Fresno State women, looking to extend holiday-season roll, host UCSB

Fresno State hopes its post-Thanksgiving momentum carries over into the latest holiday stretch.

Winners of five of their past six games, starting with a pair of victories at the Loyola Marymount Thanksgiving Classic, the Bulldogs continue the nonconference portion of the season when they host UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. Friday at Save Mart Center.

The Bulldogs (6-3) are coming off a 74-67 win Saturday at Pacific, fueled by a balanced offense that featured sophomore point guard Candice White, redshirt sophomore shooting guard Tory Jacobs and junior center Bego Faz Davalos.

White leads the team in scoring (15.1) and field-goal (48.3), 3-point (40.0) and free-throw percentage (88.9).

Faz Davalos has been a wrecking ball in the post. Aside from averaging 15 points and 11.9 rebounds, the 6-foot-3 center leads the nation in blocks per game (4.89) and total blocks (44). Jacobs is the third Bulldogs player averaging double-digit scoring at 10.3 points per game

The Gauchos (2-7) have lost five in a row and are coming off a 71-52 home loss against ninth-ranked UCLA on Wednesday. UCSB is 0-5 on the road.

Redshirt sophomore Sarah Porter and sophomore Coco Miller lead the Gauchos in scoring at 10.7 and 10.4 points per game, respectively.

Led by second-year coach Bonnie Henrickson, UCSB was picked to finish fourth in the Big West preseason coaches’ poll and seventh by the media.

Fresno State is 1-1 against likely Big West noncontenders this season, losing to Cal State Northridge 61-57 on Nov. 18 and beating UC Irvine 63-45 at the Loyola Marymount tournament Nov. 26.

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Fresno State women, looking to extend holiday-season roll, host UCSB."