WAC NOTES
NEVADA’S CRINER NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nevada junior Dellena Criner has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 24-30. Criner, from Oakland, Calif. (Fremont HS), helped Nevada go 2-0 last week, including an 84-63 win over in-state rival UNLV, marking the Pack’s first win over the Rebels since the 1999-2000 season. Nevada also beat San Francisco 66-44 on Sunday. Criner averaged 33.5 minutes per contest and scored 40 points, averaging 20 points per game. She shot 50 percent (12-24) from the field, and went 6-8 (75 percent) from three-point range. Against UNLV, she scored a game-high 22 points and added four assists and three steals. Versus San Francisco, Criner again scored a game-high 18 points and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals. The third-year guard has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games. She also added seven assists, seven rebounds, and five steals in Nevada’s two wins to help the Pack push its unbeaten streak to a season-high four games. For the season, Criner leads the team in points per game with 17.0 and is second on the team in steals with 28.
Other nominees included: Boise State guard Tasha Harris was just four rebounds shy of a triple-double in a win over in-state rival Idaho State ... Fresno State guard Tierre Wilson helped the Bulldogs to two road wins last week, averaging 13.0 points per game ... Hawai?i’s Saundra Cariago had a career-high 16 points against Iona and had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in a win over UC Irvine ... Louisiana Tech guard Tarkeisha Wysinger scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Lady Techsters to a win over Sam Houston State ... New Mexico State senior forward Sherell Neal led the Aggies to a road win over Colorado State, scoring 22 points with 11 rebounds for the 30th double-double of her career ... Utah State guard Jamelah Brown scored 11 points against Brigham Young.
NEVADA ON VERGE OF TEAM HISTORY
With a 9-3 record this season, Nevada has tied the best start in program history. The 1985-86 and 1999-00 teams also started the season with 9-3 marks. The best start in program history is 11-3 held by the 1999-00 team.
BOISE STATE WRAPS UP NON-CONFERENCE SLATE PERFECT AGAINST 2007 POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT TEAMS
Boise State wrapped up the non-conference season with a perfect 4-0 record against teams that advanced to postseason national tournaments last season. The Broncos went 1-0 vs. 2007 WNIT teams (Montana) and 3-0 against teams that advanced to last year’s NCAA Tournament (Washington, Oral Roberts, Idaho State). BSU recorded its fourth consecutive winning season against non-conference opponents dating back to the 2004-05 season.
NEW MEXICO STATE PICKS UP WIN NUMBER 300 IN PAN AMERICAN CENTER
New Mexico State picked up its 300th all-time victory in the Pan American Center with a 79-66 win over Lamar on Dec. 18. The Aggies now join Louisiana Tech as the second team in the Western Athletic Conference with 300 victories in their home arena.
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE
Hawai?i senior Tanya Smith leads the WAC with nine double-doubles this season, already matching her mark from just a year ago. Smith has recorded a double-double in all but four games this year. Louisiana Tech’s JoKeirra Sneed follows right behind Smith with eight double-doubles, while New Mexico State’s Sherell Neal has five. Sixteen other players have at least one double-double this season.
CLUTCH PERFORMANCE
In its 62-61 road victory over SEC foe Alabama, Louisiana Tech trailed by five points with less than 50 seconds to play before scoring the final six points of the game to pull off the win. Nastassja Levingston registered a four-point play with 43 seconds left before Shanavia Dowdell hit a layup with 8.7 seconds to play to seal the victory.
DO I HEAR 30
Only two players in the WAC have reached the 30-point plateau this season. Boise State junior Tasha Harris reached the threshold on Nov. 30 against Portland on the road. Nevada guard Dellena Criner is the only other WAC player to reach the mark, scoring 32 in a win over Idaho State at home on Dec. 2. Criner also leads the league with five 20-point performances this season. Harris is also the only player in the WAC this season to have recorded 10 assists in a single game.
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Teams from the WAC rank 50th or better in seven team statistical categories and in five individual categories through Dec. 10. Nevada holds the highest national mark in the WAC, ranking fifth in the country in steals per game at 14.1. Utah State is one of the top free throw shooting teams in the nation, ranking 13th in the country with a 77.5 percent team clip from the charity stripe. Fresno State ranks 17th in the nation from beyond the arc, averaging 7.3 threes per game. Individually, Hawai?i’s Tanya Smith holds the highest individual national mark in the WAC, ranking 17th in rebounds per game at 10.6. Updated NCAA statistical leaders will be available on Jan. 4.
FRESNO’S SUPER SLATE
Fresno State has not made things easy on itself. The Bulldogs have played seven of their 13 games against teams that made it to last season’s NCAA Tournament or Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
NEVADA WINS NUGGET CLASSIC
Dellena Criner scored a career-high 32 points while freshman Johnna Ward added 19 as the University of Nevada women’s basketball team defeated Idaho State 74-66 in the championship game of the Nugget Classic on Dec. 2. The win marked the Pack’s second Nugget Classic title under Nevada head coach Kim Gervasoni as the Pack also won the tournament in 2005. Brandi Fitzgerald and Criner (MVP) were each named to the All-Tournament team.
STREAKIN’
Fresno State’s Tierre Wilson has scored double digit points in 24 straight games dating back to the 2006-07 season. Sherell Neal recently had a streak of 16 straight double digit scoring performances come to an end on Dec. 5 at BYU. Neal currently has registered five or more rebounds in 36 straight games. Boise State’s Jessica Thompson has connected on a shot from long range in seven consecutive games while teammate Melissa Rima has made 10 straight free throws without a miss.
NEVADA’S SITTON SELECTED AS CANDIDATE FOR LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Nevada senior forward Andrea Sitton has been selected as one of the 30 initial candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for the 2007-08 basketball season. The award ? presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student- Athlete of the Year in eight sports ? focuses on the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition. Lowe’s, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, will award the winner with a trophy during NCAA Final Four. This season, Sitton has played in all nine of Nevada’s games, helping the Pack to a 6-3 overall mark. She is a three-time Academic All-WAC honoree and has a 3.68 GPA in elementary education, and was named to the Dean’s List in the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007, is scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2008. Sitton has participated in a number of community service activities including, the X-Treme Ability Challenge (2004), Race for the Cure (2004-07), the Heart Walk (2005-06), Renown Seniors’ Day (2007) and the Girl’s and Women in Sports Day (2004-06). She has also been a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) since 2004 and is a member of several clubs including Interadversity, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and Champions for Christ. From the list of 30 nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in January 2008. Those ten names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient. Prior recipients of the women’s award include Sue Bird of Connecticut (2002), LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State (2003), Alana Beard of Duke (2004), Kendra Wecker of Kansas State (2005), Seimone Augustus of LSU (2006) and Alison Bales of Duke (2007).
NEW MEXICO STATE ENDS 11-YEAR LOSING STREAK TO RIVAL, DEFEATS NEW MEXICO, COACH SPENCE PICKS UP WIN # 50
Down by two at the half, the New Mexico State women’s basketball team outscored New Mexico by 18 points in the second half to end a 22-game losing streak to the Lobos with a 58-42 victory Sunday at the Pan American Center. The 16-point victory ends the 11-year losing streak to the Lobos, who they face again this season on Dec. 21 in Albuquerque. The win in the Rio Grande Rivalry gives New Mexico State 1.5 points and the Aggies now only trail New Mexico 4.5-3.0 in the series. The Aggie men’s basketball team can tie it up with a victory over UNM on Tuesday, Dec. 4 in Las Cruces. Head coach Darin Spence picked up his 50th career victory Sunday and moved into fourth place on the Aggies all-time win list.
COACHING RECORD SCHOOL MARKS
The number 50 seems to be a common mark among coaches in the Western Athletic Conference. Numerous WAC coaches have either picked up win number 50 or are on the verge of 50 wins during their tenure at their respective schools. New Mexico State coach Darin Spence (52-75) picked up his 50th win as an Aggie by defeating in-state rival New Mexico State on Dec. 3. Fresno State’s Adrian Wiggins (51-33) picked up the milestone win at Long Beach State on Dec. 7. Hawai?i head coach Jim Bolla (50-46) got win 50 at home against UC Irvine on Dec. 29. Head Coach Kim Gervasoni became just the second coach in Nevada team history to pick up win number 50, getting the win at home against San Francisco on Dec. 30. Louisiana Tech head coach Chris Long (49-25) needs just one more wins to reach 50, while Boise State head coach Gordy Presnell (47-28) is only three short of 50.
NMSU’S NEAL, FRESNO’S WILSON, AND UH’S SMITH REACH STATISTICAL MILESTONES, OTHERS ON THE THRESHOLD
Senior forward Sherell Neal became the 16th New Mexico State women’s basketball player to score over 1,000 career points in the Aggies season opener Nov. 9, when she led the team to a 65-61 victory at UC Irvine. Neal now has 1,146 points which, ranking her first among active players in the Western Athletic Conference. Fresno State’s Tierre Wilson reached the 1,000-point milestone on Dec. 15 in a win over Cal-State Bakersfield. Wilson now has 1,060 career points and will soon break into Fresno State’s all-time top-10 scoring list. Hawai?i’s Tanya Smith pulled down 41 rebounds in three games at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic Nov. 16-18, helping her reach the 500 career rebound mark. Smith now has 606 career rebounds and is about to break the UH career top-10 list. The 555 career rebounds ranks her second among current WAC players, behind only Neal, who has 830 career boards. Boise State junior Jessica Thompson is now just 30 points shy of 1,000. Boise State’s Jackie Lee needs only 10 more rebounds to reach the 500 mark. Lee is also just 10 assists shy of 200.
TOUGH SCHEDULE
Through the non-conference schedule this season, WAC teams played 26 games featuring a 2007 NCAA Tournament or WNIT opponent. WAC teams have also played seven teams that are either ranked in the top-25 or who are receiving votes in the top-25 polls. No. 13 Cal snuck by Fresno State 83-79 on Nov. 9. WAC teams have already picked up 10 wins against 2007 postseason teams. Hawai?i defeated 2007 NCAA Tournament team Washington 80-75 on Nov. 16. Boise State downed 2007 WNIT participant Montana 67-61 on Nov. 11, and Nevada defeated 2007 WNIT team Stephen F. Austin 64-55 on Nov. 22, NCAA Tournament team Idaho State on Dec. 2, and postseason tournament team UC Riverside on Dec. 9. NMSU defeated BYU 54-52 in Provo on Dec. 5. BSU took care of Washington 88-66 at home on Dec. 7 and defeated Idaho State in Pocatello on Dec. 29. Fresno State defeated UC Riverside on Dec. 29.
LOUISIANA TECH HOME TO TOUGHEST PLACE TO PLAY IN THE NATION
Louisiana Tech’s home court, the Thomas Assembly Center, is a tough place to play. The Lady Techsters have won over 93 percent of their games played in Ruston since the program’s inception in 1974. La. Tech currently holds a 446-36 all-time record on its home floor.
WAC TEAMS FIND SUCCESS AT THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENTS
Teams from the WAC competed in six different tournaments over the Thanksgiving break. Louisiana Tech went 2-0 at the Lady Tiger Thanksgiving Classic in Memphis, Tenn. The Lady Techsters defeated host Memphis 82-77 to claim the title. Louisiana Tech’s Jo Sneed was named the Classic’s MVP, while teammate Tarkeisha Wysinger was named to the All-Tournament team. Boise State finished second at the Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic in Moraga, Calif. The Broncos dropped a 78-63 decision to host St. Mary’s in the championship game. BSU’s Tasha Harris was named to the All-Tournament team. New Mexico State claimed the title of its own tournament, the Thanksgiving Classic in Las Cruces. The Aggies went a perfect 3-0, defeating Kent State, Northern Colorado, and Texas State. Hawai?i placed third at the Jack in the Box Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. The team went 1-2 at the tournament. Nevada went 1-0 at the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic and was unable to play the championship game due to a city power outage. Idaho participated in the Husky Classic in Seattle, where the Vandals went 0-2. Despite the two losses at the Husky Classic, Idaho’s Hannah Wells was named to the All-Tournament team.
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.
Games vs. 2006-07 Postseason Teams:
California def. Fresno State, 83-79, 11/9
Oregon def. San Jose State, 67-32, 11/10
Boise State def. Montana, 67-61, 11/11
Hawai?i def. Washington, 80-75, 11/16
BYU def. Fresno State, 59-87 11/17
Gonzaga def. Nevada, 55-93, 11/17
Western Kentucky def. La. Tech, 87-76, 11/20
Nevada def. Stephen F. Austin, 64-55, 11/22
Oklahoma State def. Fresno State, 87-73, 11/24
Tennessee def. La. Tech, 81-60, 11/26
Idaho State def. Utah State, 69-60, 11/28
Utah def. Fresno State, 82-58, 12/1
New Mexico State def. New Mexico, 58-42, 12/2
Nevada def. Idaho State, 74-66, 12/2
New Mexico State def. BYU, 54-52, 12/5
Boise State def. Washington, 88-66, 12/7
Nevada def. UC Riverside, 62-52, 12/9
Mississippi State def. La. Tech, 63-50, 12/13
Montana def. Idaho, 77-52, 12/15
Utah def. Utah State, 70-38, 12/15
Arizona State def. Fresno State, 79-49, 12/17
LSU def. Louisiana Tech, 76-45, 12/16
New Mexico def. New Mexico St., 62-56, 12/21
Boise State def. Idaho State, 78-74, 12/29
BYU def. Utah State, 70-64, 12/29
Fresno State def. UC Riverside, 68-67, 12/29
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (8-4, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State has concluded their nonconference schedule at 8-4 overall. They won five of their last six contests and went 4-0 against teams that advanced to postseason tournaments last year (1-0 vs WNIT, 3-0 vs. NCAA Tournament teams ... The Broncos defeated instate rival Idaho State 78-74 on the road last weekend in their final tune up for the league season. Boise State has recorded their fourth consecutive winning season against non-conference opponents dating back to the 2004-05 season ... This week Boise State begins defense of their 2007 WAC regular season title when they travel to Fresno State for a 1:00 p.m. tip on Saturday ... Tasha Harris and Jessica Thompson continue to lead the Broncos in scoring at 17.1 ppg and 15.9 ppg respectively.
Fresno State Bulldogs (5-8, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State has won three straight games dating back to an 81-58 victory over Sacramento State ono Dec. 21 ... The Bulldogs defeated UC Riverside 68-67 before taking down Cal State Northridge 69-58 last week ... Tierre Wilson had led the Bulldogs over the past three games, averaging 15.3 points per game ... Over the past three games, Fresno State has outscored its opponent by an average of 11.7 points per game ... The Bulldogs open Western Athletic Conference play this week at home against Louisiana Tech on Jan. 3 and Boise State on Jan. 5.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (6-7, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine have gone 2-1 since Dec. 21 ... The team dropped a 78-72 decision to Portland State before winning two straight over Grambling State (71-53) and UC Irvine (84-79) ... The team wrapped up non-conference play with a 91-69 loss at home to Iona ... Tanya Smith and Saundra Cariaga led the team over the past two weeks with Smith collecting 21 points against Portland State and 20 more in the win over UC Irvine ... Cariaga scored a team-high 15 points in the win against Grambling State and added 16 more against Iona ... Smith continues to lead the WAC in rebounding at 11.0 boards per game ... UH opens conference play on Jan. 9 at Utah State.
Idaho Vandals (1-11, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho picked up its first win of the season, defeating Colorado State 42-31 ... The Vandals set a new WAC record, holding the Rams to just eight field goals in the game ... Sara Dennehy and Katie Madison led the Vandals with nine points each in the win ... Idaho wrapped up non-conference season with a 63-52 loss at Pacific ... Madison continues to lead the team in both scoring (10.7) and rebounding (6.7) this season ... Idaho will open WAC play at New Mexico State on Jan. 3.
La Tech Lady Techsters (6-7, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech snapped a 5-game losing streak with a 93-58 win over Sam Houston State Dec. 29 ... It was the third win over a Southland Conference school for Tech (Northwestern State, Stephen F. Austin) ... Louisiana Tech scored a season-high 93 points in the win, bettering its previous season-high of 92 points in the victory over Northwestern State ... Tarkeisha Wysinger made her third collegiate start and scored a career-high 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out six assists and had five steals ... Sophomore forward Shanavia Dowdell hit 10-of-12 shots and scored a career-high 21 points while addiing 10 boards, her fourth double double of the season ... Senior Jo Sneed had 12 points and 11 rebounds, her eighth double double of the season ... LTU also defeated McNeese State, 88-43, on Dec. 31.
Nevada Wolf Pack (9-3, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada head coach Kim Gervasoni won her 50th career game with Nevada on Sunday vs. San Francisco joining former Nevada coach Ada Gee (1993-2003) as the only two coaches in Nevada history to win at least 50 career games ... Nevada is on a four game win streak ? its longest streak of the season ... Nevada held San Francisco to a season-low 44 points ... Cherlanda Franklin recorded 10 wins against San Francisco tying her career high ... Nevada, who is 9-3 this season, continues to tie the best start in program history ? the 1985-86 and 1999-00 teams also started the season 9-3 ... the best start in program history is 11-3 held by the 1999-00 team ... Nevada is 6-1 at home this season and has not lost at home since Nov. 11 ... Nevada’s win over UNLV on Dec. 28 marked Nevada’s first win over UNLV since the 1999-00 season.
New Mexico State Aggies (9-3, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State’s 9-3 record is tied for the third best start in program history ... NMSU hit a season high nine 3-pointers on 16 attempts against Colorado State on Dec. 29 ... It was the most three’s in a game by the Aggies since Jan. 21, 2006 ... The Aggies are 5-1 when they shoot over 40 percent from the field and 6-1 when leading at the half ... NMSU made its final 10 free throws in the last three minutes against Colorado State.
San Jose Spartans (1-12, 0-0 WAC)
Brittany Powell led the Spartans in scoring with 16 points and in rebounding with six boards against Northern Colorado last week ... Natalie White’s double-figure scoring streak ended against Northern Colorado ... She started the season with a 14-game streak dating back to last season ... She scored just four points against the Bears ... The team has lost six straight ... San Jose’s lone victory of the season was a 59-55 win over Cal State Northridge on Nov. 30 ... The loss to Northern Colorado wrapped up non-conference play for the Spartans ... The team will open WAC play on the road against Utah State on Jan. 5.
Utah State Aggies (3-8, 0-0 WAC)
Three Aggies scored in double-figures with Jamelah Brown, Taylor Richards and Jade Hatchett all scoring 11 points to lead Utah State, as USU fell to Brigham Young, 70-64, Dec. 29 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan ... Utah State fell to 3-8 on the year, while BYU improved to 6-6 overall ... Sophomore center Nicole Johnson and junior guard Ana Pares scored nine points each, while senior guards Brown and Richards pulled down six and four rebounds a piece to go with their 11 points, as USU was outrebounded by BYU, 41-27 ... Richards tallied a team-high four assists and freshman guard Hatchett scored a career-high 11 points ... USU wraps up non-conference action at Cedar City, Utah against Southern Utah on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m., at SUU’s Centrum Arena (7,509).