LOUISIANA TECH’S JOHNSON EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Louisiana Tech forward Adrienne Johnson has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 22-28. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Johnson.
The sophomore from Franklin, La., averaged 20.5 points on 65 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 steals per game while leading the Lady Techsters to two wins over teams with winning records. In a 77-61 win over UALR ? a team that was 9-2 on the year and had already defeated Oklahoma State and Ole Miss ? Johnson scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds, had three steals and blocked two shots. She then scored 20 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots in an 83-62 win over UMBC, a team that was 7-4 on the year.
Other nominees included: Boise State’s Brittany Moore scored a team-best 21 points in a win over Saint Mary’s ... Megan Tinnin of Hawai?i finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in a win over Washington State ... Idaho’s Yinka Olorunnife posted a double-double ? 20 points and 15 rebounds ? in a loss to Portland ... Chasity Shavers of San Jose State scored 19 points on 50 percent shooting with four steals in a loss to Loyola Marymount ... Utah State’s Danyelle Snelgro scored a career-high 19 points in the Aggies’ 44-41 road win over Weber State.
Boise State Broncos (7-7, 0-0 WAC)
The Broncos went 1-0 last week, defeating Saint Mary’s 68-60 ... Brittany Moore scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-14 (.500) shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 (.800) from three-point range ... Ainsleigh Sanders saw her first career action as a Bronco, recording four points, two rebounds and one assist in 18 minutes of action ... Boise State fell to Arizona (53-48) on Monday ... For the first time all season, no Bronco scored in double figures ... Courtney VanBrocklin led the team with nine points, while Janie Bos added eight points and a team-high nine boards ... The Broncos open conference play on Saturday at Idaho.
Fresno State Bulldogs (8-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs were idle last week, but defeated Long Beach State (76-63) on Monday ... Hayley Munro scored a game-high 17 points while grabbing nine rebounds ... Bailey Amundsen added 15 points and six rebounds, while Jaleesa Ross had 13 points ... The Bulldogs never trailed in the game and led by as many 19 points at halftime ... Fresno State out-shot the 49ers 43-41 percent and out-rebounded them 42-34 ... The Bulldogs have three players ? Ross (1st), Amundsen (2nd) and Munro (10th) ? that rank in the Top 10 in the WAC in three-point field goals per game ... Fresno State plays at UNLV on Friday in its only other game this week.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (3-8, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine defeated Washington State (65-59) in their only game last week ... Megan Tinnin finished with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added eight rebounds ... It was Tinnin’s first 20 point game of the season and just the second of her career ... Keisha Kanekoa currently ranks third nationally with a .943 free throw percentage and has hit 15 in a row ... Kanekoa ranks in the Top 10 in the WAC in scoring (6th, 13.6), field goal percentage (3rd, .480), free throw percentage (1st, .943), assists (2nd, 4.4) and steals (3rd, 2.1) .., The Rainbow Wahine host Pepperdine and Colorado in the Jack-in-the-Box Rainbow Wahine Classic this week.
Idaho Vandals (3-8, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals fell 48-44 at Portland in their only game last week ... Yinka Olorunnife scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down 15 rebounds ... It was the sixth consecutive game that Idaho held its opponent more than 10 points below its season scoring average ... The Vandals committed 23 turnovers in the loss ... Olorunnife is averaging a double-double on the season ? 14.1 points and 10.1 rebounds ? which rank fourth and first, respectively, in the WAC ... Charlotte Otero currently ranks second in the conference in steals (2.2) and third in assists (3.3) ... Idaho hosts Boise State on Saturday to open WAC play.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (7-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Techsters went 2-0 last week, defeating Arkansas Little Rock (77-61) and UMBC (83-62) ... Shanavia Dowdell scored a game-high 25 points and added 11 rebounds vs. UALR ... The 77 points was the most UALR has given up all year ... Whitney Jones scored a game-high 21 points in the win over UMBC ... LTU fell to No. 15/16 Virginia (68-52) in the championship game of the Marriott Cavalier Classic on Monday ... Dowdell and Jones were named to the all-tournament team ... Tech plays at McNeese State on Saturday in their only remaining game this week.
Nevada Wolf Pack (6-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Pack was idle last week, but fell 62-59 to Hampton in the Lady Griz Holiday Classic on Monday ... Dellena Criner led four Nevada players in double figures with 14 points ... Shavon Moore added a season-high 12 points, while Marissa Hammond added 10 ... Cherlanda Franklin recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds ... Johnna Ward blocked a career-high three shots as the Pack recorded a season-high 10 blocks in the game ... During the game, Criner became Nevada’s all-time leader in steals with 238, passing Traci Graham, who recorded 237 ... The Pack plays at Montana on Tuesday in their only remaining game this week.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-8, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 0-2 last week, falling 74-61 at Long Beach State and 74-52 to Long Island in their first game of the Maggie Dixon Surf N Slam Classic ... Against LBSU, Madison Spence finished with 19 points, while Kaitlyn Soto scored a career-high 13 points ... Brittany Palmer scored a career-high 15 points vs. Long Island ... Tyshae Walton’s 8-of-10 shooting performance vs. Long Island was the best by an Aggie this season ... Spence is three points away from 500 on her career and will become the sixth-fastest player in program history and 10th sophomore to do so ... NMSU plays its 1,000th all-time game Tuesday vs. UIC and plays at Kansas on Sunday.
San Jose Spartans (1-11, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans went 0-2 at the LMU Courtyard by Marriott L.A. Westside Holiday Classic, falling to Loyola Marymount (81-66) and Stony Brook (56-38) ... Chasity Shavers scored a career-high 19 points vs. LMU ... Kelly Blair scored a team-high 13 points off the bench in the loss to Stony Brook ... The 38 points are the third-lowest scoring total in the WAC this season, while the Spartans’ 13 field goals made are the second-lowest ... Shavers was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals over the two games ... The Spartans host Santa Clara on Saturday in their only remaining game this week.
Utah State Aggies (6-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies beat Weber State 44-41 in their only game last week ... Danyelle Snelgro had a career-high 19 points in the win ... It was the Aggies’ second road win of the season and Utah State’s first win over the Wildcats since an 85-75 victory in 1984 ... The Aggies are three wins shy of equaling their win total from a year ago ... USU is 6-5 heading into its final game of 2008, the first time it has been above.500 heading into the final game of the calendar year since the 1978-79 season ... Raegan Pebley has 48 career wins, good for second place and three wins away from tying Cindy Perkins for first place ... The Aggies play at UNLV on Tuesday and at Utah Valley on Saturday.
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 seven of 12 games this season, including a WAC record 16 vs. UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 20.
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
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.