FRESNO STATE’S AMUNDSEN EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Fresno State’s Bailey Amundsen has been named Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for Nov. 17-23. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Amundsen.
A senior from Fresno, Calif. (Reedley JC), Amundsen helped lead Fresno State to a 2-0 record last week after averaging 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in a 71-54 home win over UC Santa Barbara and a 74-68 road win over Sacramento State. She shot 12-of-26 from the floor (46 percent) and 8-of-18 from beyond the arc (44 percent) on the week. In the win over UCSB, Amundsen had a career-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting and helped the Bulldogs set a school and WAC record for most three-pointers in a game (16) by going 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. She added 12 points and nine rebounds in the win over Sacramento State.
Other nominees included: Nevada’s Brandi Jones averaged 16.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in two games last week, including a 99-91 win over Saint Mary’s ... Madison Spence of New Mexico State registered a 30-point game in an 84-82 loss to Kent State by converting on 9-of-11 shots from the field, including five three-pointers ... Utah State’s Ana Pares posted a career-high 18 points in an overtime win over Northern Arizona, 64-56.
NEVADA’S ALBRIGHT ONE WIN AWAY FROM 400
In her first year at Nevada and 25th overall, Wolf Pack head coach Jane Albright currently has 399 career wins and looks to become the 39th Division I coach to reach 400 victories. Two of those wins have come at Nevada, 48 at Wichita State, 161 at Wisconsin and 188 at Northern Illinois.
Boise State Broncos (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Broncos went 0-2 last week, falling to Washington State (85-76) and Washington (74-51) ... The WSU loss snapped the Broncos’ 19-game home winning streak ... Preseason Player of the Year Tasha Harris suffered a season-ending injury 41 seconds into the second half ... Ja’Lara Walker led Boise State with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks, while Marisa Stotler added 14 points to go with six rebounds and three steals ... In the loss at Washington, the Broncos scored the first four points of the game before the Huskies went on a 15-0 run and cruised to the 23-point victory ... Heather Pilcher posted a career-high 13 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and two steals ... Boise State plays at Wyoming on Tuesday before hosting Utah Valley on Saturday.
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 2-0 last week, defeating UC Santa Barbara (71-54) and Sacramento State (74-68) ... Bailey Amundsen averaged 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds on 12-of-26 (46 percent) shooting on the two games. She was 8-of-18 (44 percent) from three-point range ... In the win over UCSB, Amundsen had a career-high 26 points ... The Bulldogs set a school and WAC record with 16 three-pointers in the win over UCSB ... Taja Edwards had a career-high 11 points and eight rebounds in Sunday’s win over Sacramento State ... The team has hit 10 or more three-pointers in 16 games during the past two seasons ... Head coach Adrian Wiggins is one win away from win No. 75 at Fresno State ... The Bulldogs play in the SMU Hoops for the Cure Tournament this weekend, facing Charlotte on Friday.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (0-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine were idle last week ... Hawai?i hosts the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic this weekend, facing San Diego State on Friday, Purdue on Saturday and Stanford on Sunday.
Idaho Vandals (0-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals went 0-2 last week, falling to Montana (55-36) and at Colorado State (69-60) ... Idaho shot just 27 percent from the floor vs. Montana, making just one three-pointer ... Derisa Taleni led Idaho with 17 points, seven rebounds and one steal ... Charlotte Otero had a career-high five steals ... In the loss to the Rams, Yinka Olorunnife led all players with 19 points and 11 rebounds for her third career double-double ... The Vandals host Eastern Washington on Tuesday before participating in the Courtyard by Marriott San Luis Obispo Holiday Beach Classic, where it will face Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield, this weekend.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Techsters went 0-2 last week, falling on the road to Memphis (67-60) and No. 5/13 Tennessee (94-59) ... In the loss to Memphis, Shanavia Dowdell posted her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds ... Tech hit only 29 percent (23-of-79) of its field goals, while Memphis shot 46 percent (25-of-54) ... The Lady Techsters forced 25 Memphis turnovers ... Whitney Jones scored a career-high 23 points in the loss to the Lady Vols ... For the game, Tech hit only 31 percent of its field goals and 48 percent of its free throws, but pulled down 26 offensive rebounds ... Louisiana Tech hosts Nicholls State on Wednesday and Western Kentucky on Sunday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (2-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Pack went 1-2 last week, falling to Brigham Young (81-63) and UNLV (66-53) before defeating Saint Mary’s (99-91) ... Brandi Jones scored a season-high 17 points at UNLV and added 15 vs. Saint Mary’s ... Cherlanda Franklin grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds against UNLV ... Dellena Criner recorded a double-double against the Gaels (14 points, 13 assists) and was two rebounds away from a triple-double ... Nevada had five players score in double figures against UNLV, four of which were starters ... The Wolf Pack improved to 14-4 at home since the beginning of 2007 with the win over the Gaels ... Head coach Jane Albright now has 399 career wins and looks to become the 39th Division I coach to reach 400 ... Nevada hosts the Nugget Classic this weekend, facing Northern Iowa on Friday.
New Mexico State Aggies (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 0-2 last week, falling at UTEP (54-50) and Kent State (84-82) ... Against Kent State, Madison Spence became the 15th Aggie in school history to record a 30-point game and the first in the last 149 NMSU games ... She set career highs in points (30), three-pointers made (5), field goals made (8), field goals attempted (15), free throws made (9) and free throws attempted (11) ... Danisha Corbett recorded a career-high four steals vs. Kent State ... Areyal LeDeatte scored a career-high 16 points at Kent State ... The Aggies now have had two players (Corbett and Spence) make five treys in a game this year ... NMSU hosts the Aggie Thanksgiving Classic this weekend, facing Loyola-Chicago on Friday and Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Saturday.
San Jose Spartans (0-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans went 0-3 last week, falling at Northern Colorado (101-63) and Long Beach State (83-59) and at home to Seattle (94-62) ... At UNC, SJSU made more free throws (24) than field goals (19) ... Three Spartans scored in double figures in the loss to Seattle, led by Natalie White with 15 points ... Sayja Sumler added a season-best 14 points and Chasity Shavers scored a season-best 11 points ... White needs just 13 points to reach 1,000 on her career ... The Spartans host Sacramento State on Friday in their only game of the week.
Utah State Aggies (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 1-1 last week, defeating Northern Arizona (64-56, OT) before falling to Idaho State (58-43) ... Lydia Whitehead posted 12 points and 10 rebounds for her second-consecutive double-double vs. the Lumberjacks ... Ana Pares scored a career-high 18 points against NAU ... Pares followed it up with a career-high eight rebounds vs. Idaho State ... The Aggies notched a 42-39 win over Montana State-Northern on Monday ... Utah State is .500 for the first time since Nov. 27, 2006, when it was also 2-2 ... Utah State will hit the road for the first time this season for the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic. The Aggies face Texas State on Friday and either UTEP or Monmouth on Saturday.
BOISE STATE FAVORED IN PRESEASON POLLS
Boise State, the 2007-08 WAC 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 five of the nine first-place votes in the coaches poll and 15 of the 22 top votes in the media poll.
2008-09 Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank |
Team (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Boise State (5) |
61 |
| 2 |
Fresno State (3) |
58 |
| 3 |
Louisiana Tech |
46 |
| 4 |
Nevada
|
41 |
| 5 |
New Mexico State |
39 |
| 6 |
Utah State (1) |
25 |
| 7 |
Hawai?i |
24 |
| 8 |
San Jose State |
19 |
| 9 |
Idaho
|
11 |
2008-09 Preseason Media Poll
| Rank |
Team (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Boise State (15) |
189 |
| 2 |
Fresno State (5) |
179 |
| 3 |
Louisiana Tech (1) |
139 |
| 4 |
Nevada
|
134 |
| 5 |
New Mexico State (1) |
122 |
| 6 |
Hawai?i |
83 |
| 7 |
Utah State |
66 |
| 8 |
Idaho
|
40 |
| 9 |
San Jose State |
38 |
PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAMS ANNOUNCED
The coaches selected Nevada senior guard Dellena Criner as the WAC’s preseason Player of the Year, while the media tabbed Boise State senior guard Tasha Harris as the league’s top player. In the coaches poll, Criner and Harris were joined on the first team by Louisiana Tech junior forward Shanavia Dowdell, and Fresno State sophomores Hayley Munro and Jaleesa Ross. Second-team selections include Brandi Jones (Nevada), Danyelle Snelgro (Utah State), Madison Spence (New Mexico State), Natalie White (San Jose State) and Tarkeisha Wysinger (Louisiana Tech).
The media’s all-WAC team included Criner, Dowdell, Harris, Ross and Spence.
Preseason Coaches All-WAC Teams
First Team
Dellena Criner, Sr., G, NEV
Shanavia Dowdell, Jr., F, LTU
Tasha Harris, Sr., G, BSU
Hayley Munro, So., F, FS
Jaleesa Ross, So., G, FS
Second Team
Brandi Jones, Sr., G, NEV
Madison Spence, So., G, NMSU
Danyelle Snelgro, Sr., G, USU
Madison Spence, So., G, NMSU
Natalie White, Sr., G, SJSU
Tarkeisha Wysinger, So., G, LTU
Preseason Media All-WAC Team
Dellena Criner, G, Sr., Nevada
Shanavia Dowdell, F, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Tasha Harris, G, Sr., Boise State
Jaleesa Ross, G, So., Fresno State
Madison Spence, G, So., New Mexico State
NEVADA TO HOST 2009 WAC TOURNAMENT
Reno and the University of Nevada will host the 2009 WAC Tournament, March 10-14. It will be the third time that Nevada has hosted the event. Nevada also hosted the tournament in 2005 and 2006. The tournament features all nine men’s and women’s teams.
RETURNING STAT LEADERS
Four of the top 10 scorers return for the 2008-09 season, including the top three scorers ? Tasha Harris of Boise State (16.5), Dellena Criner of Nevada (16.1) and Natalie White of San Jose State (16.0). Also returning is Fresno State’s Jaleesa Ross, who was 10th in scoring (12.8).
Four of the top 10 rebound leaders return. Idaho’s Yinka Olorunnife returns this season after ranking fourth with 7.6 rebounds per game last year. Louisiana Tech’s Shanavia Dowdell ranked fifth last year at 7.5 per game. Fresno State’s Hayley Munro was ninth (6.2) and San Jose State’s White was 10th (5.8).
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
The WAC has several key non-conference match-ups this season. WAC teams will play at least 24 games against teams that advanced either to the NCAA Tournament or the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) last season. WAC teams will face three of the four teams that advanced to last year’s Final Four. Fresno State travels to Stanford, while Hawai?i hosts the Cardinal. Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech will take on both LSU and Tennessee on the road.
Games vs. 2007-08 Postseason Teams:
Idaho at Texas Tech, Nov. 14
Nevada at California, Nov. 16
Montana at Idaho, Nov. 18
New Mexico State at UTEP, Nov. 20
UC Santa Barbara at Fresno State, Nov. 20
Idaho State at Utah State, Nov. 22
Louisiana Tech at Tennessee, Nov. 23
Purdue at Hawai?i, Nov. 29
Stanford at Hawai?i, Nov. 30
Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech, Nov. 30
TCU at Fresno State, Dec. 4
New Mexico State at New Mexico, Dec. 4
Nevada at UC Santa Barbara, Dec. 5
Boise State at Montana, Dec. 7
UTEP at New Mexico State, Dec. 7
Idaho State at Boise State, Dec. 10
California at San Jose State, Dec. 12
Fresno State at Stanford, Dec. 13
Louisiana Tech at LSU, Dec. 15
West Virginia at Fresno State, Dec. 20
New Mexico at New Mexico State, Dec. 20
Nevada at Montana, Dec. 30
Colorado at Hawai?i, Jan. 4
New Mexico State at Kansas, Jan. 4
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING
A total of three players from both the all-WAC first and second teams will return. Two players will return from the first team ? Nevada’s Dellena Criner and Boise State’s Tasha Harris. Returning from the second team is Newcomer of the Year Jaleesa Ross from Fresno State. Three members of the all-defensive team return in Nevada’s Criner and Cherlanda Franklin and Boise State’s Harris. All five of last year’s All-Freshman Team ? Ross, Madison Spence of New Mexico State, Tarkeisha Wysinger of Louisiana Tech, Hayley Munro of Fresno State and Yinka Olorunnife of Idaho ? return for their sophomore campaigns.
2008 WAC TOURNAMENT RECAP
Fresno State won its first conference tournament title in history with a 72-56 win over New Mexico State in the championship game of the WAC Tournament in Las Cruces, N.M. The win came after the Bulldogs started the season 2-8. The Bulldogs tied a WAC Tournament record for most three-pointers made in a tournament with 27. The record is also held by TCU in 2001.
2008 WAC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Tasha Harris, Boise State
Anikia Jawara, New Mexico State
Emma Andrews, Fresno State
Tierre Wilson, Fresno State
Jaleesa Ross, Fresno State (MVP)
FIRST-EVER PLAY UP TOUR FINDS SUCCESS
The WAC launched its first-ever Play Up Tour for women’s basketball last season. At each stop, fans joined the WAC before the game to pick up free WAC beanies and t-shirts. Fans also registered to win a trip to the 2008 WAC Basketball Tournament in Las Cruces, N.M. The average WAC home attendance for the 2007-08 season was 10,362. At WAC Play Up Tour stops last season, WAC home attendance was a combined 15,690. The Play Up Tour heightens awareness of the WAC brand as well as reinforces the association between the schools and the WAC.