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WAC BASKETBALL NOTEBOOKLADY TECHSTERS FALL IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE NCAA TOURNAMENT Playing on the road for only the third time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Louisiana Tech fell to UC Santa Barbara 57-56 in Austin, Texas.
Louisiana Tech's hopes of its 14th final four appearance were stopped by UC Santa Barbara's Jess Hansen who hit a 17-footer with 1.1 seconds remaining to lift the Gauchos in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Hansen's heroics came after Tech's Cheryl Ford missed the front end of a one-and-one with 8.9 seconds left in the game and the Lady Techsters leading by one.
The game-winning shot completed a strong second half come back by UCSB who trailed by as many as 13 in the second half. Tech led 45-32 with 12:04 remaining but went cold from the field, hitting only four of its last 19 shots in the game while being outscored 25-11.
The loss by the Lady Techsters marked only the third time in the program's history a Tech team had not advanced past the first round.
RICE AND HAWAII FALL IN WNIT After strong seasons, both the Hawaii and Rice women's basketball teams fell in the first round of Women's National Invitational Tournament. Hawaii fell to Oregon State in Corvallis, while the Owls fell to the University of Houston in Houston.
Hawaii dug itself in a deep hole and couldnt quite recover, in falling to Oregon State, 62-50, in the first round of the WNIT. Oregon State's Felicia Ragland scored 24 points and the Beavers blitzed the Rainbow Wahine with a 16-0 run in the first half to end UHs post-season title hopes.
Hawaii finished with a 23-8 overall record for its third-straight 20-win season and its sixth in the last seven seasons.
Despite strong performances from junior Kara Liggett and sophomore Johnetta Hayes, the Lady Owls' season came up short in a close 67-65 loss to Houston at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Lady Owls end the 2001-02 season with a 21-9 record. It is their fourth season with at least 20 wins in the last five years.
LA TECH REPRESENTS the WAC in 2002 NCAA TOURNAMENT Louisiana Tech, Western Athletic Conference Tournament and regular season champions, will represent the WAC in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. The Lady Techsters advance to their 21st NCAA Tournament, only Tennessee has advanced to as many tournaments. The WAC Champions are the No. 5 seed in the East Regional.
Louisiana Tech earned the WACs automatic bid by defeating Hawaii in the Williams WAC Tournament Championship game, 53-50 on March 9. The Lady Techsters enter the NCAA Tournament with a 25-4 record and hold an overall NCAA Tournament record of 61-18. Last season, the Lady Techsters defeated Georgia State, former WAC school TCU and Missouri before falling to UConn, 67-48.
SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS Several WAC players made it into the single-season top 10 this season. Tulsa's Alyssa Shriver ended the season with 77 blocks good for fourth all-time in league history. Hawaii's Christen Roper was right behind Shriver with 75 blocks this season. The Hawaii junior holds the single-season record with 98 last season. Rice's Johnetta Hayes added to the total of four 2001-02 players that made a dent in the block records. Hayes finished seventh with 64 blocks, while Louisiana Tech's Cheryl Ford ended the season 12th with 52 blocks.
Tulsa's Becky Heidotten finished the season third in field goal percentage, shooting 64.0 percent. San Diego State's Michelle Suman holds the first two spots.
TWO LADY TECHSTERS NAMED TO ALL-DISTRICT TEAM Louisiana Tech had two players named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/Kodak All-District team for District Seven. Sophomore Amber Obaze and senior Ayana Walker earned the honor. Both are now eligible for All-American honors which will be announced at the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas on March 28.
District 7
Jordan Adams New Mexico C
Linda Frohlich UNLV F
Angie Gorton Colorado State G
Amber Obaze Louisiana Tech G
Erin Thorn BYU G
Ayana Walker Louisiana Tech F
THE WAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT The WAC owns an all-time record of 15-33 (.313) in NCAA Tournament games. The nine teams from the 2000-01 season own an 8-17 (.320) record, 4-6 (.400) as WAC members. New WAC member Louisiana Tech is 61-19 (.763) in NCAA play. The WAC's other new member, Boise State is 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament.
THE WAC IN THE WNIT The WAC owns an all-time record of 13-14 (.481) in WNIT games. The 10 teams currently in the WAC own an 11-9 (.550) record in WNIT games, 7-6 (.538) as WAC members. Last season, Hawai`i advanced to the semifinals of the WNIT, falling to New Mexico.
LA TECH WINS WILLIAMS WAC TOURNAMENT The women's championship was decided in the final minute, as Louisiana Tech pulled out a win against Hawaii. The Lady Techsters defeated the Rainbow Wahine, 53-50. La Tech's Ayana Walker was named the tournament MVP.
In the championship game, MVP Walker scored 14 points in the close win. Cheryl Ford scored 15 points with 13 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season. Walker, Ford and Obaze were La. Tech's three leading scorers entering the game. They combined to score 45 of the Lady Techsters 53 points, including 15 of the final 16 points down the stretch. Ford finished the game with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and was named to the WAC All-Tournament team.
Hawaii had three players in double figures, Christen Roper (12 points), Janka Gabrielova (11 points) and Kim Willoughby (12) all of whom made the all-tournament team. Willoughby was also named to the WAC Volleyball All-Tournament team in November.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Hawai`i placed three players, while WAC Champion Louisiana Tech had two named to the Williams WAC Tournament All-Tournament team. Hawaii's Christen Roper, Janka Garbielova and Kim Willoughby were named the all-tournament team. Louisiana Tech's Cheryl Ford earned all-tournament honors along with teammate Ayana Walker who earned MVP honors.
RECORDS SET Several records were broken at this year's WAC Tournament. Individually, UTEP's Kimya Murray tied the record for three point field goals made in a game with six against SMU in the first round. Murray also tied the record for three pointers attempted with 14 in the same game. As a team, the UTEP squad set the record for three-pointers attempted in a game with 29 against SMU.
Hawaii's defense was responsible for several records falling. The Wahine and Nevada set the record for fewest points in a game with 86 in the quarterfinals (UH 54, Nevada 41). In the semifinals, Hawaii kept Rice to 36 total points. The previous record was 38 set in 1993 when San Diego State kept Fresno State to 38 points. As a team, Hawaii also had the best free throw percentage shooting 81.0 percent (34-42) in three games.
SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS WAC GAMES
Total Points
1. 380 Becky Hammon, CSU, 1996-97
2. 373 Becky Hammon, CSU, 1998-99
3. 333 Cricket Williams, SJSU, 2001-02
Field Goal Percentage
1. 67.9 Becky Heidotten, TU, 2001-02
2. 64.8 Michelle Suman, SJSU, 1991-92
3. 63.9 Amy Burnett, UW, 1992-93
Three-Point Field Goals
1. 56 Kimya Murray, UTEP, 2001-02
2. 55 Becky Hammon, CSU, 1998-99
3. 54 Julie Krommenhoek, UU, 1997-98
Total Blocks
1. 47 Debbie Dimond, BYU, 1992-93
2. 43 Alyssa Shriver, TU, 2001-02
3. 41 Christen Roper, UH, 2000-01
4. 40 Debbie Dimond, BYU, 1994-95
5. 39 Michelle Suman, SDSU, 1993-94
6. 37 Michelle Suman, SDSU, 1994-95
7. 36 Cheryl Ford, LT, 2001-02
8. 34 Johnetta Hayes, RU, 2001-02
Total Free Throws
1. 115 Amy Burnett, UW, 1994-95
2. 105 Amy Pack, UTEP, 2000-01
3. 104 Leela Farr, TU, 2000-01
4. 100 Leela Farr, TU, 2001-02
Total Steals
1. 67 Cricket Williams, SJSU, 2001-02
2. 64 Tomika Young, BYU, 1991-92
3. 58 Jodi Nowlin-Tres, SDSU, 1996-97
4. 57 Kasie Pittman, TU, 1997-98
5. 52 Janee Young, FS, 1997-98
6. 51 Laura Ingham, UN, 2001-02
Tamika Stukes, UNM, 1997-98
WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HONOREES NAMED The 2001-02 all-Western Athletic Conference teams have been named, following a vote of the WAC's head coaches.
The first team has only one repeat performer from last year with Nevada's Kate Smith making her second appearance on the all-WAC squad. Louisiana Tech's Cheryl Ford and Ayana Walker as well as San Jose State's Cricket Williams join Smith on the first team.
Louisiana Tech's Cheryl Ford was named player of the year as the Lady Techsters complete their first season in the WAC. Ford a junior center from Summerfield, La., had a strong conference season. In WAC games, Ford was fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game. She led the WAC in rebounding (10.4 rpg) and was tied for second in blocks (2.00 bpg).
Louisiana Tech's Erica Smith and Fresno State's Aritta Lane tied for Co-Freshman of the Year honors. It was the first time since the 1998-99 season that two players earned the award. In league games, Smith was second in field goal percentage, shooting 50.5 percent. Lane was fourth in the league in rebounding (8.2 rpg), playing in all 28 of the Bulldogs' games.
20 SOMETHING Three WAC teams have already recorded 20 wins this season. Louisiana Tech has recorded at least 20 wins in 25 of its 28 seasons. Rice reached 20 wins in its last regular season game. With its win over Tulsa the Owls not only reached the 20-win mark, but they also secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament.