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Weekly Release
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Tulsa's Jillian Robbins has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 10. This is the third WAC Player of the Week honor for the sophomore this season.
Robbins, a sophomore from Spring, Texas, helped the Golden Hurricane even their WAC record at 2-2 with wins against Boise State and UTEP. Robbins had back-to-back games with a double-double. For the week, Robbins averaged 21.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. She was 16-of-23 from the field for an outstanding 70-percent.
In Tulsa's first WAC win of the year against Boise State, Robbins was nearly unstoppable as she drained a career-high 11 field goals, shooting 79-precent (11-of-14) from the field to finish with 25 points. She also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, adding seven blocked shots and two steals in 34 minutes. Robbins notched her seventh 20-point effort of the year and posted the third-highest point total of her career.
Against UTEP, Robbins hit 5-of-9 field goals (.560) and 8-of-10 free throw attempts (.800) to finish with 18 points, and she also collected 10 rebounds for her third-straight game with a double-double and her sixth in Tulsa's last seven outings. Robbins also accounted for three blocked shots in 30 minutes of action. Robbins has seven double-doubles this season and has scored in double figures in nine of 13 games
Other nominees included: Tasha Crain, Louisiana Tech; Talisha Anderson, Nevada; Michelle Woods, Rice and Amber Jackson, San Jose State.
REGAL RPI As the WAC season gets going, the league is having a stellar season. After two weeks of WAC play, the league has overall Rating Percentage Index (RPI) of seven, according to the Womens Basketball Coaches Association. This is the highest RPI for the WAC in five seasons.
Last season at this time, the WAC had a WBCA RPI of 13th, while during the 2002-03 season the league was 10th. Since the 1999-00 season, the WAC has not had an RPI lower than 10th.
The WAC has six schools with an RPI under 70, and according to the WBCA has one school with an RPI higher than 200. Louisiana Tech has an RPI of 17th to lead the WAC, while Tulsa is currently ranked No. 33, according to the WBCA. SMU is ranked 38th, while Fresno State currently has an RPI of 60th. Rice has an RPI of 65th, and Hawaiis RPI is 69.
JACKSON FIRST IN THE NATION IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE San Jose State freshman sensation, Amber Jackson, leads the nation in field goal percentage in this weeks NCAA statistics. Jackson is shooting .698 this season in 13 games. She leads the next WAC player, Louisiana Techs Tasha Crain, by almost two points per game. With the graduation of Tatiana and Teoma Taylor and all-WAC selection Cricket Williams, Jackson has emerged as a leader for the Spartans this season.
NEVADA EARNS FIRST WAC WIN Nevada broke a five-game losing streak with one of its biggest wins in recent history when it downed SMU 63-62 on Jan. 8. The Wolf Pack is now one game short of doubling its disappointing win total from last season with more than 14 games left on the schedule. Nevada is now 4-8 against the Mustangs, breaking a three-game losing streak in the series. Last season, the Wolf Pack ended the season 3-26. Nevada is now 4-4. The Wolf Pack has tallied wins against Big 12, Mountain West and Big West conference teams.
BOUNCING BACK Both Tulsa and Rice rebounded from tough opening WAC weekends with sweeps last week at home. The Golden Hurricane and the Lady Owls were both swept by Louisiana Tech and SMU in the first week of WAC play. Last week, the travel partners both swept Boise State and UTEP. The last time Rice opened the WAC season 2-2 was in 2000, when the Lady Owls won the WAC championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. This week, the teams faceoff in Tulsa.
WAC AGAINST THE REST The WAC is 61-32 (.656) this season. The WAC has a solid record against several conferences, including an 8-2 record against the Sun Belt Conference. The WAC is undefeated against the ACC (2-0). The ACC has the highest RPI in the country. WAC teams are also 7-2 against the Southland Conference and 5-3 against the Mountain West Conference. The WAC has a 2-4 record against the SEC, the conference with the second-highest RPI, according to the WBCA rankings.
AND THEN THERE WAS ONE After last weeks games, Louisiana Tech is the only remaining undefeated team in WAC play. Fresno State lost to both the Lady Techsters and SMU. The Mustangs also dropped a game to Nevada on the road.
Louisiana Tech ended non-conference play at 4-4 before once again displaying its WAC dominance with four victories in their first four league games. The Lady Techsters look to stretch their record to 6-0 with games at home against San Jose State and Hawaii.
Fresno State is now tied for fourth with both Rice and Tulsa. SMU is second with a 3-1 WAC record.
COACHES REACH MILESTONES Rice's 55-50 win over UTEP marked head coach Cristy McKinneys 200th Rice victory. In her 12 seasons at Rice, she is now 201-136.
SMU head coach Rhonda Rompola posted her 400th game at the helm of the Mustangs at Nevada. Rhompola has been at SMU 13 years and has 247 wins as the Mustangs head coach.
WAC VS. RANKED TEAMS WAC teams are 0-5 against ranked teams this season. Fresno State is 0-1 with a loss to No. 18 UCLA at Savemart Center on Dec. 11. Rice is 0-2 against ranked teams with losses to Baylor and Texas Tech, when both teams were both ranked No. 11. SMU also has a loss to No. 23 TCU. Hawaii lost to No. 17 Houston at home.
UNDERCLASSMEN TAKE CHARGE This season season has seen the young players take charge. San Jose State freshman Amber Jackson is first in the league in scoring (18.5 ppg). She is first in the league and the nation in field goal percentage (.698) and second in rebounding (9.2 rpg). Super sophomores Jillian Robbins of Tulsa and Lauren Neaves of Rice have showed no signs of a sophomore slump. Robbins is first in the WAC in rebounding (9.8 rpg), and Neaves is fourth (8.6 rpg). Robbins is third in the WAC in scoring, averaging 16.4 ppg.
WAC TO CHANGE IN 2005-06 Over the last year, the WAC issued invitations to Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State effective July 1, 2005, the same date that Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa are moving to Conference USA.
This season, Idaho is 6-5, 1-1 in the Big West. New Mexico State is 5-8, 0-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. Last week, the Aggies defeated No. 22 Houston. It was the Aggies first-ever win over a ranked team. Utah State is 6-6, passing the win total of all of last season, the Aggies first season. USU is 1-2 in the Big West.
HAWAII SAYS ALOHA TO BOLLA Hawaii announced the hiring of Jim Bolla as the new coach of the Rainbow Wahine basketball program. Bolla replaces Vince Goo, who retired following the conclusion of the 2003-04 season after 17 seasons as head coach.
Bolla was formerly head coach at UNLV. During his 14-year tenure at UNLV, from 1982 to 1996, Bolla became the most successful coach in the programs history with a record of 300-120 (.714). He led the Lady Rebels to nine post-season appearances, including seven NCAA Tournament bids, and guided his teams to 11 winning seasons, including nine consecutive with 20 or more wins. Bolla guided the school to its highest ranking during the 1989-90 season when the Lady Rebels were ranked second in the nation in both the AP and USA Today polls, before finishing the season with a 28-3 mark.
WAC TOURNAMENT TRAVELS TO RENO After one season in Fresno, the WAC Tournament will move to Reno in 2005. The 2005 WAC Tournament will be played at Nevadas Lawlor Events Center, March 8-12. The seven through 10 seeded teams will play on Tuesday, March 8. The remaining six teams will play in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 9 with the top seed competing versus the winner of the 8-9 Tuesday game, the No. 2 seed vs. No. 7 or No. 10, etc. The winners will play in the semifinals on Friday and the championship game will be Saturday.
FRESNO STATE TO HOST FIRST AND SECOND ROUND OF NCAA TOURNAMENT Fresno State has been selected to host the first and second rounds of the 2005 NCAA Womens Basketball Tournament.
The first and second rounds for the 2005 and 2006 championships will be conducted at eight pre-determined sites, which represents a format change from the 16 first and second-round sites in previous years.