Never satisfied, it’s the Ryan McCarthy way. The Fresno State women’s basketball head coach kept things honest after the Bulldogs’ 94-32 win over UC Merced on Wednesday.
“I thought we played three and a half quarters at the standard that we’re used to. Today definitely wasn’t like our best day, but it definitely wasn’t our worst,” McCarthy said.
Of course it wasn’t all gloom. After all, a 62-point win came with plenty of positives for Fresno State, including transfers Mekhia Chase and Jada Hunter, who combined for 14 of the Bulldogs whopping 30 steals on the evening. Fresno State shot 38-of-87 from the field on the night, though just 5-of-23 in the fourth quarter to McCarthy’s point.
“I’m glad that we did some good things that we can build off of, and we did some things that we can definitely learn from,” McCarthy said. “The next opponent (Colorado) is going to be one of the best in the country, and some of the things that we did tonight, can’t happen again.”
Key Players
Mekhia Chase (FS): 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 7 steals, 1 block
Rubi Gray (FS): 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals
Olivia Gill (UCM): 9 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks
What happened
Following the tip, Loyola Marymount transfer Zawadi Ogot got a quick layup for the first basket of the new season. UC Merced took a 5-2 lead on a three a few minutes later from senior forward Nicole Lukito (6 points, 13 rebounds). Transfer guard Rubi Gray came in and nailed a pair of triples on back-to-back possessions. Gray made 90 threes in her two seasons at Sacramento State, one shy of the program record.
The Bulldogs went on a 34-9 run to end the first quarter, including a pair of threes from sophomore Ava Marr (13 points), who still has the “green light” from Coach McCarthy. Mehkia Chase to give Fresno State a 36-14 lead over the Bobcats. The quarter ended with a buzzer-beater from Chase, who is playing point guard for the first time in her career.
“That’s been an area that she’s really developed. It’s been a lot of game film and it’s been a lot of individual workouts and things like that. But she’s playing like a leader, and I think that playing that point guard position is not just getting people involved in the offense,” McCarthy said. “She was in at the end of the game with a lot of the freshmen and bailing us out of bad possessions and things like that. She’s done a good job leading on and off the floor.”
Fresno State opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run, including a three from Cal transfer Lola Donez (nine points), who along with returner Ashlyn Rean, was named to the Pac-12 preseason Team Impact list. Rean finished with 11 points, a game high 15 rebounds, three assists and four stocks (steals + blocks).
“It makes everything a lot easier when you get a rebound and you know someone is already probably at the other end of the court. I think that our guards do a really good job of implementing what Coach McCarthy wants us to do, and it just makes the game really fun,” Rean said.
Tonight was extra special for Rean, a team captain playing in her first official game back since tearing her MCL after just six games last season alongside an almost entirely new team.
“This summer, it may have felt like a long time, but it kind of just flew by with this group because everyone’s just super hardworking, easy to be around,” Rean said. “To get out on the floor and put everything together and everything we’ve kind of been through together just made that transition a lot smoother and really enjoyable.”
The Bulldogs defense stepped up in the second quarter, limiting the Bobcats to just five points as they went into halftime with a commanding 56-17 lead. Gray continued from her strong first half after halftime, with a steal and a fast break layup to give Fresno State a 64-19 lead. She finished with 18 points and 4 steals on the night. Ogot (14 points) finished the quarter off with an athletic layup to lead 79-24.
Despite being up 55, McCarthy opened the 4th quarter with five of his seven primary rotational players on the quarter. Still pushing the tempo, Fresno State would go on to win 94-32. Redshirt freshman Sienna Clark scored her first career points, on a triple with just over four minutes left in the game.
“It’s super rewarding. I’m really proud of her. She’s put a lot of work in and she’s an even better kid off the floor. I love being around her. She’s really funny,” McCarthy said. “She’s kind of a goofball.”
UC Merced didn’t do much well against the Bulldogs, shooting just 8-of-37 from the field (40 less shot attempts than Fresno State) and 3-of-17 from beyond the arc. They also had more turnovers (39) than points scored (32).
The lone bright spot for the Bobcats was probably the rebounding. Lukito and Olivia Gill combined for 24 rebounds on the night. Fresno State still outrebounded UC Merced (46-36) but McCarthy still wasn’t satisfied, noting that dominating the glass is an area they will have to improve upon if they are going to beat higher competition.
“I think the biggest concern for me is rebounding and just focus,” McCarthy said.
Coach noted a lack of urgency in some baseline out of bounds plays, as well as a lackadaisical effort on some transition opportunities, passing up open shots because they “were looking at the scoreboard.”
Schedule outlook
The Bulldogs begin the 2026-27 season in a new conference and a schedule full of plenty of competitive opportunities.
Fresno State will play 15 non-conference games between November and December of this year, including eight times at the Save Mart Center during non-conference play, which began with tonight’s home opener victory over UC Merced.
Other opponents coming to the Save Mart Center in 2026 include former Mountain West mate New Mexico, Northern Arizona, Saint Mary’s, Southern Mississippi, Grambling State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Hawaii.
Up next, Fresno State’s first road game of the year will likely be its toughest of the season, heading to Boulder to face a Colorado team that went 22-12 last season with ranked wins over Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech and Baylor before finishing strong with a Big 12 semi final appearance and an NCAA at-large bid. The Buffaloes, who received two votes in the first AP Poll of the season, defeated Morgan State 83-38 on Wednesday.
“They have top-100 recruits on their team, and from a budget standpoint, it’s the Flint Tropics against the Chicago Bulls. We will have to play our very best game when we play them,” McCarthy said.
Fresno State will also play at assistant coach Jenna McCarthy’s Alma Mater Florida Gulf Coast on November 24. Following Thanksgiving, the ‘Dogs will be in New Orleans for the 2026 Big Easy Classic.
Other road games include San Diego, Bowling Green and Ball State. The latter two will finish up the Bulldogs’ non-conference slate during the final week of December.
“We made a non-conference schedule that we feel will challenge us in many different ways and will make some road trips that will help prepare us for league play,” McCarthy said.
The Bulldogs will play its first of 16 Pac-12 Conference games on the road on Thursday, January 7th at 5:30 p.m. at Colorado State.
Fast forward to January 23rd, the Bulldogs 8 p.m. matchup at home with Oregon State is set to be broadcast on The CW.
Fresno State was picked seventh out of the nine teams in the conference preseason media polls. Gonzaga received 16 of 19 first place votes, followed by Oregon State and San Diego State.
The Pac-12 Conference Tournament begins on Tuesday, March 9th in Las Vegas, Nevada. For a complete schedule, visit the Fresno State Athletics website.
Season prediction
Ceiling: 20-22 wins
Floor: 15-16 wins
Prediction: 20-14 record
Year two for Coach McCarthy and his staff features a competitive schedule, but this team is significantly more deep than it was a year ago.
If Rean can stay healthy and Coach McCarthy gets the buy-in from his team for a full season, I see no reason why this squad can’t compete amongst Gonzaga, Oregon State and the other top teams in the newly-reformed Pac-12 conference.
Game recap written by Al Scott, photos captured by Ryan Sepulveda (Fresno Sports Magazine). For more pictures and updates on Fresno State Athletics, follow @AlScott1998 on Twitter (X) or @AlScottSports on IG.