SEATTLE - Seattle University women’s basketball (2-1) remains in Southern California for its next matchup after a clash with UC Santa Barbara on Monday night, as the Redhawks head over to Cal Poly (2-1) for a Wednesday night contest against the Mustangs at 6 PM inside Motts Athletic Center. Action will air live on ESPN+.
Junior Cristina Jones comes off her second straight 20+ point effort, recording 20 points against the Gauchos. Jones paces the conference through three games averaging 18.0 points per game, shooting 46.2 percent from the field. On the defensive end, Jones leads the team and ranks first in the conference in steals with 10 and ranks fifth in WCC in blocks with four.
Aiding the team in scoring is sophomore Alanna Neale, who secured her second straight double-digit scoring effort on Monday evening. Neale is averaging 13.3 PPG shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three.
Junior Claire Fraser and sophomore Sophie Buzzard are adding 6.7 PPG and 6.0 PPG respectively, each aiding Seattle U’s three point threat with three makes on the season. Buzzard paces the pair with 42.9 percent shooting from behind the arc.
Guiding Seattle U’s rebounding efforts is Jones, who leads the team averaging 7.3 RPG. Also ranking amongst the top of the WCC in rebounds per game alongside Jones is freshman Gabriela Escorial, who posts 6.0 rebounds a contest. Escorial leads the team averaging 4.0 offensive boards per game. Jones ranks sixth in the conference with 22 rebounds, with Escorial just behind at ninth with 18.
Orchestrating the Redhawk offense is junior Erin Sellers, who ranks fourth in the WCC in assists with eight through three games. Her 2.7 assists per game ranks 15th in the WCC in the early season.
The Redhawks are one of the conference’s three point percentage leaders, shooting a combined 36.5 percent from behind the arc, ranking third in the WCC. They rank first in offensive rebounds, averaging 17.7 per contest, pacing second place Santa Clara by two offensive boards. Seattle U is outrebounding its opponents by 6.7, limiting teams to 32.7 rebounds per game.
Cal Poly has opened with a 2-1 record, defeating UC Merced and Whittier College in its opening home contests. The Mustangs traveled to Idaho State on Monday, falling to the Bengals 64-51. Cal Poly was elected to finish ninth in the Big West Preseason poll, finishing last season 4-26. Through three games, the Mustangs are shooting 40.1 percent from the field, averaging 63.7 points per contest. They are outscoring opponents in points off turnovers by eight and have generated 37 steals through three games, but hold a negative rebounding margin, allowing 37.7 rebounds to their opponents.
Wednesday’s meeting is the ninth contest between the Mustangs and Redhawks dating back to 1988. The pair meet for the fourth straight year and Cal Poly leads the all-time record 5-3. In the last three contests, the Redhawks are 1-2, claiming the narrow edge a season ago in Seattle behind a 75-73 victory. Seattle U is 1-2 in road games against the Mustangs.
Following Wednesday night, the Redhawks return home for their Kids Day game, hosting Pacific Lutheran at the Redhawk Center on November 18 at 11 AM.
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