Hawai'i
Mustangs Head Across Pacific to Face First Place Hawai’i Thursday
2/5/2025 12:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — In its lone game of the week, Cal Poly women’s basketball will travel across the Pacific Ocean to face first place Hawai’i.
The Mustangs (10-11, 5-6 Big West) face the Rainbow Wahine (15-6, 9-2 Big West) Thursday at 9 p.m. PT. Fans can watch the games on ESPN+ as well as follow live stats on GoPoly.com. Links to both of those can be found on the schedule page.
Cal Poly is coming off a 1-1 week last week in which they took down Cal State Bakersfield before falling to UC Riverside. The Mustangs currently sit in eighth place in the Big West standings but are just one game back of sixth place and two back of third place.
The Mustangs’ defense has been strong all season. They currently rank sixth in the country in defending the three, with opponents only shooting 24.5 percent from beyond the arc against them. In nine of Cal Poly’s 10 wins this year, they have held opponents under 60 points. The Mustangs are also one of the best three point shooting teams in the Big West, ranking fourth in the conference in three point percentage while also being third in free throw percentage and assists.
Senior guard Annika Shah has been leading the offense all season. Having gone for over 20 points five times this season, she has raised her average to 14.3 points per game which ranks fourth in the Big West. She leads the Big West and ranks 18th in the nation in threes made per game at 2.8. Shah has been very efficient with her scoring as she ranks third in the Big West in three point percentage and fourth in field goal percentage. In addition to scoring, she also leads the team in assists, threes made, and free throw percentage. Shah has scored in double digits in 14 of the 21 games so far this season.
Sophomore forward Mary Carter, a Big West All-Freshman Team honoree last season, has taken a big leap forward this season. Carter is second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game which ranks eighth in the Big West. She is second on the team and ranks 12th in the Big West in three point percentage at 34 percent and is third in field goal percentage at 42 percent. Carter also leads the team in blocks and is second in rebounding. She has recorded 16 double digit scoring games and has two doubles-doubles so far this season.
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 HAWAI’I: Hawai’i leads the all-time series over Cal Poly 17-11. The Rainbow Wahine have won the last seven meetings. The Mustangs’ last road win over Hawai’i was March 3, 2018. Cal Poly last beat Hawai’i Feb. 5, 2021 in San Luis Obispo.
SHAH SCORES: During Cal Poly’s road game Jan. 25 at Long Beach State, senior guard Annika Shah became the 16th player in program history and first since 2018 to reach 1,000 career points scored for her career. Her career total coming into Thursday’s game at 1,033 which ranks tied for 13th most in program history. She is also on track to become the program’s leader in career free throw percentage as she currently sits at 93.1 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 third season as head coach, Shanele Stires has accumulated a record of 37-43 overall and 25-25 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 139-88 (.619) in games played at Mott Athletics Center.
LOOKING AHEAD: Next week, Cal Poly will host Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. and CSUN Feb. 15 at 2 p.m.
