history for career blocks. Shah has also been having a stellar season as she shares the co-lead in scoring for Cal Poly at 12.1 points per game. She's had 16 games where she's scored double digits, including a career-high 25 points in a game against CSUN. One of the best overall shooters in the Big West, Shah leads the conference in three-point percentage at 40 percent and free throw percentage at 94 percent. She also had 10 assists in a game this season, marking the first time a Mustang player has had double digit assists in a game in 10 years. As a team in conference games, during the regular season, the Mustangs led the Big West in field goal percentage and rebounding margin and were second in free throw percentage, blocks, and three-point percentage. 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. Cal Poly is seeking to win the program's first Big West title since the 2012-13 season.