Week three of WAC action will see only six league games. First-place Fresno State will host Idaho and Hawai'i. Two teams are still looking for its first two WAC wins, Utah State and Nevada. Won of these losing streaks will come to an end as the Aggies and Wolf Pack meet in Reno on Jan. 21.
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XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ?“ New Mexico State?™s Cecilia Russell-Nava has been named the Xbox Live Western Athletic Conference Women?™s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 16. This is the second Player of the Week honor of the season for the Aggies and the first for Russell-Nava this season.
Russell-Nava, a junior from Santa Cruz, Calif., came off the bench to average 15.5 points on 9-for-17 shooting from three-point territory, as the Aggies picked up a split on a long WAC road trip. At Hawai?™i, she scored 11 of her 17 points in overtime, including all five Aggie points in double overtime as New Mexico State defeated host Hawai?™i 72-69 in double overtime at the Stan Sheriff Center. Russell-Nava made five of eight three-pointers in the game and pulled down a career-high five rebounds. At Fresno State, she led the Aggies with 14 points on 4-of-9 three-point shooting in New Mexico State?™s 68-52 loss to the Bulldogs.
Other nominees included: Jackie Lee of Boise State averaged 12.5 as the Broncos defeated Utah State and Nevada … Mirenda Swearengin of Fresno State averaged 14.0 points as the Bulldogs defeated Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State … Leilani Mitchell of Idaho averaged 19.5 points as the Vandals defeated Nevada and Utah State … Lamisha Augustine of San Jose State scored 38 points as the Spartans won two non-conference games… Ali Marchant of Utah State averaged 7.5 points and 9.5 rebounds as the Aggies dropped two WAC games.
PLAY UP ?“ The WAC?™s marketing campaign, the Play Up Tour, will be hitting women?™s basketball games throughout the season. At least one game from each school will be singled out as the game of the week. This week?™s game will be Utah State at Nevada. At the end of the season, the fans will have a chance to vote for the Play Up Player of the Year for both men and women?™s basketball. The Play Up Player of the Game from each of the 18 games on the Tour will be listed on wacsports.com.
TUNE IN ?“ All 10 games this week can be viewed on wac.tv. On the wacsports.com web site there is a LIVE VIDEO link to each game. The games this week can be viewed for free.
JUST LIKE OLD TIMES ?“ Idaho and Fresno State have met just once prior to the 2005-06 season. That meeting was in the first round of the WNIT in 1986 in a game Idaho won 74-61 on its way to winning the tournament championship. Thus far in the 2005-06 season, Fresno State leads the WAC with an 11-4 overall record and a 3-0 conference record. Idaho is 3-1 in the WAC with its only loss coming against Louisiana Tech on Jan. 7.
LOUISIANA TECH?™S WILLIAMS AND IDAHO?™S FAURHOLT NAMED TO NAISMITH WATCH LIST ?“ Louisiana Tech senior Tasha Williams and Idaho senior Emily Faurholt are two of 50 players nationwide named to the 2005-06 Naismith Trophy Watch List presented by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club.
Williams, a Kingsland, Ark., native has hit 41 percent of her field goals, 33 percent of her three-pointers and 80 percent of her free throws on the season while leading Louisiana Tech in scoring six times and in rebounding four times. Williams, who recently became the 36th Lady Techster to ever score 1,000 points or more in their collegiate career.
Faurholt is currently second on the Idaho records list for career free throws made with 410. The Idaho school record of 517 made free throws is held by Alli Nieman. Faurholt is first in the WAC in scoring, averaging 20.0 ppg. She is the only player in the WAC to average at least 20.0 ppg.
DID YOU KNOW??? ?“ Emily Faurholt and Leilani Mitchell enter their second-consecutive week holding the highest points-per-game average of any duo in the nation. Faurholt is currently averaging 20.0 ppg while Mitchell is scoring 19.3 ppg.
MAKING STRIDES ?“ Boise State has already made great strides under first-year head coach Gordy Presnell. With two wins last week Boise State improved to 10-6 overall, matching the most wins in a season since the Broncos joined the WAC in 2001. In 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2004-05 the Broncos ended the season with 10 wins. The most WAC wins Boise State has had since entering the league was six.
HIGH POWERED-OFFENSE ?“ San Jose State?™s Lamisha Augustine and Amber Jackson have combined for nine double-doubles in 2005-06. Jackson scored one in each of the first three games of the season (against Gonzaga at home, at Cal State Northridge, and against Portland State at home). She scored her last two at home against Colorado State and at Santa Clara. Augustine has scored doubledoubles against Gonzaga at home, vs. Vermont at the Hawkeye Challenge, vs. Colorado State at home and South Dakota State at home.
VANDALS AMONG NCAA LEADERS ?“ Idaho?™s Leilani Mitchell is third in the nation in steals, averaging 4.0 spg. Mitchell is also 12th in assists per game (6.2). Mitchell?™s teammate Emily Faurholt is up to 12th in the country in points per game (20.0 ppg), while Mitchell is 26th averaging 19.3 ppg.
WAC PLAYERS AMONG NATION?™S LEADERS ?“ San Jose State?™s Amber Jackson is ninth in the nation in field goal percentage (.623). Boise State?™s Nadia Begay is 13th in the nation in three-point field goals per game (2.9), while Louisiana Tech?™s Shan Moore is 17th in free throw percentage (.886). Hawai'i?™s Brittany Grice is 19th in blocks (2.5 bpg), while San Jose State?™s Lamisha Augustine is 28th (2.3 bpg).
ESPN TO CELEBRATE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF NCAA WOMEN?™S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ?“ Beginning Monday, Jan. 9, through the National Championship game on April 4, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will count down the 25 most memorable moments from the NCAA Women?™s Basketball Tournament?™s 25-year history. A 30-second vignette will air during 25 women?™s basketball telecasts in ranking order, starting with No. 25 during the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge featuring Oklahoma at Ohio State on January 9 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Moments ranked 24-11 will continue to be announced during regular-season women?™s basketball coverage through Selection Monday on March 13.
The moments and rankings were determined by an industry-wide blue ribbon panel consisting of notable players, coaches, journalists and executives from the NCAA and WBCA.
One of the featured moments:
Final Four (Norfolk, Va.) ?”1982
The Lady Techsters win the first-ever NCAA title, beating Cheyney, 76-62. Janice Lawrence is named first-ever Most Outstanding Player as a sophomore.
NEVADA TO HOST 2006 TOURNAMENT ?“ For the second consecutive year, Nevada?™s Lawlor Events Center (11,200) will host the WAC Basketball Tournament. The dates for this year?™s tournament are March 7-11. The 2007 and 2008 tournaments will be held in Las Cruces, N.M.
IDAHO SETS WAC RECORD ?“ Idaho set a WAC and Idaho record with 40 three-point field goal attempts against Oklahoma State. Idaho was 10-of-40 (.250) in the game.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ?“ The 2005-06 season marks the 18th year of women?™s basketball at Utah State, and just the third since the program was restarted prior to the 2003-04 season. The women?™s hoops program at USU had been disbanded following the 1987 season due to budget cuts. USU is playing its inaugural season in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) after playing its first two seasons in the Big West Conference.
HAWAI'I PLOWS THROUGH DECEMBER ?“ Hawai'i went a perfect 6-0 in the month of December, including a pair of road wins in its first non-conference road games in a dozen years. It marked just the third time in the last 14 seasons that UH went undefeated in the month heading toward conference play. The last time UH last went undefeated in December was 2000.
AGAINST THE BEST ?“ The WAC won its first game against a ranked team when Louisiana Tech defeated No. 25 Mississippi. Louisiana Tech is 1-1 against ranked teams with a loss to No. 1 Tennessee. New Mexico State is 0-2 with two losses to New Mexico. Fresno State is 0-2 against ranked teams with Pac-10 losses to then- No. 13 Stanford and No. 10 Arizona State. Hawai'i has one loss to a ranked team with a loss to then-No. 22 USC.
WAC JOINS NCAA CELEBRATION OF WOMEN?™S CHAMPIONSHIPS ?“ The Western Athletic Conference has joined the NCAA national office in celebrating the 2005-06 season as the 25th anniversary of NCAA Women?™s Championships.
The NCAA is encouraging the more that 1,020 member colleges, universities and conferences to recognize the 2005-06 season as the 25th anniversary of women?™s championships. Recognition can include special campus activities, banners and signage, promotional events, program inserts, the naming of anniversary teams, and special awards. Activation kits were provided to all NCAA Division I, II and III colleges and universities in an effort to assist with the initiatives on their campuses.
FAURHOLT CANDIDATE FOR SENIOR AWARD ?“ Idaho?™s Emily Faurholt was announced as a candidate for the 2005-06 Bayer Advantage?® Senior CLASS Award, the nation?™s premier tribute to college seniors. The award, now in its fifth year, is presented annually to the nation?™s senior player-of-the-year for NCAA Division I men?™s and women?™s basketball.
Faurholt, a senior from Kennewick, Wash., is one of Idaho?™s top returning players after averaging 23.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game during the 2004-05 season. Her points-per-game average ranked second in the nation. Faurholt made history as the ninth-quickest player to reach 1,000-career points, reaching the plateau in just her 43rd Division I game, and ended the season on nine all-time records lists at UI.
This season, Faurholt is averaging 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She is shooting the ball at a 50-percent clip both in field goals (26-of-52) and 3-point field goals (7-of-14) and is 23-of-25 (.920) from the free-throw line.
Faurholt is the only representative from the WAC.
FIRST AND SECOND ROUND SITES SET ?“ For the second-straight season, there will be pre-determined sites for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Fresno State was one of the chosen sites. This season is the 25th anniversary of the women?™s basketball tournament. The Final Four travels to Boston, Mass., for its silver anniversary. On April 4-6, Harvard University and Northeastern University will host the Final Four. All games will be played at the FleetCenter, home of the Boston Celtics.