Why Bulldogs women picked to win Mountain West: It starts (but doesn’t end) with Utti

Fresno State women’s basketball coach Jaime White has all five starters returning from a team that went 25-7 and 16-2 in Mountain West play and on Thursday, in no real stunner, the Bulldogs were picked to win the conference in a preseason poll of coaches and selected media.

Bulldogs forward Maddi Utti, the player of the year in the conference a year ago when averaging 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, was selected as the preseason player of the year and joined on the all-conference team by Fresno State guard Haley Cavinder.

Utti was one of five players in the nation last season who averaged at least 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals per game. Cavinder, the freshman of the year in the conference last season, led the Bulldogs in scoring with 16.0 points per game and was one of just two players in the conference to rank in the Top 10 in scoring, rebounding and assists.

With Utti, Haley and Hanna Cavinder, Aly Gamez and Wytalla Motta returning from a team that won the regular-season Mountain West title, Fresno State received 22 of 26 first-place votes in the poll and was followed by San Jose State (with senior guard Danae Marquez from Clovis West High), Boise State, San Diego State and Wyoming. The Spartans received two first places votes and the Broncos and Aztecs each received one.

New Mexico was picked to finish sixth in the poll followed by Air Force, Colorado State, UNLV, Nevada and Utah State.

The Bulldogs, who have 93.6% of their scoring, 95.8% of their assists and 93.2% of their steals returning, are scheduled to open the 2020-21 season in Las Vegas at the South Point Shootout with games on Nov. 27 against West Virginia and Nov. 28 against Lamar.

A full schedule has not been released, but Fresno State will open conference play with a two-game series against Colorado State at the Save Mart Center Dec. 28 and Dec. 30.

Mountain West preseason all-conference team

C Mallory McGwire (Boise State)

G Haley Cavinder (Fresno State)

F Maddi Utti (Fresno State)

G Sophia Ramos (San Diego State)

G Ayzhiana Basallo (San Jose State)

Preseason player of the year

F Maddi Utti (Fresno State)

Preseason newcomer of the year

G LaTascya Duff (New Mexico)

Preseason freshman of the year

G Asia Avinger (San Diego State)