UC Merced
11/2/2026 10:45:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Mustang women’s basketball begin their 53rd season as a program with a pair of non-Division I opponents at home to start the 2026-27 schedule.
The Mustangs take on UC Merced on Monday in the front end of a doubleheader with men’s basketball at 5 p.m. before hosting Whittier on Thursday at 6 p.m., both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Head Coach Shanele Stires enters her fifth season at the helm of the Mustangs, and has won her first four home openers. A mix of old and new faces, split evenly between eight returners and eight transfers and freshman, populate an experienced roster with nine upperclassmen.
In Cal Poly’s last exhibition game against Cal State Monterey Bay, four Mustangs ended up with double-digit points.
The team forced 20 Otter turnovers and shot well from beyond the arc going 7-for-18 (38.89%) while holding the opposition to less than 30% from perimeter shots for a second straight exhibition.
Cal Poly is 1-0 over the UC Merced Bobcats, winning 72-40 in the 2024-25 season opener. The Mustangs have never faced the Whittier Poets.
After their two home matchups Cal Poly women’s basketball travels to Idaho State to take on the Bengals on Nov. 9. Former Mustang guard Sydney Bourland (2021-25) was a graduate assistant for the Bengals last season and has been promoted to full time assistant coach this year.
