DRIVE FOR FIVE: For the second time this season, Seattle University has a chance to increase its winning streak to five games when it faces Fresno State in a special weekday afternoon contest meant to attract children and seniors to the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs have made four straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament and are on a nice run of their own, winning 10 of their last 12 games.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
Seattle University
- G: #1 Sylvia Shephard - 5-10 - So. - 6.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.3 spg
- G: #5 Elle Kerfoot - 5-7 - Sr. - 8.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.1 apg
- G: #11 Talisa Rhea - 5-11 - Sr. - 13.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 5.5 apg
- F: #14 Ashley Ward - 5-11 - So. - 10.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 86.2% FT
- C: #41 Kacie Sowell - 6-2 - So. - 13.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 60.7% FG
THE COLORADO STATE GAME: After a sluggish first half, Seattle University ramped up the pressure on both ends of the floor after halftime, outscoring Colorado State by 21 points in the second half on its way to a 61-43 victory Sunday afternoon at the Connolly Center. Talisa Rhea scored 16 points to lead the Redhawks, plus she pulled down five rebounds and dished out four assists. Kacie Sowell notched her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds, including six offensive boards, while Ashley Ward contributed 10 points and Sylvia Shephard added nine points and seven rebounds to the winning effort. Down 29-26 four minutes into the second half, Seattle U went on a 14-0 scoring run over the next four-and-a-half minutes, led by seven points from Rhea. Kim Mestdagh hit a layup to keep the margin at 11 points halfway through the second half, but the Redhawks scored eight straight points, helped by three steals, to put the game away at 52-33 with 6:50 left in regulation. Seattle U shot 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the field and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the free throw line.
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE: The Bulldogs come into Wednesday's game with an 11-4 overall record, seeing their six-game winning streak snapped last Friday with a loss at UNLV, 73-71. Fresno State is 5-1 at home, with the only loss on its own floor coming at the hands of national power Stanford. The Bulldogs are scoring 74.1 points per game and giving up 67.4 points per contest. As a team, Fresno State is shooting 41.5 percent from the field, including 35.6 percent from behind the three-point line, and 67.0 percent from the free throw line. The Bulldogs are averaging 9.5 made three-pointers per game, third-most in the country. Ki-Ki Moore leads the way for Fresno State, averaging 18.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game. Moore is tied for 42nd in Division I in scoring average. Rosie Moult is contributing 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Kacie Sowell is currently fifth in the nation in field goal percentage, hitting 60.7 percent of her field goal attempts. By hitting 86.2 percent of her free throw attempts, Ashley Ward is 37th in Division I in free throw percentage, while Talisa Rhea is tied for 27th in the country in assists per game (5.5).
GETTING CLOSER: Elle Kerfoot is three three-pointers away from Seattle U's career record for made three-pointers, currently held by Ashley Payne with 168. Kerfoot is also 66 points away from becoming the 11th player in Seattle U women's basketball history to score at least 1,000 points in a career. She moved into 10th place on the school's all-time assists list with 277, passing Donna DeWald's total of 275.
SEEING DOUBLE: Kacie Sowell has scored in double figures in every game so far this season. Sowell has notched six double-doubles through the first 16 games of the 2011-12 campaign. Talisa Rhea has reached double figures in scoring in 14 games, including the last 11 contests, while Sylvia Shephard has scored in double digits in three of the last four games.