WATCH OUT FOR THE WAC
With six of the top 10 scorers returning from the 2006-07 season, the Western Athletic Conference is set for another exciting women’s basketball season. Katie Madison of Idaho (19.1) and Sherell Neal of New Mexico State (15.7) return as the top two scorers from just a season ago. The WAC has several key non-conference matchups this season. WAC teams could play at least 18 teams that advanced to either the NCAA Tournament or the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) last season. WAC teams will face one team that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen (Arizona State), one team that reached the Final Four (LSU), and Louisiana Tech will face defending national champion Tennessee.
BOISE STATE FAVORED IN PRESEASON POLLS
Boise State, the 2006-07 Western Athletic Conference regular season co-champion and tournament title winner, was selected as the favorite by both the coaches and the media in the WAC preseason polls. The Broncos received seven of the nine first-place votes in the coaches poll and nine of the 15 top votes in the media poll.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAMS ANNOUNCED
Along with the preseason polls, the coaches and media also voted on preseason all-WAC teams. Both the coaches and media selected Boise State junior guard Jessica Thompson, the 2007 WAC Tournament MVP, as the WAC’s preseason Player of the Year. Thompson was also selected to both the coaches and media’s first team all-WAC.
In the coaches poll, junior Nevada guard Dellena Criner and Hawai’i senior forward Tanya Smith, 2006-07 first team all-WAC honorees, also earned spots on the preseason team. New Mexico State forward Sherell Neal and Fresno State guard Tierre Wilson round out the first team. Second-team selections include Shanavia Dowdell (Louisiana Tech), Brandi Fitzgerald (Nevada), Tasha Harris (Boise State), Katie Madison (Idaho) and Taylor Richards (Utah State). The media’s all-WAC team included Thompson, Criner, Neal, Madison, and Wilson.
NEW MEXICO STATE TO HOST 2008 WAC TOURNAMENT
Lac Cruces and New Mexico State University will host the 2008 WAC Tournament, March 11-15. It will be the second year in a row that the event will be held at the Pan American Center. The tournament features all nine men’s and women’s teams. Boise State defeated host New Mexico State in last year’s tournament championship game, 49-46.
RETURNING STAT LEADERS
Six of the top 10 scorers return for the 2007-08 season, including the top two scorers, Katie Madison of Idaho (19.1) and Sherell Neal of New Mexico State (15.7). Also returning is Nevada’s Dellena Criner who was fourth in scoring (14.6) and Tierre Wilson who as fifth in scoring (14.4). Boise State’s Jessica Thompson, who was seventh in scoring, averaging 13.7 ppg also returns along with New Mexico State’s Anikia Jawara who was eighth (13.1). Seven of the top 10 rebound leaders return. Neal is the leading returning rebounder with a 10.8 rpg average last season (first in the WAC). Hawai?i’s Tanya Smith was second in rebounding last year, averaging 9.2 rpg. Other returning rebounds leaders are: Idaho’s Katie Madison (8.9), New Mexico State’s Anikia Jawara (7.5), San Jose State’s Brittany Powell (6.4), Fresno State’s Tierre Wilson (6.4) and Idaho’s Sara Dennehy (6.4).
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
The WAC has several key non-conference matchups this season. WAC teams could play at least 18 teams that advanced to either the NCAA Tournament or the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) last season. WAC teams will face one team that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen (Arizona State), one team that reached the Final Four (LSU) and Louisiana Tech will face defending national champion, Tennessee.
Games vs. 2006-07 Postseason Teams:
California at Fresno State, Nov. 10
San Jose State at Oregon, Nov. 10
Montana at Boise State, Nov. 11
Washington at Hawai?i, Nov. 16
BYU at Fresno State, Nov. 17
Nevada at Gonzaga, Nov. 17
Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky, Nov. 20
Nevada vs. Stephen F. Austin, Nov. 23
Oklahoma State at Fresno State, Nov. 24
Louisiana Tech at Tennessee, Nov. 26
Utah State at Idaho State, Nov. 28
Utah at Fresno State, Dec. 1
New Mexico at New Mexico State, Dec. 2
New Mexico State at BYU, Dec. 5
Washington at Boise State, Dec. 7
Nevada at UC Riverside, Dec. 9
Mississippi State at Louisiana Tech, Dec. 13
Idaho at Montana, Dec. 15
Utah State at Utah, Dec. 15
Fresno State at Arizona State, Dec. 17
LSU at Louisiana Tech, Dec. 20
New Mexico State at New Mexico, Dec. 21
Boise State at Idaho State, Dec. 29
BYU at Utah State, Dec. 29
Fresno State at UC Riverside, Dec. 29
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING
A total of six players from both the all-WAC first and second-teams will return. Three players will return from the first team, including Nevada’s Dellena Criner, Hawai?i’s Tanya Smith and Boise State’s Jessica Thompson. There is also a trio returning from the second team, including Newcomer of the Year, Katie Madison, from Idaho, New Mexico State’s Sherell Neal and Fresno State’s Tierre Wilson. There are two members of the all-defensive team returning, Nevada’s Criner and New Mexico State’s Neal. Both bring their defensive skills back for the 2007-08 season.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State returns seven letterwinners and three starters from last year’s WAC championship team that went 24-9 overall and set a school record for wins last season. Returning starters include WAC Tournament MVP Jessica Thompson. Thompson has led the team in scoring average the past two seasons, including her 13.7 points per game which ranked sixth in the WAC last year. The seven returners from last year’s squad accounted for 66 percent of the points scored, 72 percent of the rebounds, 70 percent of the assists, 60 percent of the blocks, 66 percent of the minutes played, and 76 percent of the steals. Head coach Gordy Presnell is entering his third season at the helm of the program where he has gong 39-24 (.619) in the first two years.
Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
One of the toughest home teams in the WAC, Fresno State has compiled a 32-4 record at the Save Mart Center under fourth-year head coach Adrian Wiggins. Part of that home court advantage is attributed to the Bulldog faithful as Fresno State has averaged 2,300 fans per game over the past three seasons. Senior guard Tierre Wilson, a second-team all-WAC selection a year ago, is the top returning scorer at 14.4 points a game. Last year, Wilson led Fresno State in scoring 12 games and rebounding in 10. After not beating a ranked opponent in 14 years, the Bulldogs defeated No. 18 Brigham Young and No. 23 Texas Tech in a matter of two weeks last season.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine head into the new season after recording a second-straight winning season last year with a 15-14 overall mark. The team finished WAC play with a 9-7 record last year. The team returns eight letterwinners and two starters from last season, including Tanya Smith who led the team in scoring (14.4) and rebounding (10.4) during WAC play and was a first-team all-conference selection. Hawai?i welcomes five new players to the team this year, including the program’s first-ever recruits from Alabama and Canada. The team sports an incredibly diverse roster with players from five different states and four foreign countries. Head coach Jim Bolla begins his fourth season with Hawai?i. Bolla holds a 44-39 record with the team.
Idaho Vandals (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals return six players from last year’s team, including sophomores Katie Madison and Charlotte Otero. Madison led the WAC in scoring (19.1 ppg) and field goal percentage (.496) last year, and earned the WAC Newcomer of the Year award as a true freshman, and Otero led the league in assists (4.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.24), also as a true freshman. Idaho led the WAC in three-point field goals made during the 2006-07 season, hitting 5.36 per game. Idaho’s 2007 recruiting class came from far and wide, with seven new players representing six states and territories. Coach Mike Divilbiss needs just 12 wins to bring his career total to 400. His career record is currently 388-216 with a .642 winning percentage in 20 years as a head coach.
La Tech Lady Techsters (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Under head coach Chris Long, Louisiana Tech claimed a share of the 2007 Western Athletic Conference regular season title, the program’s sixth-straight WAC title and 15th straight regular season title (dating back to the Sun Belt Conference). The team posted a 17-13 mark last year, the program’s 32nd consecutive winning season. The Lady Techsters’ non-conference slate includes LSU, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Alabama and Western Kentucky. The team lost all five of its starters (four to graduation, one transfer) and has a total of just four career starts on its roster. Tech welcomes five newcomers to the roster, including Miss Basketball in the state of Louisiana (Tarkeisha Wysinger) and the Gatorade Player of the Year in Louisiana (Adrienne Johnson).
Nevada Wolf Pack (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Wolf Pack qualified for the Women’s National Invitational Tournament in 2006-07, marking its first postseason tournament appearance in its Division I history. The team fell to eventual champion Wyoming. Since a 3-26 campaign in 2003-04, the Wolf Pack has increased its win total by an average of 4.8 games per season to a 17-15 mark last year. Nevada returns nine letterwinners, including three starters from last season’s WNIT team. Head coach Kim Gervasoni has improved the team’s victory total in each of her four seasons at Nevada, and has also increased home attendance by 35 percent last year. All-WAC first team honoree Dellena Criner returns for her junior campaign. Criner led the team in scoring (14.6), steals (87), assists (77), and minutes per game (31.1) last year.
New Mexico State Aggies (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies will have five seniors on their roster this season. The team return nine starters and four starters from last year’s team that went 13-18 overall and 6-10 in league play. All-WAC honoree Sherell Neal returns after leading the league in rebounding at 10.8 per game last season. Neal also ranked second in the league in scoring at 15.1 points per game last year. NMSU also returns Anikia Jawara, who averaged 7.5 rebounds and 13.1 points per game last season. Neal and Jawara combined to score 47.4 percent of the Aggies’ total points in 2006-07. Head coach Darin Spence enters his fifth season with the team. Spence’s four WAC Tournament victories in the past two seasons are tied for the most by any coach in the WAC.
San Jose Spartans (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Pam DeCosta begins her first season at the helm of the Spartan program. She comes to SJSU from Lynn University in Boca Roaton, Fla., where she spent the past four seasons as the head coach. The Spartans return nine letterwinners and all five starters from last year’s team. Sophomore forward Brittany Powell led the team in scoring during the WAC season at 12.1 points per game. She was named to the WAC all-Freshman team. Myosha Barnes returns for her junior season after leading the team with a .707 clip from the free throw line as she connected on 65 of her 92 attempts.
Utah State Aggies (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State is entering its fifth year of basketball since reinstating the program for the 2003-04 season, after discontinuing the program following the 1987 season. Taylor Richards returns for her senior season after becoming the Aggie record holder for career assists last year. Richards also ranks third in career three-pointers with 69 treys and eighth in career steals with 113. She is also No. 10 on the career points list with 850. Five Aggies averaged at least 20 minutes per game with Richards leading the way with 32.5 minutes a game. Seven players scored 10 or more points in at least two games last season. Head coach Raegan Pebley returns for her fifth season, which is the longest tenure in the program’s history.