WEEK TWO OF WAC ACTION ? Boise State continued its strong season with a win over Nevada, 68-65 on CSTV on Jan. 8. Boise State needs four more wins to tie last year’s 15 win total. The Broncos are on the road this week at New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech in two very tough tests. The Aggies and the Lady Techsters are both also 2-0 to start conference play. New Mexico State will also host Idaho this week. Fresno State and Nevada will both host both San Jose State and Hawai?i. In its only game of the week, Utah State will host Idaho on Jan. 11.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Utah State’s Taylor Richards has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 8. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor for the junior and the first ever WAC Player of the Week honor for the Aggies.
Taylor, a guard from West Valley, Utah (Hunter) scored a career-high 28 points, including 17 in the second half, of Utah State’s 81-75 overtime win over Fresno State on Jan. 6. In the game, she also dished out four assists to give her 249 for her career and became USU’s career assists leader, passing Pam Shirley (1977-79) with 245 assists. She also had four steals in the contest and also made a career-high 10 free throws, finishing the night 10-11. In the Jan. 4 loss to Boise State, Richards had 11 points to go with five assists and three steals.
In the Aggies’ two games, Richards shot 50.0 percent (13-of-26) from the field, including 2-of-5 (40.0 percent) from three-point range, hitting 2-of-3 Saturday. Richards’ 28 points was the most scored by an Aggie under head coach Raegan Pebley since Christina Zdenek tallied 31 in a USU win on Jan. 10, 2004 over Cal Poly.
Other nominees included: Jessica Thompson of Boise State scored 24 points in a win against Utah State ... Sara Dennehy of Idaho averaged 21.0 points per game, scoring a career-high 25 points in a loss to Nevada ... Ty Moore of Louisiana Tech averaged 12.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the Lady Techsters’ wins over San Jose State and Hawai?i ... Traci Graham of Nevada averaged 15.5 points as the Wolf Pack split games last week ... Monique Bribiescas of New Mexico State scored 22 points in two games as the Aggies won their first two WAC contests.
AWESOME IN OPENERS ? For the 16th straight season, Louisiana Tech won its conference opener this year, defeating San Jose State 65-52 Thursday. Louisiana Tech’s streak of 16-straight conference opening
wins is the longest in the country.
1. Louisiana Tech 16 (10 Sun Belt Conference, 6 WAC)
2. Duke 15 (ACC)
3. Holy Cross 14 (Patriot)
4. St. Josephs 14 (A-10)
BLAZING BRONCOS ? Following in the foot steps of the No. 5 finish of the Boise State football team, the women’s basketball team is also reaching new territory. For the first time ever, the Broncos have started WAC play 2-0. The 11 wins the Broncos have are more than they had all year from 2001-2005. Under head coach Gordy Presnell, Boise State had its most impressive record since joining the WAC with a 15-15 record. Boise State is led by Jessica Thompson who lead the WAC with five 20 point games.
UTAH STATE PASSES LAST SEASON’S WIN TOTAL ? Utah State surpassed last season’s win total with the Aggies’ fourth win of the year, knocking off Colgate, 58-42, at the Iowa State American Family Insurance Cyclone Classic at ISU’s Hilton Coliseum on Dec. 30. The 42 points was the fewest points allowed by the USU defense since 1984 and was the Aggies’ largest margin of victory since 2005. The win improves Utah State to 4-8 on the season, the program’s fourth year back since being discontinued from 1987-2003. Utah State earned win five in overtime against Fresno State on Jan. 6.
Last year the Aggies were 3-24. USU held Southern Idaho to 44 points in a 78-44 Aggie win on Nov. 27, 1984, and then the Utah State beat Southern Idaho again, 96-39, nine days later on Dec. 3, 1984.
LIKE THIEVES IN THE NIGHT ? Nevada continues to dominate in steals per game. The Wolf Pack are seventh in the nation, averaging 13.4 spg. Earlier this year, Nevada tied a school record with 22 steals against Sacramento State, a game in which the Wolf Pack forced 37 turnovers by the Hornets. The Wolf Pack has three players ranked in the top six in the WAC in steals per game, led by sophomore guard Dellena Criner, who leads the conference and is 36th in the nation. Criner now averages (3.00 spg). Traci Graham is tied for fourth averaging 227 spg, while Brandi Fitzgerald is sixth (2.07 spg).
UTAH STATE’S RICHARDS CAREER ASSISTS LEADER ? Junior guard Taylor Richards now has 249 assists for her career, surpassing Pam Shirley for the top spot on USU’s career assist list, as Shirley had 245 assists from 1977-79.
For her efforts, Richards earned WAC Player of the Week honors. The honor is the first WAC Player of the Week award for a Utah State player since joining the WAC last season, and is the first conference player of the week honor since Ali (Aird) Marchant was named Big West Player of the Week on Feb. 21, 2005. Overall it is the third conference player of the week honor awarded to an Aggie player under head coach Raegan Pebley, as Christina Zdenek received a Big West honor on Oct. 29, 2004.
SLOW OUT OF THE BLOCKS ? For the second-straight year the Rainbow Wahine dropped its first two WAC home games and again it was to New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech. UH is off to its second 0-2 start in WAC play since joining the conference in 1996-97. The Rainbow Wahine started last year 1-4, before finishing third in the standings by the end of the season at 9-7. San Jose State is also off to a 0-2 start after starting last season 2-0. Idaho is the only other winless WAC team after the first week. In their first season in the WAC the Vandals were 1-1 after the first week.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS ? Idaho freshman post Katie Madison had a stellar holiday season. During December, Madison averaged 21.8 points per game, including have four-straight 20 point games. She also averaged 8.8 rebounds per game. She ended the month shooting .564. Against Eastern Washington on Nov. 29, Madison scored a WAC-high 35 points in the win. Madison is first in the WAC in scoring (20.1) and rebounding (9.6). She is also leading the WAC in field goal percentage, shooting .549.
LA TECH GETS TRANSFER FROM BAYLOR ? Former West Monroe High School standout Whitney Jones enrolled at Louisiana Tech and will join the Lady Techster basketball family, according to head coach Chris Long Monday.
Jones, a 5-foot-5 guard who originally signed with the Baylor Bears and played in eight games this season before suffering a stress fracture, will have three years of eligibility remaining and will be eligible to begin practicing as soon as she is cleared physically. She will be eligible to play Nov. 15.
VANDALS LOSE KEY COMPONENT ? Idaho senior Karly Felton will miss the remainder of her senior season after tearing her ACL in her left knee. The injury occurred Nov. 24 in the Vandals’ game against Colorado State at the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational tournament. Felton could use a medical redshirt this season and still have one year of eligibility left if she chooses.
MARSHALL LEAVING FRESNO STATE ? Senior guard Jasmine Marshall announced today that she is leaving the program due to family reasons. Marshall recently married former Bulldog football star and current Carolina Panther Richard Marshall, and has decided to move to the East Coast to live with her husband.
NEW MEXICO STATE TO HOST 2007 TOURNAMENT ? The 2007 WAC Basketball Tournament will be held March 6-10 in Las Cruces, N.M., at the Pan American Center and will be hosted by New Mexico State. The tournament was held at Nevada’s Lawlor Events Center the last two seasons. New Mexico State will also host the 2008 tournament.
FRESNO STATE TO HOST REGIONALS ? Fresno State has been selected to host a 2007 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Regional at the Save Mart Center, the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee announced. The Administrative Committee of the NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet approved the sites.
The Save Mart Center, which hosted its first sporting event in November 2003, experienced March Madness for the first time when Fresno State hosted the first and second rounds of the 2005 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. Arizona State and Stanford won first and second-round contests to advance to the regional round.
The first and second rounds of the 2007 NCAA Championship will be conducted at eight pre-determined sites, with two teams advancing into the regional round of 16.