NM STATE’S LOWE NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State junior guard Jasmine Lowe has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 4-10. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor ever for Lowe.
Lowe, a San Francisco native, averaged 21.5 points on 57 percent shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals as the Aggies opened WAC play 2-0. She scored a game-high 26 points in NM State’s first-ever win at Boise State, including 12 of the team’s final 27 points. She followed it up with a game-high 17 points, a career-high-tying six rebounds, four assists and three steals in a win over Hawai’i. The Aggies have now won six straight, their longest win streak since the 1993-94 season.
Other nominees included: Jaleesa Ross of Fresno State averaged 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals as the Bulldogs went 2-0 in WAC play ... Idaho’s Rachele Kloke scored a career-high 26 points to go with five rebounds in a loss to Fresno State ... Tahnee Robinson of Nevada averaged 17.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists as the Wolf Pack went 2-0 to open WAC play ... Utah State’s Amber White averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals as the Aggies extended their winning streak to six games and picked up their first-ever victory over the Lady Techsters.
FRESNO STATE, NEVADA, NM STATE AND UTAH STATE OPEN WAC PLAY UNDEFEATED
Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico State and Utah State each picked up a pair of wins to open WAC play last week. For the Bulldogs, it’s the fifth time in the last six years they have opened conference play with a 2-0 record, while New Mexico State has managed the feat in three of the last four seasons. Nevada is 2-0 in the WAC for the second-consecutive season, while Utah State is 2-0 in WAC play for just the second time since joining the WAC.
ROSS RANKS SECOND IN SCHOOL HISTORY, SIXTH IN WAC, IN THREE-POINTERS MADE
Fresno State’s Jaleesa Ross is currently in second place on the school’s career three-pointers list with 234. She needs 268 to own the record. Ross’ total also ranks sixth in the WAC record books, three shy of fifth place.
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.
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.
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.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
WAC teams played several key non-conference matchups this season, including 30 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament or the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) last season.
BOISE STATE BRONCOS (11-5, 0-2 WAC)
The Broncos dropped their first home game of the season, 87-83 in overtime, to New Mexico State last Wednesday and lost 64-52 at Nevada on Saturday for their fourth-straight road loss ... Against the Aggies, Tasha Harris recorded her second consecutive double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds ... Boise State turned the ball over 24 times resulting in 31 Aggie points, including three crucial turnovers in the final NMSU run that forced overtime ... In the loss to the Wolf Pack, Jessica Van Hoogen led the Broncos with a team-high 16 points, followed by Lauren Lenhardt’s 10 points and a team-high five rebounds ... Against NM State, Harris moved into second place on the Bronco career scoring list. She now has 1,527 on her career ... The Broncos play at Idaho on Saturday in their only game this week.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (11-5, 2-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs defeated Hawai’i 83-42 last Wednesday and won 72-64 at Idaho on Saturday ... In the win over Hawai’i, Jaleesa Ross led the Bulldogs in scoring with 18 points ... Rosie Moult had a career-high five steals, while Ali Drennan had a career-high eight points ... The 41-point win over was the Bulldogs’ second-largest margin of victory in a WAC game ever and the largest margin of victory in the series ... In the win at Idaho, Ross had 15 points and a career-high eight assists, while Joh-Teena Filipe had 14 points and a team-best seven rebounds ... The Bulldogs outscored Idaho 30-11 over the final 10 minutes ... Ross needs 46 points to move into 10th place on the Fresno State career scoring list and needs 39 three-pointers to be Fresno State’s career leader ... Fresno State has made a three-pointer in 80 straight games ... The Bulldogs play at New Mexico State on Wednesday and host Utah State on Saturday.
HAWAI’I RAINBOW WAHINE (6-9, 0-2 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine fell 83-42 at Fresno State last Wednesday and lost 73-51 at New Mexico State on Saturday ... Keisha Kanekoa led Hawai’i in scoring in both games with 11 and nine points, respectively ... In the loss to the Bulldogs, the Rainbow Wahine shot 36 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range, while Fresno State shot 52 percent from the field and 47 percent from downtown ... In the loss to the Aggies, Hawai’i was outscored 42-20 in the first half ... The Rainbow Wahine have shot 60 percent or lower from the free throw line in each of the last three games and eight times this season ... Hawai’i is in ninth place in the WAC with a 63 percent free throw percentage on the season ... Rebecca Dew (6.3) and Breanna Arbuckle (6.1) rank ninth and 11th, respectively, in the WAC in rebounding ... The Rainbow Wahine host Idaho on Wednesday and Nevada on Saturday.
IDAHO VANDALS (2-12, 0-1 WAC)
The Vandals fell 72-64 to Fresno State on Saturday ... Rachele Kloke had a career-high and team season-high 26 points on a career-high 11 field goals to go with five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocks ... Charlotte Otero added 12 points, Yinka Olorunnife had 11 and Shaena Kuehu scored 10 in the loss ... Idaho held an 11-point second-half lead, but was outscored 30-11 over the final 10 minutes of the game ... The Fresno State run was fueled by eight Vandal turnovers and 4-of-10 shooting by the host Vandals ... Idaho lost its second player to a knee injury this year, as redshirt freshman Jessica Graham was injured in practice last week ... Just a sophomore, Kuehu has 59 career three-pointers, five away from overtaking Meg LeBlanc (1998-02) for 10th all-time at Idaho ... The Vandals play at Hawai’i on Wednesday and host Boise State on Saturday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (9-4, 0-1 WAC)
The Techsters fell 69-66 to Utah State at home last Wednesday, snapping a five-game win streak ... It was LA Tech’s first-ever loss to the Aggies ... Tech out-rebounded Utah State 50-31, including 20-7 on the offensive end ... Shanavia Dowdell led Tech with 17 points and 14 rebounds for her WAC-leading seventh double-double of the season ... Adrienne Johnson added 16 points and Whitney Jones scored 14 ... The Techsters rank 22nd nationally in field goal percentage (45.4), 25th in scoring (76.2), 39th in rebounding margin (6.4) and 45th in scoring margin (11.9) ... Dowdell ranks 13th in the country in rebounding (10.9), 20th in double-doubles (7) and 27th in field goal percentage (54.6), while Johnson is 44th in blocks (1.9) ... The Techsters play at San Jose State on Wednesday and host New Mexico State on Saturday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (8-8, 2-0 WAC)
The Wolf Pack defeated San Jose State 64-56 last Wednesday before beating Boise State 64-52 on Saturday ... In the win over the Spartans, Shavon Moore paced Nevada with 20 points, followed by Tahnee Robinson with 19 ... Against Boise State, Robinson led four Nevada players in double figures with 15 points, followed by Kayla Williams with 14 , Moore with 13 and Nicole Williams with 11 ... Kayla Williams also pulled down 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season ... The Pack recorded 15 assists on 19 field goals ... Nevada has out-rebounded its opponents in 13 games this year including the past nine ... Robinson leads three Nevada players in double figures with 12.9 points per game. Moore averages 11.9 and Johnna Ward averages 10.1 ... Nevada is 32-9 at home since the start of the 2007-08 season ... The Wolf Pack play at Utah State on Wednesday and at Hawai’i on Saturday.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (12-4, 2-0 WAC)
The Aggies defeated Boise State 87-83 in overtime last Wednesday and beat Hawai’i 73-51 on Saturday ... Jasmine Lowe scored a game-high 26 points at Boise State, including 12 of the team’s final 27 points ... The win at Boise State was NM State’s first win on the Broncos’ home court in nine tries ... Lowe also led the team with a game-high 17 points and a career-high-tying six rebounds vs. Hawai’i ... Madison Spence tied a career high with five three-pointers against Hawai’i ... The Aggies have won five of the last six games against Hawai’i, including four straight at home ... NM State’s six-game win streak is the most by the Aggies since an eight-game win streak in 1993-94 ... NM State has started 2-0 in the conference in three of the last four seasons ... At 12-4, the Aggies are off to their best start since a 13-3 beginning in 2007-08 ... NM State hosts Fresno State on Wednesday and plays at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (4-11, 0-2 WAC)
San Jose State fell 64-56 to Nevada last Wednesday and lost 65-54 at Utah State on Saturday ... Against Nevada, the Spartans were led by Shaunna Ridge, who registered her first career double-double with a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds ... Sayja Sumler swiped a career-high seven steals ... SJSU was out-rebounded 44-31 by the Wolf Pack, tying a season-high for rebounding deficit at 13 ... In the loss to the Aggies, Chasity Shavers scored a game-high 20 points, which put her in double-figures for the 13th time in 15 games this season ... All four of the Spartans’ wins this season have come against Northern California teams - San Francisco, California, Sacramento State and Santa Clara ... With 68 career blocks, Ridge ranks seventh on the SJSU career blocked shots list, seven shy of sixth place ... The Spartans host Louisiana Tech on Wednesday in their only game this week.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (10-5, 2-0 WAC)
The Aggies defeated Louisiana Tech 69-66 last Wednesday and beat San Jose State 65-54 on Saturday ... Amber White scored 18 points to go with eight rebounds and two steals
vs. the Techsters ... The win against the Lady Techsters was the Aggies’ first-ever against LA Tech ... Against San Jose State, White led the Aggies with 18 points, followed by LaCale Pringle-Buchanan with 13 points and Alice Coddington with 10 ... Lydia Whitehead pulled down 14 boards ... The Aggies have won six-straight games, their longest since an eight-game win streak during the 1977-78 season ... This is only the second time that Utah State has won its first two conference contests ... Utah State is 7-1 at home this season, just one win away from tying last season’s win total at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum ... The Aggies host Nevada on Wednesday and play at Fresno State on Saturday.