The SMU women's basketball team returns to Moody Coliseum Sunday to host CSU Bakersfield at 2 p.m. The home game is just the second for the Mustangs since Nov. 14, as SMU played five of its last six games on the road in a span of 13 days. Fans are encouraged to wear red to the game, which can be seen on PonyUp TV at www.SMUMustangs.com/watch, or heard in the Dallas area on KAAM 770.
ABOUT SMU
The Mustangs are 3-5, falling in the last two games on the road, including the Nugget Classic championship game at Nevada. The stretch of six games in 13 days started with a loss at then-No. 21 Oklahoma. SMU is 2-1 on its home floor this season and 15-4 during
Travis Mays' tenure.
McKenzie Adams leads the team and ranks 21st in the NCAA, scoring 21.8 points per game. The senior became the 24th player to score 1,000 points at SMU, reaching the milestone with 15 points at North Texas. She has eclipsed 30 twice, including a career-high 38 points in the season opener, becoming the first SMU player with multiple 30-point games in a season since Keena Mays in 2013-14.
Kiara Perry is averaging 10.6 points and has 22 steals, third in the American Athletic Conference. The senior is second on the team with 6.4 rebounds per game, and has nine assists. SMU leads the league with 36 blocks, averaging 4.5 per game, and
Klara Bradshaw leads the conference individually with 16 blocks. SMU is shooting 40.1 percent from the field, led by senior
Stephanie Collins at 59.3 percent, tied for second in The American.
The SMU roster features six seniors, including four returning starters, and has seven returning letterwinners, including all six seniors.
Alicia Froling was the only player in the American Athletic Conference to average a double-double last season, scoring a team-high 13.3 points per game with a league-best 10.0 rebounds. She was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Preseason team.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
CSU Bakersfield is 3-3, including a loss at then-No. 9 Stanford. The Roadrunners won their last two games, including the first road win of the year, 46-45 at Southern Utah. Aja Williams leads the team with 11.5 points per game and is tied for the team lead with 6.5 rebounds per contest. As a team, Bakersfield is averaging 53.7 points but allowing 57.0 per game. The Roadrunners also get outrebounded 40.0-38.7.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the first meeting between the two programs.
UP NEXT
After a two-week break for final exams, SMU returns to action Dec. 17 at Alabama. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+. The Crimson Tide is 4-2, losing its last two after starting 4-0, with two games to play before the matchup against the Mustangs in Coleman Coliseum.
SERIES HISTORY
This is just the second game between SMU and Alabama. The two schools played in Cancun, Mexico, on Dec. 21, 2001, when Alabama won 85-69.
McKENZIE ADAMS
McKenzie Adams ranks 21st in the NCAA and third in the American Athletic Conference with 21.8 points per game. She has reached double figures in seven of eight games, including two of the top-five scoring performances in program history. Her career-high 38 points in the season opener ranks third in a game at SMU, and she is tied with three other players with 35 points at Nevada. Adams is the first player at SMU with multiple 30-point games in a season since Keena Mays in 2013-14. She shot a season-high 60.0 percent at Nevada (12-20). Adams has became the 24th player in program history to score 1,000 points with 15 at North Texas. She has scored 1,004 at SMU and 1,261 points overall, including 257 at Arkansas.
SMU SINGLE-GAME SCORING
1. Jeannia Nix vs. Texas (2/28/89) 43
2. Shawna Ford vs. TCU (1/25/97) 42
3.
McKenzie Adams vs. Nicholls (11/10/17) 38
4. Shasta Smothers-Johnson vs. TCU (1/18/85) 36
T-5.
McKenzie Adams at Nevada (11/26/17) 35
T-5. Three other players 35
KIARA PERRY
Kiara Perry is second on the team with 10.6 points per game, reaching double figures in five of the last seven games, including a career-high 23 points against TCU. She is 23rd in the NCAA with 21 steals, averaging 2.75 per game, 67th in the NCAA. She is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.4. Perry is shooting 45.1 percent from the field, eclipsing 50 percent in four of the last six games.
ARIANNA WHITFIELD
Freshman
Ariana Whitfield is third on the team in scoring with 8.3 points per game. She has scored at least 10 three times, including a career-high 18 points against Abilene Christian. Whitfield is shooting 39.7 percent from the field (25-of-63), and ranks sixth in The American, shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range (12-of-27). Whitfield made four of five 3-point attempts at then-No. 21 Oklahoma.
STEPHANIE COLLINS
Stephanie Collins is fourth on the all-time blocks list at SMU with 138 career blocks after knocking away 36 shots as a junior. She set the SMU single-season record with 73 as a sophomore. The post player averaged 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds last season. She scored a season-high 10 points at Temple, and increased her scoring average to 6.5 in conference games. Playing in seven games this season, Collins is 16-of-27 shooting with 36 points, scoring 10 at UT Arlington.
DAI'JA THOMAS
As a sophomore,
Dai'ja Thomas was second on the team with 40 blocks, and the Dallas native averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds. She scored a career-high 18 points at Temple, and reached double figures seven times. Thomas had two double-doubles, and blocked four shots against TCU, matching her career high. She grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the opener against Nicholls this season and is averaging a team-high 8.3 rebounds with 4.9 points. Thomas scored a season-high nine points against UC Riverside.
KLARA BRADSHAW
Working with her fourth coach in as many seasons,
Klara Bradshaw played in 33 games last year after sitting out the previous season due to NCAA transfer rules. The tallest player on the roster at 6-6, Bradshaw recorded 33 blocks, and averaged 2.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 11.1 minutes per game. She scored a season-high 10 points against Seattle and had a season-high nine rebounds against Texas State. The redshirt senior had a career-high five blocks against TCU this season, and has a conference-high 16 blocks, 31st in the NCAA.
MIKAYLA REESE
Mikayla Reese had 35 assists and 16 steals while averaging 2.5 points in 13.9 minutes per game as the backup point guard last season. She scored a career-high 11 points against Texas State and finished with a career-high four assists against Houston. Reese posted a career-high six assists in the opener against Nicholls this season, and followed it with six more against TCU. She is averaging 4.25 per game, passing out at least five assists in five of the first six games. Reese is scoring 4.6 points per game, including a season-high nine against UC Riverside.
ALICIA FROLING
As a junior,
Alicia Froling was the only player in The American to average a double-double, scoring a team-high 14.3 points per game with a league-best 10.0 rebounds. With 486 points, she climbed to 14th on the all-time scoring list at SMU with 1,213 career points. Froling is sixth all-time in rebounds with 884 after grabbing 339 to reset her own program record. She also has 147 career blocks, second all-time at SMU. She posted a program-record 17 double-doubles, and scored a season-high 28 points in the win against Louisiana Tech.
SMU SINGLE SEASON DOUBLE-DOUBLES
1.
Alicia Froling (2016-17) 17
2. Shasta Smothers-Johnson (1984-85) 15
3.
Alicia Froling (2015-16) 14
SMU CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES
T-1. Shasta Smothers-Johnson (1983-87) 38
T-1. Janielle Dodds (2005-08) 38
3.
Alicia Froling (2015-Present) 36
INDIVIDUAL SEASON REBOUNDS LIST
1.
Alicia Froling (2016-17) 339
2.
Alicia Froling (2015-16) 328
3. Shasta Smothers-Johnson (1984-85) 310
SMU CAREER REBOUNDS
1. Janielle Dodds (2004-08) 974
2. Karlin Kennedy (1996-2000) 946
3. Shasta Smothers-Johnson (1983-87) 933
4. Teri Baldwin (1977-80) 890
5. Christine Elliott (2008-12) 886
6.
Alicia Froling (2015-Present) 884
POSTSEASON IN FIRST SEASON
In his first season as head coach,
Travis Mays guided the Mustangs to a 19-13 record, including a pair of WNIT wins. SMU advanced to the round of 16 in the tournament with wins at home against Louisiana Tech and Abilene Christian. It was the first time since 1993 that an SMU team won twice in a postseason tournament.
DEFEND YOUR HOUSE
SMU went 13-3 in Moody Coliseum last season, just two wins shy of the program-record 15 home wins during the 2012-13 season. The win total included a victory over then-No. 19 Texas A&M, while the three losses came against then-No. 1 Connecticut, then-No. 23 USF and a Tulane team that was receiving votes at the time of the matchup.
INCREASED ATTENDANCE
SMU had the seventh largest increase in attendance, averaging an additional 1,028 fans per game in Moody Coliseum than the previous year.
SENIOR CLASS
The SMU roster features six seniors this season, including four returning starters.
Alicia Froling started all 34 games, leading the team in points (14.3) and rebounds (10.0).
McKenzie Adams started 34 games, averaging 12.2 points with a 36.6 shooting percentage.
Kiara Perry started every game after missing the previous season due to a back injury, and
Stephanie Collins started 19 games.
Klara Bradshaw saw action in 33 games, and
Mikayla Reese played in 30 games last season.
BROKEN RECORD
For the third straight season, SMU set a program record in blocked shots, recording 187 as a team.
Alicia Froling led the way with 51 blocks, climbing to second all-time at SMU with 147 career blocks.
Stephanie Collins finished with 36 blocks as a junior and ranks fourth all-time with 138 career blocks. She is also the SMU single-season record holder with 73 blocks in 2015-16.
Dai'ja Thomas was second on the team last year with 40 blocks, and
Klara Bradshaw posted 33. SMU also set the single-season rebounds record with 1,409 boards last season. It was the second straight season in which the rebounds record was broken. The Mustangs finished with 1,331 rebounds in 2015-16, which was the most since the 1981-82 season.
SMU SINGLE-SEASON BLOCKS
1. 187 2016-17
2. 184 2015-16
3. 160 2014-15
4. 142 2005-06
5. 129 2002-03
SMU SINGLE-SEASON REBOUNDS
1. 1,409 2016-17
2. 1,331 2015-16
3. 1,327 1981-82
4. 1,315 1995-96
SMU CAREER BLOCKS
1. Sarah Davis (2003-06) 180
2.
Alicia Froling (2015-Present) 145
3. Karlin Kennedy (1996-00) 139
4.
Stephanie Collins (2015-Present) 138
T-5. Katie Remke (1997-01) 109
T-5. Janielle Dodds (2004-08) 109
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Alicia Froling represented Australia at the 2015 FIBA U19 Women's World Championships in Russia, winning a Bronze medal with the team, her second career medal at the World Championships with Australia. A native of Queensland, Australia, Froling averaged 8.1 points per game, reaching double-figures twice, including a tournament-high 19 points during group play.
Stephanie Collins also represented Australia at the 2012 World University Games.
