HAWAI?I’S KANEKOA EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Hawai?i point guard Keisha Kanekoa has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 1-7. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Kanekoa.
The sophomore from Honoka?a, Hawai?i, led the Rainbow Wahine to their first wins of the season and a 2-1 record after averaging 18.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.7 steals last week. She was 19-of-20 (95 percent) from the free throw line and 17-of-30 (57 percent) from the field over the three games. Kanekoa started the week with 16 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals in a win over Utah Valley. In a 61-58 loss to Northern Arizona, she finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists. She closed out the week with her first career double-double ? 19 points and 11 rebounds ? in a win against UC Irvine. She also added six assists. Kanekoa was named to the Arizona State Classic all-tournament team after averaging 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists over the two games.
Other nominees included: Marisa Stotler of Boise State averaged 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds on the week ... Fresno State’s Hayley Munro led the team to a win over No. 22 TCU with a career-high 23 points to go along with eight rebounds ... Yinka Olorunnife of Idaho had 20 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks in a one-point loss to Long Beach State ... Louisiana Tech’s Brietta Thomas averaged 11.5 points while leading Tech to a 1-1 record on the week ... Danisha Corbett of New Mexico State averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists as the Aggies went 1-1 last week ... Lydia Whitehead of Utah State led the Aggies with 21 points, six rebounds and three blocks in an overtime win over Eastern Washington.
FRESNO STATE UPSETS NO. 22 TCU
Fresno State rallied for a 75-71 victory over No.22 TCU last Thursday 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. TCU led by as many as 18 points with 3:31 left in the first half. The win is the first victory 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. Marnique Arnold had her second-straight double-double, finishing with 10 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. LaShay Fears had nine assists to zero turnovers. The Bulldogs won the battle of the boards as they had 44 to the Lady Frogs’ 34.
BULLDOGS LEAD NATION IN THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL AVERAGE
Fresno State currently leads the nation in three-point field goals per game, with an average of 9.6 per game. The Bulldogs have had 10 or more treys in four of seven games this season, including a WAC record 16 vs. UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 20.
NEVADA GETS FIRST-EVER WIN OVER RANKED TEAM
Nevada recorded the biggest win in program history last Saturday, 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 Nevada 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. Four of her wins have come at Nevada, 48 at Wichita State, 161 at Wisconsin and 188 at Northern Illinois.
Boise State Broncos (4-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Broncos went 2-1 last week, snapping a four-game losing skid ... The team defeated Southern Utah (74-60) and Montana State (70-65) before falling at Montana (51-72) ... Marisa Stotler led the team in scoring, averaging 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds on the week ... In the win over Montana State, Janie Bos posted a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds ... Against Montana, Stotler scored a team-high 17 points on 62 percent shooting (8-of-13) ... Boise State continues to search for a new identity as its regroups from a series of injuries which has now sidelined three starters (Jessica Thompson, Tasha Harris, Ja’Lara Walker) for the year, possibly two for their careers ... The Broncos host instate rival Idaho State on Wednesday before playing at Loyola Marymount on Sunday.
Fresno State Bulldogs (5-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 1-1 last week, defeating No. 22 TCU (75-71) before falling at Pacific (70-84) ... Hayley Munro had a career-high 23 points to go with eight rebounds in the upset of TCU ... Marnique Arnold had a career-high 14 rebounds against TCU ... LaShay Fears’ nine assists against TCU was the most by a Bulldog player since Mirenda Swearengin had nine assists three times in 2003-04 ... The win over TCU was Fresno State’s sixth win over a ranked opponent since 1990 ... The Bulldogs were out-rebounded for the first time this season in the loss to Pacific ... Adrian Wiggins has 53 wins by 10 points or more on his career ... The league-leading Bulldogs host Cal State Northridge on Tuesday before playing at No. 3/4 Stanford on Saturday.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (2-7, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine went 2-1 last week, defeating Utah Valley (77-70) at home on Tuesday before going 1-1 at the Arizona State Classic, where they fell to Northern Arizona (58-61) but beat UC Irvine (74-46) ... Allie Patterson led the Rainbow Wahine with 20 points and seven rebounds vs. Utah Valley ... Keisha Kanekoa was named to the Arizona State Classic all-tournament team after averaging 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the two games. It was her second all-tournament honor of the year ... Kanekoa recorded her first career double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds against UC Irvine ... UH had three other players in double-figure scoring against the Anteaters - Dita Liepkalne (12), Catherine Cho (11) and Patterson (10) ... The Rainbow Wahine are idle this week.
Idaho Vandals (2-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals dropped a heartbreaker to Long Beach State, 54-55, in their only game last week ... Derisa Taleni’s shot as time expired rattled off the rim and out ... Yinka Olorunnife earned her fourth career double-double with 20 points and a career-high 16 rebounds effort ... The 16-rebound effort is tied for the best in the WAC this season ... Rachele Kloke had 10 points and five boards in the loss ... The Vandals forced Long Beach State into 28 turnovers, the most by an Idaho opponent this year ... Idaho had a season-high 14 steals in the game ... Olorunnife now ranks first in the WAC in rebounding (9.9) and second in scoring (15.7) ... The Vandals host Pacific on Thursday and Washington State on Sunday.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (3-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Techsters went 1-1 last week, falling at Mississippi State (42-72) and defeating Arizona (68-53) ... Brietta Thomas, who entered the week with a total of 23 career points, scored a career-high 19 points vs. Arizona ... In the win over Arizona, the Lady Techsters played without two preseason all-WAC performers in Shanavia Dowdell (concussion) and Tarkeisha Wysinger (knee) ... Against the Wildcats, three sophomores (Thomas, Adrienne Johnson and Whitney Jones) combined for 57 points ... Tiawana Pringle grabbed a career-high with 11 rebounds and tied her career-high with six assists in the win over UA ... LTU plays twice at home this week, hosting Grambling State Tuesday and Sam Houston State Saturday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (4-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Pack went 0-2 last week, losing at UC Santa Barbara (37-59) and at UCLA (47-62) ... Brandi Jones led Nevada with 16 points at UCLA, while Dellena Criner added 13 ... Jones also led Nevada in scoring against UC Santa Barbara with 11 points ... Shavon Moore grabbed nine rebounds at UCLA, one off her career high of 10 ... Kayla Williams grabbed a career-high six rebounds at UC Santa Barbara ... Jones is poised to become Nevada’s second active player with 1,000 career points. She currently has 913 and is averaging 10.6 per game. Jones would join Criner, who has 1,303 career points as the two active Pack players with at least 1,000 career points ... Nevada is idle this week.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 1-1 last week, falling at New Mexico (48-80) before beating UTEP (77-67) ... Danisha Corbett averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals in the two games ... In the road loss at New Mexico, Corbett led NMSU with 17 points ... Against UTEP, Corbett tied her career highs in points (21), rebounds (7) and three-pointers made (5) and set a new career high with four assists ... Corbett and Madison Spence (20) became the first Aggies to score more than 20 points in the same game for the Aggies since Jan. 13, 2007 ... NMSU shot a season-high 51 percent in the victory over the Miners ... The win over UTEP snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Miners ... Seven of New Mexico State’s next eight games are on the road ... The Aggies are idle this week.
San Jose Spartans (1-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans went 0-2 last week, losing at Kansas (49-93) and at Cal State Northridge (63-69) ... Kansas shot 60 percent from the field en route to the 44-point win ... Against the Jayhawks, Kelly Blair led the Spartans with 12 points, while Natalie White added 10 ... Shaunna Ridge scored a season-best 16 points and led the team with nine rebounds at Cal State Northridge ... Chasity Shavers and White each chipped in 13 points ... White also added seven rebounds to tie her career high set against Oregon earlier this season ... The Spartans host the Basketball by the Bay Classic this weekend. They will face No. 7/9 California on Friday and Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday.
Utah State Aggies (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies defeated Eastern Washington 71-65 in overtime in their only game last week ... Lydia Whitehead scored a career-high 21 points, including four in overtime ... Alice Coddington had a career-high eight assists ... The senior duo of Ana Pares and Danyelle Snelgro both scored 15 points ... The Aggies’ 4-3 record is their best start since starting 4-3 during the 1980-81 season ... Head coach Raegan Pebley now has 46 wins, five away from Cindy Perkins (1978-1982), who is tops on the all-time wins list with 51 ... Utah State is now 2-0 in overtime games this season with a 65-56 win over Northern Arizona on Nov. 19 ... The Aggies have outscored their opponents in 25-11 in extra time this season ... USU plays at Brigham Young on Saturday in its only game this week.
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)
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.