FRESNO STATE’S ROSS EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Fresno State guard Jaleesa Ross has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 15-21. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Ross and the third of her career.
The sophomore from Pinole, Calif., led the Bulldogs to a 1-1 record last week after averaging 19.5 points on 48 percent shooting (14-of-29), 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. She also had a 99.9 percent assist-to-turnover ratio as she dished out six assists and had zero turnovers on the week. In a win over Loyola Marymount, Ross tied her career high of 24 points, including four three-pointers. She also had six rebounds and three steals. In a five-point loss to West Virginia, she had 15 points and a team-best four assists.
Other nominees included: Boise State’s Brittany Moore scored a team-best 15 points in a win over Santa Clara ... Rachele Kloke of Idaho finished with a career-high 18 points in a loss to Montana State ... Nevada’s Dellena Criner averaged 12.5 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals in a pair of wins ... Madison Spence of New Mexico State averaged 14.0 points in a pair of losses ... Utah State’s Danyelle Snelgro averaged 12.0 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week.
BULLDOGS LEAD NATION IN THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL AVERAGE
In statistics through Dec. 21 games, Fresno State leads the nation in three-point field goals per game, with an average of 9.5 per game. The Bulldogs have had 10 or more treys in six of 11 games this season, including a WAC record 16 vs. UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 20.
Boise State Broncos (7-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Broncos went 1-0 last week, defeating Santa Clara 57-51 ... Brittany Moore recorded a team-high 15 points ... Melissa Rima returned to the lineup against Santa Clara following a three-game absence because of injury ... Sophomore Marisa Stotler continues to lead Boise State in scoring and rebounding at 10.6 points and 6.5 boards per game ... Boise State defeated Saint Mary’s 68-60 Monday night ... Brittany Moore scored a career-high 21 points ... Ainsleigh Sanders, a 6-1 Australian, saw her first career action as a Bronco, recording four points, two rebounds and one assist in 18 minutes of action ... The Broncos are idle for the rest of the week.
Fresno State Bulldogs (7-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 1-1 last week, defeating Loyola Marymount (85-59) before falling to West Virginia (68-63), snapping their 14-game home winning streak ... Jaleesa Ross tied her career high of 24 points vs. LMU, going 9-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. She also had six rebounds and three steals ... Ross had team highs of 15 points and four assists vs. the Mountaineers ... Fresno State is 46-8 at home under Adrian Wiggins ... Just a sophomore, Ross needs one three-pointer to move into sixth place on the school’s career three-pointers made list (124) ... The Bulldogs are idle for the remainder of this week.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (3-8, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine fell to Washington State (66-48) in their only game last week ... Sarah Ilic came off the bench to score 16 points and grab seven rebounds in 20 minutes of action ... Keisha Kanekoa was just shy of a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds ... Kanekoa is 33-of-35 (.943) from the free throw line this season, which leads the WAC and ranks third nationally ... Hawai?i defeated Washington State (65-59) on Monday night in their only game this week ... Megan Tinnin notched her first 20-point game of the season, finishing with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and adding eight rebounds.
Idaho Vandals (3-7, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals fell 64-52 at Montana State in their only game last week ... Rachele Kloke scored a career-high 18 points, including 14 in the first half alone, as she carried the Vandals to a 29-24 halftime lead ... Derisa Taleni earned her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds ... Yinka Olorunnife has pulled down five or more rebounds in 11-straight games ... Idaho shot just 8-of-32 (.250) in the second half ... The Vandals committed a season-low nine turnovers against MSU ... Idaho has now held its last five opponents below their scoring averages ... The Vandals play at Portland on Sunday in their only game this week.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (6-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Techsters went 0-1 last week, falling 51-41 at LSU ... Shanavia Dowdell led the Techsters with 12 points and 10 rebounds ... Tech defeated Arkansas Little Rock 77-61 on Monday ... Dowdell scored a game-high 25 points and recorded her sixth double-double of the season by adding 11 rebounds ... The 77 points by Tech was the most UALR has given up all year as the Trojans entered the game ranked among the nation’s leaders in scoring defense, surrendering only 51.5 per game ... LTU faces UMBC in the Marriott Cavalier Classic Sunday in their only game this week.
Nevada Wolf Pack (6-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Pack went 2-0 last week, defeating Santa Clara (67-53) and UC Riverside (52-47) ... Dellena Criner scored in double figures in both games, finishing with 10 at Santa Clara and 15 vs. UC Riverside ... Criner is now two steals away from tying Traci Graham (2003-07) for the career steals record of 237 ... Criner was named a candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, one of 30 national candidates and the only WAC player selected ... Nevada is 5-1 at home this season and 17-4 at home since the start of the 2007-08 season ... The Pack’s win at Santa Clara was its first road win of the season ... Nevada is idle this week.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-7, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 0-2 last week, falling at Northern Colorado (59-50) and to New Mexico (78-64) ... Madison Spence scored 20 points against the 11-1 Lobos ... Erica Sanchez made her first career start against New Mexico, grabbing a career-high five rebounds ... The Aggies lost 74-61 at Long Beach State Monday night ... Spence finished with 19 points, while Kaitlyn Soto scored a career-high 13 points ... Spence is closing in on becoming the school’s 10th sophomore to surpass 500 career points as she has 490 ... NMSU faces Long Island in the Maggie Surf N Slam Classic on Sunday ... NMSU will then play its 1,000th all-time game next Tuesday.
San Jose Spartans (1-9, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans fell 75-46 at Pepperdine in their only game last week ... Chasity Shavers came off the bench and scored a season-best 15 points ... She and Shaunna Ridge led the team in rebounding with six boards each ... The Spartans were hampered a full-court press that Pepperdine used for most of the game, turning the ball over a season-high 38 times ... SJSU shot 38 percent from the field (15-of-40), but Pepperdine shot 54 percent, including 57 percent in the first half ... The Spartans’ only game this week is at Loyola Marymount Sunday in the first round of the LMU Courtyard by Marriott L.A. Westside Holiday Classic.
Utah State Aggies (6-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 1-1 last week, falling to Portland State (67-57) before defeating Southern Utah (52-37) ... Danyelle Snelgro led the team with 17 points vs. the Vikings ... The 15-point win over the Thunderbirds was Utah State’s largest victory of the season ... The Aggies beat Weber State 44-41 Monday in their only game this week ... Snelgro had a career-high 19 points in the win ... This was Utah State’s first win over the Wildcats since an 85-75 victory in 1984, as the Aggies had lost seven straight games to Weber State ... The Aggies are three wins shy of equaling their win total from a year ago ... Last year at this point, USU had a 3-7 record.
PLAY UP TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
The WAC, in continuation of the Play Up campaign, has announced its dates for the women’s basketball Play Up Tour for the 2008-2009 season. WAC staff members will be on site to distribute WAC giveaway items. Fans will also have the opportunity to sign up to win a WAC prize pack that includes WAC apparel and other WAC related items. All fans that enter the drawing will be eligible for the grand prize of a WAC Basketball Tournament package. The package includes two tickets to the tournament, airfare and hotel accommodations. The winner will be announced at the end of February.
The following are the dates and times of each of the 2009 Play Up Tour stops. All times are local and subject to change.
Sunday, Jan. 18 ? Las Cruces, N.M.
Fresno State at New Mexico State, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 25 ? San Jose, Calif.
Nevada at San Jose State, 2 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at Boise State, 2 p.m.
Utah State at Hawai?i, 5 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 30 ? Logan, Utah
Hawai?i at Utah State, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 1 ? Fresno, Calif.
Utah State at Fresno State, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 8 ? Reno, Nev.
Utah State at Nevada, 2 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 13 ? Ruston, La.
Hawai?i at Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 15 ? Moscow, Idaho
San Jose State at Idaho, 2 p.m.
FRESNO STATE UPSETS NO. 22 TCU
Fresno State rallied for a 75-71 victory over No.22 TCU Dec. 4 in front of 2,288 fans. The Bulldogs trailed 69-53 with 6:20 remaining in the game before going on a 22-2 run to earn the victory. The win is Fresno State’s first over a nationally ranked opponent since December 1, 2006, when the Bulldogs defeated No. 23 Texas Tech. It is only the third win against a ranked team in the last 16 years. Hayley Munro had a career-high 23 points and eight rebounds while Joh-Teena Filipe came off the bench to score 14 points and grab six rebounds.
NEVADA GETS FIRST-EVER WIN OVER RANKED TEAM
Nevada recorded the biggest win in program history Nov. 29, beating No. 7 Louisville 85-82. It was the Wolf Pack’s first-ever win over a ranked team and the highest ranked team Nevada had ever faced. The previous highest ranked teams the Wolf Pack had played were No. 8 Louisiana Tech (2003-04), No. 9 Cal (2008-09) and No. 11 Louisiana Tech (2002-03).
SJSU’S WHITE REACHES 1,000-POINT PLATEAU
The Spartans’ Natalie White scored her 1,000th career point on a three-pointer at the 4:27 mark of the second half against Sacramento State on Nov. 28. Making the game even more memorable was the fact that she hit the game-winning basket as time expired to give San Jose State its first win of the season. White is just the 12th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
NEVADA’S ALBRIGHT EARNS WIN 400
In her first year at Nevada and 25th overall, Wolf Pack head coach Jane Albright earned her 400th career win against Northern Iowa on Nov. 28, becoming just the 39th Division I coach to reach 400 victories. The following night, she earned win No. 401 against No. 7 Louisville. Six of her wins have come at Nevada, 48 at Wichita State, 161 at Wisconsin and 188 at Northern Illinois.
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.
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.
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 takes 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 returned this season. Two players from the first team ? Nevada’s Dellena Criner and Boise State’s Tasha Harris ? and Newcomer of the Year Jaleesa Ross from Fresno State from the second team. Three members of the all-defensive team returned 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 ? returned for their sophomore campaigns.
2008 WAC TOURNAMENT RECAP
Fresno State won its first conference tournament title in school history last year with a 72-56 win over New Mexico State in the championship game of the 2008 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)