BOISE STATE’S VAN HOOGEN VERIZON WIRELESS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Boise State senior guard Jessica Van Hoogen has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 16-22. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Van Hoogen and the fourth of her career.
Van Hoogen, a Temecula, Calif. (Temecula Valley) native, led Boise State to a pair of victories last over Portland State and Idaho State. Against the Vikings, she led the Broncos in scoring with a season-high 24 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists. She hit 10-of-19 from the floor and went 3-of-4 from the free throw line. At Idaho State, she scored 21 points to go with five boards, three assists and three steals. For the week, she averaged 22.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
Other nominees included: Fresno State’s Emma Andrews tied her career high with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting in a win over Saint Mary’s … Shawna Kuehu of Hawai’i averaged 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds while posting three blocks and two steals on the week ... Idaho’s Rachele Kloke averaged 13.0 points and 3.0 rebounds on the week … Adrienne Johnson of Louisiana Tech had 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists in a rout of Nicholls State … Nevada’s Johnna Ward averaged 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals as the Wolf Pack went 1-1 on the week … Crystal Boyd of New Mexico State scored a career-high 17 points, nabbed six steals, grabbed three rebounds and blocked two shots in a win over Long Beach State ... Utah State’s Lydia Whitehead averaged 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week.
ROSS CLIMBING FRESNO STATE THREE-POINTERS LIST
Fresno State’s Jaleesa Ross has 195 three-pointers in her short career, good for third place all-time at Fresno State and 10th all-time in the WAC. At her current pace, Ross will easily break the Fresno State record of 272.
FRESNO STATE, LOUISIANA TECH FAVORED IN PRESEASON POLLS
Fresno State, the 2008-09 WAC regular season co-champion and tournament title winner, was selected as the favorite by the coaches in the WAC preseason poll. The Bulldogs received five of the nine first-place votes and 60 points to beat out Louisiana Tech for the top spot.
Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech, which shared last year’s WAC regular-season title with Fresno State, was picked to win the title in the media poll. The Lady Techsters received 14 first-place votes, earning 180 points.
2009-10 Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Points
1. Fresno State (5) 60
2. Louisiana Tech (3) 58
3. Boise State (1) 53
4. Idaho 39
5. New Mexico State 38
6. Nevada 28
7. Utah State 24
T-8. Hawai’i 12
T-8. San Jose State 12
2009-10 Preseason Media Poll
Rank Team (1st Place Votes) Points
1. Louisiana Tech (14) 180
2. Fresno State (6) 167
3. Boise State (1) 136
4. Idaho 114
5. Nevada 104
6. New Mexico State 100
7. Utah State 72
8. Hawai’i 46
9. San Jose State 26
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 Louisiana Tech senior forward Shanavia Dowdell as the WAC’s preseason Player of the Year.
Joining Dowdell on the first team in the coaches poll was teammate Adrienne Johnson, along with Yinka Olorunnife of Idaho, Jaleesa Ross of Fresno State and Madison Spence of New Mexico State. The second team was comprised of New Mexico State’s Crystal Boyd, Tasha Harris and Jessica Van Hoogen of Boise State, Fresno State’s Hayley Munro and Derisa Taleni of Idaho.
The media’s all-WAC first team included Dowdell, Harris, Johnson, Ross and Spence. Second-team selections included Munro, Olorunnife, Taleni, Van Hoogen and Lydia Whitehead of Utah State.
Preseason Coaches All-WAC Teams
First Team
Shanavia Dowdell, Sr., F, Louisiana Tech
Tasha Harris, Sr., G, Boise State
Adrienne Johnson, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech
Jaleesa Ross, Jr., G, Fresno State
Madison Spence, Jr., G, New Mexico State
Second Team
Hayley Munro, Jr., G/F, Fresno State
Yinka Olorunnife, Jr., P, Idaho
Derisa Taleni, Sr., G/P, Idaho
Jessica Van Hoogen, Sr., G, Boise State
Lydia Whitehead, Sr., C, Utah State
Preseason Media All-WAC Teams
First Team
Shanavia Dowdell, Sr., F, Louisiana Tech
Adrienne Johnson, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech
Yinka Olorunnife, Jr., P, Idaho
Jaleesa Ross, Jr., G, Fresno State
Madison Spence, Jr., G, New Mexico State
Second Team
Crystal Boyd, New Mexico State
Tasha Harris, Sr., G, Boise State
Hayley Munro, Jr., G/F, Fresno State
Derisa Taleni, Sr., G/P, Idaho
Jessica Van Hoogen, Sr., G, Boise State
NEVADA TO HOST 2010 WAC TOURNAMENT
Reno and the University of Nevada will host the 2010 WAC Tournament, March 10-13. It will be the second year in a row and the fourth time Nevada has hosted the event. The Wolf Pack also hosted the tournament in 2005, 2006 and 2009. The tournament features the top eight men’s and women’s teams.
STAT LEADERS BACK
Seven of the top 10 scorers return for the 2009-10 season, including the top two scorers, Louisiana Tech’s Shanavia Dowdell (16.1) and Adrienne Johnson (15.5). Also returning are Idaho’s Derisa Taleni, who was fourth (14.5), New Mexico State’s Madison Spence, who was fifth (14.3), Fresno State’s Jaleesa Ross, who was seventh (13.7), Tech’s Whitney Jones, who was eighth (13.3) and Idaho’s Yinka Olorunnife, who was 10th (12.9).
Nine of the top 10 rebounding leaders from a year ago return. Idaho’s Yinka Olorunnife returns this season after leading the WAC with 11.1 rebounds per game last year. Louisiana Tech’s Dowdell and Johnson were second and third last year at 9.9 and 7.1 per game, respectively. Boise State’s Janie Bos was fourth (6.8), Fresno State’s Hayley Munro was fifth (6.7), Nevada’s Shavon Moore was seventh (6.7), Fresno State’s Joh-Teena Filipe was eighth (6.3), San Jose State’s Shaunna Ridge was ninth (6.3) and Idaho’s Taleni was 10th (6.3).
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
WAC teams have several key non-conference matchups this season, including at least 27 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament or the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) last season.
Games Against 2008-09 Postseason Teams:
Fresno State at UC Santa Barbara, Nov. 13
Utah at Utah State, Nov. 13
Gonzaga at Idaho, Nov. 16
UC Santa Barbara at Nevada, Nov. 16
Utah State at Portland, Nov. 16
Hawai’i at UC Riverside, Nov. 17
Fresno State at TCU, Nov. 18
Portland State at Boise State, Nov. 19
Arizona State at Hawai’i, Nov. 27
Idaho at Baylor, Nov. 27
Fresno State vs. SMU, Nov. 28
Iowa/West Virginia at Nevada, Nov. 28
East Tennessee State at Hawai’i, Nov. 29
LSU at Louisiana Tech, Dec. 1
New Mexico at New Mexico State, Dec. 2
Louisiana Tech at Baylor, Dec. 5
Utah State vs. Arizona State, Dec. 5
Boise State at Portland, Dec. 6
San Jose State at California, Dec. 9
Portland at Idaho, Dec. 11
Mississippi State at Louisiana Tech, Dec. 12
Idaho at Montana, Dec. 13
Fresno State at West Virginia, Dec. 19
Hawai’i vs. Kansas State, Dec. 19
Hawai’i vs. Virginia Commonwealth, Dec. 20
New Mexico State at New Mexico, Dec. 20
UC Santa Barbara at Idaho, Dec. 28
Stanford at Fresno State, Dec. 30
Louisiana Tech at UT-San Antonio, Dec. 30
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING
A total of seven players from all-WAC first and second teams will return this season. Three players will return from the first team – Louisiana Tech’s Shanavia Dowdell and Adrienne Johnson and Fresno State’s Jaleesa Ross. There are also four players returning from the second team, including Newcomer of the Year Derisa Taleni from Idaho, Fresno State’s Hayley Munro, New Mexico State’s Madison Spence and Idaho’s Yinka Olorunnife. Johnson and Olorunnife are the lone returners from the all-defensive team.
LETTERWINNER/STARTER CAPSULE
Idaho and Nevada return the most starters as each welcome back four. Boise State, Fresno State and Louisiana Tech each return three starters. Hawai’i, New Mexico State, San Jose State, and Utah State each return two starters.
Team LR LL SR SL
Boise State 7 6 2 3
Fresno State 9 2 5 0
Hawai’i 11 3 3 2
Idaho 6 4 4 1
Louisiana Tech 8 4 4 1
Nevada 10 4 2 3
New Mexico State 9 5 4 1
San Jose State 8 3 4 1
Utah State 7 4 3 2
BULLDOGS FALL TO CALIFORNIA IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
Despite out-rebounding a much taller California team 38-36, Fresno State fell 70-47 to the Golden Bears in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. LaShay Fears tied her career high with 18 points and Marnique Arnold grabbed 11 rebounds for the 13th-seeded Bulldogs (24-9), whose five-game winning streak ended as they went out in the first round for the second consecutive year. The Bulldogs, who led the nation in three-pointers per game (9.5), connected on just 4-of-18 (22 percent) from downtown and 18-of-56 (32 percent) from the field on the game.
LA TECH DEFEATS SMU, FALLS TO ILLINOIS STATE IN WNIT
Adrienne Johnson scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Louisiana Tech to a 77-54 win over SMU in the first round of the WNIT. Shanavia Dowdell added 19 points and 13 rebounds and became the 38th Lady Techster ever to score 1,000 career points.
In the second round, Louisiana Tech fell 73-59 at Illinois State. The Redbirds jumped out to a 17-2 lead before the Lady Techsters fought back to tie the game at the half. Whitney Jones led Tech with 21 points. Louisiana Tech shot 35 percent (23-of-65) from the field, including 7-of-25 from three-point range, while the Redbirds hit 44 percent (26-of-59) of their field goals. Illinois State out-rebounded Louisiana Tech 42-36.
FRESNO STATE CLAIMS WAC TOURNAMENT TITLE
Top-seeded Fresno State claimed the WAC Tournament title after a 56-49 win over third-seeded Nevada in the title game. Tournament MVP Jaleesa Ross led the Bulldogs with 22 points and nine rebounds in the championship game en route to being named tournament MVP, becoming the only player in WAC history to earn the award in back-to-back years. With the win, Fresno State tied the school record for wins. In addition to Ross, Dellena Criner and Shavon Moore of Nevada, Shanavia Dowdell of Louisiana Tech, and Joh-Teena Filipe of Fresno State were named to the all-tournament team.
PLAY UP TOUR DATES SET
The WAC has announced its dates for the women’s basketball Play Up Tour for the 2009-2010 season. WAC giveaway items will be distributed and fans will have a chance to enter a drawing for a WAC Basketball Tournament package that 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 opponents of each of the 2009-10 Play Up Tour stops.
School Date Opponent
Nevada Dec. 2, 2009 Sacramento State
San Jose State Jan. 23, 2010 Idaho
Utah State Jan. 23, 2010 New Mexico State
Fresno State Jan. 24, 2010 Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech Jan. 30, 2010 Idaho
New Mexico State Feb. 6, 2010 Boise State
Hawai‘i Feb. 20, 2010 Louisiana Tech
Idaho Feb. 24, 2010 SJSU
Boise State Feb. 27, 2010 Fresno State
WAC TEAMS PARTICIPATE IN NCAA PACK THE HOUSE CHALLENGE
All nine WAC teams are participating in the NCAA Pack the House Challenge with the goal of setting an attendance record. The schools compete against other WAC schools as well as all Division I schools for a chance to be the 2010 NCAA Women’s Basketball Pack the House Challenge Champion.
Last year, 184 schools participated in the competition, drawing more than 559,000 fans. Seventy-two schools broke single-home game attendance marks from the previous season.
The WAC schools’ Pack the House Challenge dates are listed below.
School Date Opponent Attendance
Idaho Nov. 16, 2009 Gonzaga 436
Louisiana Tech Dec. 1, 2009 LSU
New Mexico State Dec. 2, 2009 New Mexico
Fresno State Dec. 30, 2009 Stanford
San Jose State Jan. 23, 2010 Idaho
Hawai’i Feb. 20, 2010 Louisiana Tech
Nevada Feb. 6, 2010 San Jose State
Boise State Feb. 27, 2010 Fresno State
Utah State Feb. 27, 2010 Idaho