PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Hawai?i’s Pam Tambini has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 19. This is the first career WAC Player of the Week honor for the senior.
Tambini, a forward from San Jose, Calif. (Piedmont Hills) averaged 17.0 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. She also added 2.0 assists per game and 2.0 steals per game in leading the Rainbow Wahine to a pair of WAC home wins and extend UH’s season-long win streak to six games. She tallied 14 points as Hawai?i ended a six-game slide and beat Fresno State for the fist time since January 2004 with a 79-65 win. The senior added 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists in a 79-63 win over Utah State.
Other nominees included: Boise State’s Tasha Harris scored 16 points in a loss to Fresno State ... Tierre Wilson of Fresno State scored 30 points in two games as the Bulldogs went 1-1 last week ... Ty Moore of Louisiana Tech had 13.0 points and 11.5 rebounds as the Lady Techsters won two games ... Traci Graham of Nevada averaged 15.0 points in two games for the Wolf Pack last week ... Brittany Phillips of Utah State scored 35 points in two games as the Aggies split games.
THIS WEEK IN THE WAC ? In week eight of WAC action, Boise State looks to capture its 20th win of the season on the road against San Jose State on Feb. 22. Second-place Louisiana Tech travels to Fresno State and Utah State. Hawai?i looks to extend its winning streak to seven games at home against San Jose State.
DOWN THE STRETCH ? Boise State is still in first place of the league standings but their two-game lead over Louisiana Tech has shrunk to a half game heading into this week’s action. The Broncos and the Lady Techsters split games this season. The Lady Techsters have three games left, while the Broncos have four remaining. There are three teams with seven wins, Fresno State, Nevada and Hawai?i. With two weeks left, the pressure is on. Utah State is just behind the three seven-win teams with a 6-6 conference record.
BRONCOS LOOK FOR 20TH WIN ? The Broncos are in search of their 20th win of the season when they travel to San Jose State and Nevada this week. Boise State suffered only their second loss of the league season and first on the road in WAC play last week when Fresno State defeated them 69-61 on Saturday in central California.
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.
RISE OF THE WAHINE ? Hawai?i has won six-straight games to get back into the thick of the WAC. The Rainbow Wahine last lost on Jan. 25 at San Jose State as Jaime Hall’s jumper with 17 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner in a 57-56 game. The loss dropped UH into a tie for last in the WAC standings with a 1-6 mark. The Rainbow Wahine, however, have since roared back. Hawai`i’s win over Utah State on Sunday put UH in sole possession of fifth place and the Rainbow Wahine are just a half game out of third place, behind Fresno State and Nevada. UH’s current six-game win streak is the team’s longest since an eight-game stretch early last season.
SAN JOSE STATE’S WHITE CLIMBS THE CHARTS ? In only her second season at San Jose State, Natalie White entered the San Jose State career three-point field goals made and attempted top-10 lists. White is in ninth place with 59 three-point field goals made in 55 games played. She is also listed among the top-10 three-point field goals attempted with 226, good for eighth. The Spartan career made record is 199 while the attempt record is 575, both set by Kari Steele from 1994-97.
DOUBLE DIGITS ? Seven of the nine WAC teams have reached double digits in wins. Boise State leads the WAC with 19. Louisiana Tech now has 15 wins followed by Fresno State with 14. Both Nevada and Hawai?i have 13 wins, while both Aggies have 10.
UNDERCLASSMEN CONTINUE TO SHINE ? Underclassman continue to lead the WAC this season. Idaho’s Katie Madison leads the WAC in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game. Madison is 23rd in the nation in scoring. Madison is also fourth in the WAC in rebounding, averaging 8.8 rpg. Boise State sophomore Jessica Thompson remains fourth in the WAC in scoring, averaging 14.8 ppg, while fellow sophomore Dellena Criner of Nevada is fifth in scoring, averaging 14.3 ppg. Criner is first in the WAC in steals and 30th in the nation (2.80 spg). Criner’s teammate, sophomore Brandi Fitzgerald, is fourth in the WAC in steals per game (2.25 spg) just behind Thompson (2.33 spg).
CHASING THE RECORD BOOKS? Fresno State has two players making their way onto the career records lists in school history. Erica Henry entered the top 10 in career blocks this season, and is one block shy of 8th place in that category. Senior Chantella Perera is also well represented in the records books in many categories. Perera is currently fourth in career three-pointers and threes attempted, eighth in free throws made and should join the top 10 in assists and scoring by the end of the year. In addition, she’s second all-time in free throw percentage, and continuing to increase that percentage, where she has been among the national leaders in 2006- 07.
TWO-SPORT ATHLETE ? New Mexico State has added a player to its roster. Krystal Torres, an all-WAC sophomore defensive specialist for the NMSU volleyball team, is joining the team. Torres is a 5-3 guard from Las Cruces, N.M. As a senior at Mayfield High School, she earned first-team all-state honors after leading the Trojans to basketball state championship game.
BOLLA TAKES MEDICAL LEAVE ? Jim Bolla underwent a medical procedure on Monday, Feb. 5, and will be taking a leave of absence to recuperate. Associate coach Pat Charity will serve as interim head coach. Bolla is in his third year as head coach of the Rainbow Wahine. He has a 38-37 mark at Hawai?i and a 338-157 career record. The Rainbow Wahine currently are 9-12 overall and seventh in the WAC with a 3-6 mark. Last season, the Rainbow Wahine enjoyed their best season in four years, finishing with an 18-10 record and a third-place finish in the WAC. Charity was the first assistant to join Bolla’s staff after he was hired in July, 2004. The native of Grand Rapids, Mich., has head coaching experience, having served at her alma mater, Western Michigan, for seven seasons (1990-97).
UTAH STATE’S PEBLEY DELIVERS BABY GIRL ? Utah State women’s basketball head coach Raegan Pebley gave birth to an 8-pound, 9-ounce, 21-inch baby girl, Harper Susan Jane Pebley, on Jan. 30 at 4:30 p.m. at Logan Regional Hospital. Harper is the second child for Pebley and husband Keith, as she joins three-year old brother Joe in the Pebley family.
IDAHO’S WESTBROOKS DONE FOR REMAINDER OF THE SEASON ? Junior wing Ticey Westbrooks will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, according to assistant athletic trainer Megan Borchert. Westbrooks sustained the injury in Wednesday’s triple-overtime victory over New Mexico State. Westbrooks has been plagued by injuries in her time at Idaho. As a freshman she suffered a torn ACL in her left knee, 30 minutes into her first game as a Vandal. Idaho lost senior Karly Felton earlier this season. 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.
LIKE THIEVES IN THE NIGHT ? Nevada is averaging 12.32 steals per contest and is ranked eighth in the country. The next best team in the WAC in steals is Louisiana Tech at 10.19 per game. The Wolf Pack has three players ranked in the top 10 in the WAC in steals per game, led by sophomore guard Dellena Criner who leads the WAC and is 30th in the country at 2.8 steals per game. Brandi Fitzgerald and Traci Graham are fourth and sixth, respectively. The Pack’s proficiency in recording steals and forcing turnovers has the team ranked second in the WAC in turnover margin per game at plus-3.88.
WNIT EXPANSION ? The Women’s National Invitation Tournament will expand its field to 48 teams this spring for the first time in event history. The eight-team expansion will allow for an automatic bid from every conference. The WNIT is guaranteeing that each of the nation’s 31 conferences will automatically have at least one spot guaranteed for one of their teams in the Postseason WNIT.
The selection of the 48 teams for the Postseason WNIT will be according to the following:
1. Thirty-one spots will be filled with one team per conference. That team will be the highest-finishing team in the conference’s regular-season standings, that does not advance to the NCAA Tournament. As in the past, the teams’ record must be at or above .500.
2. The remaining seventeen (17) berths will be filled by the top teams available based on the selection criteria used in the past.
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.
Boise State Broncos (19-6, 10-2 WAC)
Boise State suffered only their second loss of the league season and first on the road in WAC play last week when Fresno State defeated them 69-61 ... the Broncos played without the services of two starters, the Thompsons, who were out with either injury or illness last weekend ... Boise State is still in first place of the league standings but their two-game lead over Louisiana Tech has shrunk to a half game heading into this week’s action ... the Broncos continue to have the league’s top ranked scoring offense (69.8 ppg) and defense (60 ppg) entering the second to last week of the regular season.
Fresno State Bulldogs (14-11, 7-5 WAC)
Fresno State defeated Boise State 69-61 in Fresno last week ... the Bulldogs now have seven conference wins and 14 wins overall ... senior Chantella Perera is 49th in the WAC in free throw percentage (.838) ... she is first in the conference in free throw percentage ... the senior is third in scoring, averaging 15.3 ppg ... teammate Tierre Wilson is sixth, averaging 14.3 ppg ... this week, Fresno State takes on second-place Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State in Fresno.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (13-12, 7-6 WAC)
Hawai?i will play its final home game of the season when it hosts San Jose State, Saturday, Feb. 24 ... it will be Senior Night as five Rainbow Wahine--Cassidy Chretien, Brittany Grice, Amber Lee, Pam Tambini and Janevia Taylor--will be honored at the conclusion of the contest ... UH will look to send its senior class out in style, while continuing its winning rampage ... the Rainbow Wahine have won six-straight games to get back into the thick of the WAC race and will look for some payback against the Spartans (3-24, 2-11 WAC) this week.
Idaho Vandals (5-19, 2-11 WAC)
Phenom freshman Katie Madison leads the WAC with 10 20-plus point games ... Madison also has nine double-doubles this season ... the freshman is first in the WAC in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game which is 23rd in the nation ... in conference games, Madison is also first in scoring averaging 18.5 ppg ... she is second in field goal percentage (.495) behind Hawai?i’s Tanya Smith ... this week, the Vandals travel Reno to face Nevada.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (15-11, 10-3 WAC)
With only two weeks remaining, the Lady Techsters are only a half of a game behind first-place Boise State in the WAC standings ... Louisiana Tech looks make a move this week as the Lady Techsters travel to Fresno State and Utah State ... Boise State will travel to San Jose State and Nevada ... senior Ty Moore is second in the conference in double-doubles with 12 ... teammate Shan Moore is seventh in the WAC in scoring in conference games, averaging 15.2 ppg.
Nevada Wolf Pack (13-12, 7-5 WAC)
Nevada is 7-1 this season when holding opponents to 60 or fewer points and the Wolf Pack is 12-3 when foes score less than 70 points ... with four games left in the regular season, Nevada has already matched its win total (13) from last year and the highest win total in the Kim Gervasoni era ... Nevada is two conference wins away from matching its best-ever WAC finish as the 2000-01 team went 9-7 in WAC play.
New Mexico State Aggies (10-13, 5-6 WAC)
Junior forward Sherell Neal led the New Mexico State women’s basketball team with a double-double consisting of 12 points and 12 rebounds in a 69-53 loss to Louisiana Tech, Wednesday, Feb. 14, in WAC play at the Pan American Center ... Neal is 22nd in the nation in rebounding, averaging 10.1 per game ... Cecilia Russell-Nava is 13th in three-point field goals made per game, averaging 2.7 per game.
San Jose State Spartans (3-24, 2-11 WAC)
Alisha Hicks is the only Spartan listed among the top-100 nationally in any statistical categories ... through games played on February 18, she is 46th in steals at 2.6 per game ... the Spartans rank in the top-100 in two categories, 79th in steals per game at 9.9 pg and 91st in blocks at 3.6 pg ... San Jose State plays its final home game of the season this Thursday, February 22, as the Spartans host Boise State in a WAC game ... the Broncos have a half-game lead over Louisiana Tech in the WAC standings ... the Spartans then travel to Hawai?i for a WAC game on Saturday.
Utah State Aggies (10-14, 6-6 WAC)
Utah State was out-rebounded, 42-26, in the Aggies’ 79-63 loss to Hawai’i last week ... the game had been postponed from Saturday night due to some travel issues for Utah State in getting to Hawaii ... the loss snaps USU’s three-game win streak, its longest since the 2004-05 season, and the Aggies are now 10-14 overall and 6-6 in WAC play ... Utah State was tied for third in the conference standings after Thursday’s win over Nevada, but slipped to sixth with Sunday’s loss ... Hawai’i won its sixth in a row in improving to 13-12 overall and 7-6 in WAC play, moving up to fifth in the league standings.