FRESNO STATE’S ROSS NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Fresno State junior guard Jaleesa Ross has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 18-24. This is the second WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Ross and the fifth of her career.
Ross, a Pinole, Calif. (Pinole Valley) native, averaged 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals in a pair of conference wins last week to keep Fresno State atop the WAC standings as the only remaining undefeated team in league play. She shot 53 percent from the field (17-of-32) and 52 percent (12-of-23) from three-point range in wins over then-undefeated Nevada and third-place Louisiana Tech. In the win at Nevada, she had a game-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds. Against Louisiana Tech, she had 31 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. She drained six three-pointers in both contests, tying her season high.
Other nominees included: Tasha Harris of Boise State averaged 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals in a pair of wins … New Mexico State’s Crystal Boyd averaged 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds on the week … Samantha Marez of San Jose State averaged 13.5 points and 3.5 rebounds as the Spartans snapped an 18-game WAC losing skid … Utah State’s Alice Coddington averaged 13.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game on the week.
TWO WAC GAMES ON ESPNU THIS WEEK
Two WAC women’s basketball games will be televised live on ESPNU this week. At 8 p.m. (PT) this Tuesday, Jan. 26, Louisiana Tech plays at Nevada. The following day, Wednesday, Jan. 27, Boise State takes on Fresno State at 8 p.m. (PT).
The games are two of the four WAC women’s basketball games to be aired on the network this season. The other two are Wednesday, March 3, when Louisiana Tech plays at Idaho, along with the WAC Tournament championship game on Saturday, March 13.
ROSS RANKS SECOND IN SCHOOL HISTORY, FIFTH 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 251. She needs 268 to own the record. Ross’ total also ranks fifth in the WAC record books, 21 shy of fourth place.
HARRIS RANKS IN TOP 10 IN WAC IN CAREER FREE THROWS
Boise State senior Tasha Harris currently has 432 made free throws on her career, tied for eighth place all-time in the WAC. With a minimum of 11 games remaining in her career, at her current pace, Harris would finish with 499 career free throws, good for fifth place in WAC history.
LA TECH’S DOWDELL RANKS IN WAC TOP 10 IN REBOUNDING
Louisiana Tech’s Shanavia Dowdell, the reigning WAC Player of the Year, currently has 823 career rebounds, good for eighth place all-time in the WAC.
VAN HOOGEN CLIMBING WAC STEALS CHART
Boise State senior Jessica Van Hoogen has 275 career steals, good for seventh place all-time in the WAC career record books. At her current pace, Van Hoogen would close out her career with 299 steals, just shy of fifth place (303) in the WAC record books.
JOHNSON SCORES 1,000TH CAREER POINT, GRABS 500TH CAREER REBOUND IN SAME GAME
At the 8:30 mark of the second half at San Jose State on Jan. 13, Adrienne Johnson hit two free throws to become the 39th Lady Techster to ever score 1,000 points in a career. She also pulled down her 500th career rebound in the game.
NM STATE UPSETS NO. 21 KANSAS, PICKS UP THIRD WIN EVER OVER RANKED TEAM
New Mexico State’s Crystal Boyd connected on her second free throw at the line with 0.8 seconds remaining, then swatted away the final inbound pass to seal a 61-60 upset of No. 21 Kansas on Jan. 3. The victory marked the Aggies’ first win over a ranked opponent in exactly five years and third ever. Boyd scored a career-high 25 points, including 20 of NM State’s 34 first-half points, to go along with team-high eight rebounds in the contest.
CODDINGTON NABS WAC-RECORD 13 STEALS VS. WEBER STATE
Utah State’s Alice Coddington nabbed a WAC-record 13 steals on Dec. 21 against Weber State, surpassing the previous record of 11 held by Nevada’s Cherlanda Franklin and BYU’s Tomika Young. The Utah State record was 12 steals set by Carol Garrison in 1981. Coddington added 13 points for her first double-double of the season. The record-breaking steal came with 5:24 remaining in the game, while the 13 is one shy of the NCAA record.
SAN JOSE STATE UPSETS CAL, POSTS FIRST WIN OVER RANKED TEAM SINCE 1983
Chasity Shavers scored a career-high 32 points and made three free throws in the final 34 seconds to give San Jose State a 68-66 upset of No. 22 California on Dec. 9. Shavers finished 11-of-19 from the field and had eight rebounds, while Samantha Marez added 13 points. The last known time the Spartans beat a nationally-ranked opponent was Feb. 5, 1983, when San Jose State upended then-No. 17 Oregon State, 69-56, in a NorPac Conference game played in Spartan Gym.
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.
BOISE STATE BRONCOS (13-6, 2-3 WAC)
The Broncos defeated San Jose State 75-53 last Wednesday and beat Hawai‘i 73-64 on Saturday ... Against the Spartans, Tasha Harris led all players with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Rebecca Kepilino added 14 points and seven boards ... In the win over the Rainbow Wahine, five Broncos scored in double digits, led by Harris and Jessica Van Hoogen with 16 points apiece ... Kepilino added 12, while Janie Bos and Julia Marshall tallied 10 each ... With 14 free throws last week, Harris moved into a tie for eighth all-time in the WAC with 432 career free throws ... Van Hoogen ranks seventh in WAC history with 275 career steals ... Boise State ranks 15th nationally in steals (11.6), 38th in scoring (72.2) and 44th in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.5) ... The Broncos play at Fresno State on Wednesday in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU, then host Utah State on Saturday.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (15-5, 6-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs defeated Nevada 75-66 last Thursday and Louisiana Tech 71-61 on Saturday to remain the only unbeaten team in WAC play ... Jaleesa Ross had a game-high 20 points to go with six rebounds vs. the Wolf Pack ... Against LA Tech, Ross finished with 31 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals ... The 6-0 WAC start ties the 2005-06 and 2007-08 teams for the school record for the best start in WAC play ... Three of Fresno State’s last four home games have had an attendance of 3,000 or more ... The Bulldogs are outscoring teams 75-57 in WAC play ... Fresno State is 12-0 this season when outshooting its opponent ... The Bulldogs have made a three-pointer in 84 straight games ... With 1,228 career points, Ross needs seven more to move into ninth place at Fresno State ... The Bulldogs host Boise State for a nationally-televised ESPNU game on Wednesday before playing at San Jose State on Saturday.
HAWAI`I RAINBOW WAHINE (8-12, 2-5 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine defeated Utah State 69-56 last Monday, then fell 75-62 at Louisiana Tech on Thursday and 73-64 at Boise State on Saturday ... Against the Aggies, Leilani Galdones led four Hawai‘i players in double-digit scoring with 13 points, followed by Dita Liepkalne with 12, and Arbuckle and Patterson with 11 apiece ... Galdones pulled down 10 boards for her first career double-double ... In the loss to the Techsters, Allie Patterson led the team with 18 points, followed by Dita Liepkalne with 15 ... Against Boise State, Breanna Arbuckle posted a team-high 16 points, while Liepkalne added 13 ... The Rainbow Wahine have made five or more three-pointers in each of the last three games and only eight all season ... Hawai‘i has shot under 70 percent from the free throw line in 16 of 20 games this season, including all seven WAC games ... The Rainbow Wahine host San Jose State on Wednesday.
IDAHO VANDALS (3-13, 1-2 WAC)
The Vandals defeated New Mexico State 68-65 last Wednesday, then fell 58-53 at San Jose State on Saturday ... In the win over the Aggies, five Vandals scored in double figures, led by Rachele Kloke and Yinka Olorunnife with 14 points ... Bianca Cheever added 13 points, Shaena-Lyn Kuehu had 12 and Charlotte Otero posted 10 ... In the loss to the Spartans, Kloke had a game-high 19 points, while Kuehu added 11 ... Idaho ranks 19th nationally in both three-point field goals per game (7.6) and personal fouls (14.5) ... With 66 three-pointers in her two years at Idaho, Kuehu ranks 10th in the Vandal record books, 17 away from ninth place ... Otero is the WAC’s active leader in assists with 327 on her career ... The Vandals host Utah State on Wednesday and play at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (12-5, 3-2 WAC)
The Techsters defeated Hawai‘i 75-62 last Thursday before falling 71-61 at Fresno State on Saturday ... In the win over the Rainbow Wahine, Whitney Jones paced the Techsters with 18 points ... Shanavia Dowdell (14 points, 16 rebounds) and Adrienne Johnson (16 points, 11 rebounds) added double-doubles for LA Tech ... In the loss to the Bulldogs, Johnson scored a team-high 18 points, followed by Dowdell and Jones with 11 points apiece and Tarkeisha Wysinger with 10 ... LA Tech hit only 2-of-12 field goals over the final 10 minutes while also committing six turnovers ... With 31 rebounds last week, Dowdell is averaging 11.5 on the season, good for sixth place nationally ... Dowdell has a WAC-leading 10 double-doubles on the season, which ranks 13th nationally ... The Techsters play at Nevada on Tuesday on ESPNU, then host Idaho on Saturday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (10-9, 4-1 WAC)
The Wolf Pack fell 75-66 to Fresno State last Thursday in their only game of the week ... Tahnee Robinson led a group of four Nevada players in double-digit scoring with 17 points, followed by Amanda Johnson (14), Kayla Williams (13) and Johnna Ward (12) ... Williams recorded her third career double-double, grabbing 11 rebounds ... Shavon Moore was held scoreless against Fresno State for the first time in 29 games ... Nevada has recorded less than 25 turnovers in its past four games including a season-low 12 at Hawai‘i, and is 3-1 in those games. Prior to those four games, the Pack recorded 25 or more turnovers in seven straight games and went 1-6 in those games ... Robinson has scored in double figures in nine of her 10 career games for Nevada, including the past seven ... The Wolf Pack host Louisiana Tech for a nationally-televised ESPNU game on Tuesday, then play at New Mexico State on Saturday.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (13-7, 3-3 WAC)
The Aggies fell 68-65 to Idaho last Wednesday before defeating Utah State 56-55 on Saturday ... In the loss to the Vandals, Danisha Corbett scored a game-high 19 points, while Jasmine Lowe added 12 ... Tabytha Wampler grabbed 11 rebounds, while Crystal Boyd had 10. It was just the second time this season the Aggies had two players in double-digit rebounds ... NM State posted a season-high 22 assists and season lows in turnovers (12) and fouls (13) ... Boyd posted her sixth double-double of the season with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Utah State ... Madison Spence is 11 points shy of 1,000 on her career and looks to become the 17th Aggie in program history to join the 1,000-point club and just the seventh Aggie to accomplish the feat prior to her senior year ... NM State 11-2 when holding opponents to 70 points or less this year ... The Aggies host Nevada on Saturday.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (5-13, 1-4 WAC)
San Jose State fell 75-53 at Boise State last Wednesday before defeating Idaho 58-53 on Saturday to snap an 18-game WAC losing skid ... In the loss to the Broncos, Chasity Shavers led the Spartans with 17 points, followed by Shaunna Ridge and Samantha Marez with 11 points apiece ... SJSU shot just 30 percent in the second half ... In the win over the Vandals, Marez led the Spartans with 16 points, while Palagi Atoe added 13 in just her fourth double-digit scoring performance of the season ... Marez hit a three-pointer with 1:57 left in the game to put the Spartans up for good ... It was SJSU’s first WAC win since a 54-50 win over Hawai‘i on Jan. 10, 2009 ... The Spartans led at the half for the first time since their Dec. 9 win over then-No. 22 California ... The win was San Jose State’s first over a non-Northern California team all season ... The Spartans play at Hawai‘i on Wednesday and host Fresno State on Saturday.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (10-9, 2-4 WAC)
The Aggies fell 69-56 at Hawai‘i last Monday and lost 56-55 to New Mexico State on Saturday ... Against the Rainbow Wahine, Alice Coddington led USU with 13 points, while Nicole Johnson grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds ... Lydia Whitehead posted her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds ... In the loss to NM State, Amber White posted her first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds ... Coddington added 13 points and seven rebounds ... USU committed 23 turnovers in the loss. It was the sixth time this season and third game in a row that the Aggies turned the ball over 20 or more times in a game ... USU ranks 26th nationally in blocks (5.1) and 46th in scoring defense (57.7) ... Coddington ranks 28th in the nation in steals (2.9), while Nicole Johnson is 42nd in blocks (1.9) ... The Aggies play at Idaho on Wednesday and at Boise State on Saturday.