Cal State Fullerton
Mustangs Look to Secure Spot in Big West Championship This Week
3/5/2025 4:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — With the regular season wrapping up this week, Cal Poly women’s basketball will be looking to clinch their spot in next week’s Big West Championships with a win in either of their final two games this week.
The Mustangs (12-16, 7-11 Big West) travel to face Cal State Fullerton on Thursday at 7 p.m. They then return to Mott Athletics Center Saturday for the final home game of the season against Long Beach State at 2 p.m. 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.
Heading into the week in eighth place in the Big West standings, the formula is simple for Cal Poly to clinch a spot in the Big West Championships. If the Mustangs win either Thursday’s game or Saturday’s game, they will lock up the eighth seed in the tournament and eliminate Cal State Fullerton who is two games back of the Mustangs for eighth.
Before Saturday’s game, Cal Poly will honor its senior class playing in their final home game of their careers. The four Mustang players include Ashley Hiraki, Sidney Richards, Sydney Bourland, and Annika Shah. All four have made great contributions to the program, whether here one or four years.
Defense has been the calling card all season for the Mustangs. They currently rank third in the country in defending the three, with opponents only shooting 25.5 percent from beyond the arc against them. In 11 of Cal Poly’s 12 wins this year, they have held opponents under 60 points.
Shah has been leading the offense all season. Having gone for over 20 points six times this season, she has raised her average to 13.7 points per game which ranks sixth in the Big West. She leads the Big West and ranks 17th in the nation in threes made per game at 2.7. Shah has been very efficient with her scoring as she ranks second 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 17 of the 28 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 12.5 points per game which ranks eighth in the Big West. She is second on the team and ranks ninth in the Big West in three point percentage at 34 percent and is third in the Big West in field goal percentage at 43 percent. Carter also leads the team in blocks (seventh in the Big West) and is second in rebounding. She has recorded 20 double digit scoring games and has three 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 CAL STATE FULLERTON: Cal Poly leads the all-time series over Cal State Fullerton 37-28. The Mustangs have won three of the last four meetings over the Titans, including both matchups last season. However, the Mustangs will be seeking revenge after the Titans won the first meeting this season 67-64.
MUSTANGS VERSUS LONG BEACH STATE: Long Beach leads the all-time series 51-31. However, the Mustangs have won the last three meetings, including a 78-71 win on the road earlier this season.
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 Saturday’s game at 1,115 which ranks ninth 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.
BOURLAND BOARDS: Two weeks ago against UC Riverside, senior Sydney Bourland reached 500 rebounds for her career which ranks in the top 20 in program history. She also ranks 20th in program history in career steals.
TURN AROUND: In her third season as head coach, Shanele Stires has accumulated a record of 39-48 overall and 27-28 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 140-90 (.619) in games played at Mott Athletics Center.
LOOKING AHEAD: With a win this week, the Mustangs will be playing in the Big West Championship in Henderson, Nevada next week. Their first round game would be Wednesday, March 12 at noon.
