NEVADA'S MOORE NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS WAC
PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Nevada
forward Shavon Moore, a senior from Riverside, Calif. (J.W. North HS), averaged
21.0 points and 10.5 rebounds while being named the MVP of the John Ascuaga's
Nugget Classic played in Reno over the weekend.
In a win over North Carolina State, Moore scored a career-high 26 points
to go along with 12 rebounds. She was
11-of-17 from the field and added four steals.
The next night against San Diego State, she almost recorded another
double-double with 16 points and nine boards in the win. For the week, she was 17-of-29 (.586) from
the field, 8-of-11 (.727) from the free throw line and also averaged 3.5 steals
per game. The award is the first for
Moore in her career and second for a Wolf Pack player this season.
Others
nominated:
Kati
Isham, Jr., G, Boise State -
averaged 12.7 points in three games last week for the Broncos. At the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational, she
scored 14 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and added 15 versus Texas
Southern to be named to the all-tournament team.
Hayley
Munro, Sr., F, Fresno State -
averaged 14.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists as the Bulldogs split two games. In a win over Pepperdine, she scored 17
points and grabbed six rebounds. For the
week, she was 4-of-7 from three-point range and 11-of-12 from the charity
stripe.
Keisha
Kanekoa, Sr., G, Hawai'i -
scored 25 points, including a three-pointer with eight seconds left to force
overtime and two free throws with six seconds left to force another overtime in
a win over Mississippi. In three games,
she averaged 15.3 points and 5.3 rebounds as the Rainbow Wahine went 2-1 in
their tournament.
Yinka
Olorunnife, Sr., C, Idaho -
averaged 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in three games (2-1) for the
Vandals. She recorded a double-double
with 17 points and 14 rebounds in an 86-66 win over Sacramento State.
Adrienne
Johnson, Sr., F, Louisiana Tech - averaged 22.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in two losses last
week. She had double-doubles in both
games with 26 points and 14 rebounds against Houston to go along with 19 points
and 12 boards versus Missouri State.
Tabytha
Wampler, Jr., F, New Mexico State - recorded a pair of double-doubles with 10 points and 10
rebounds versus Alcorn State and 14 points and a career-high 18 rebounds
against Northern Iowa to lead her team to the Aggie Thanksgiving Classic
title. For the week, she averaged 10.7
points and 13.0 rebounds.
Ashlee
Brown, Jr., F, Utah State -
in a win over Weber State, she recorded her first double-double with 10 points
and 11 rebounds. For the week, she
averaged 7.0 points and 8.5 rebounds.
NEVADA, NEW MEXICO STATE WIN OWN TOURNAMENTS
- Nevada claimed the title of the 2010 John
Ascuaga's Nugget Classic hosted in Reno with wins over North Carolina State and
San Diego State. For the fifth time this
year, Nevada was led by senior captain Tahnee Robinson who led all scorers with
20 points. Robinson picked up her fifth
20-point game of the year shooting 5-19 from the field with 9-11 from the free
throw line. Fellow senior captain Shavon
Moore dished in 16 points of her own with nine rebounds. Robinson and Moore were both named to the
all-tournament team while Moore was named the MVP. Nevada improved to 5-1 on the season.
Darin Spence earned his 100th victory as the
Aggie head coach when New Mexico State defeated Northern Iowa 72-63 at the Pan
American Center on Saturday night to clinch the Aggie Hotel Encanto
Thanksgiving Classic Championship. The
Aggies beat Alcorn State, 67-61, the night before. Danisha Corbett averaged 18.5 points in the
two games while Tabytha Wampler aeraged 16.5 rebounds for the Aggies. New Mexico State is now 5-2 on the season.
OLORUNNIFE SCORES 1,000TH CAREER POINT - Idaho's Yinka Olorunnife scored 17 points in
a win over Sacramento State last Saturday to surpass the 1,000 point mark for
her career. She is now one of five
active players in the WAC with at least 1,000 points. Olorunnife also is the WAC's active leader in
rebounds with 798.
BOISE STATE'S PRESNELL GOES FOR WIN 500 - Boise State's Gordy Presnell is in his 24th
season as a head coach and is 499-188.
He goes for win number 500 on Friday night when the Broncos host Oregon
at 7:00 p.m. MT. If Boise State does
win, he would become the 71st coach in NCAA history to reach 500
victories. In his sixth season with the
Broncos, he is 103-61, garnering win number 100 on Nov. 16 against Southern
Utah.
ORLEANS ARENA IN LAS VEGAS TO HOST WAC
TOURNAMENT - The
2011 WAC Basketball Tournament will be held March 9-12 at the Orleans Arena in
Las Vegas. It will feature a new format from year's past, rewarding teams based
on regular-season success, giving the top two teams byes into the tournament
semifinals. Under the format, the tournament will begin on Wednesday with two
men's games and two women's games featuring the No. 5 seed against the No. 8
seed and No. 6 vs. No. 7. The winners then advance to Thursday's quarterfinal
matchups to play the No. 4 and No. 3 seeds. The winners of those games then
advance to Friday's semifinals against the top two seeds.
FRESNO STATE FAVORED IN PRESEASON POLLS - Fresno State, which won the WAC
regular-season title last year with a perfect 16-0 record, was the preseason
favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference in both the coaches and media
polls.
In the coaches poll, the Bulldogs received
63 points and seven first-place votes to beat out Louisiana Tech for the top
spot. The Lady Techsters captured second place with 57 points and two
first-place votes.
In the media poll. Fresno State received 14
first-place votes, earning 158 points. Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech was picked to
finish second with 146 points and four first-place votes.
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 Fresno State senior guard
Jaleesa Ross as the WAC's preseason
Player of the Year.
ESPNU TO TELEVISE FOUR GAMES IN 2010-11
SEASON - ESPNU will
televise four WAC women's basketball games during the 2010-11 season. The
network will televise three regular-season WAC women's basketball match-ups and
will also air the championship game of the WAC Tournament, held at the Orleans
Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
The complete schedule:
Thursday, Jan. 6-Idaho at Nevada, 8 p.m. (PT)
Thursday, Jan. 13-Louisiana Tech at Fresno State, 6 p.m. (PT)
Monday, Feb. 28-Louisiana Tech at Nevada, 8 p.m. (PT)
Saturday, March 12-WAC Tournament Championship, 1 p.m. (PT)
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING - A total of seven players from all-WAC first
and second teams return this season. Three players return from the first team -
Louisiana Tech's Adrienne Johnson, Nevada's Tahnee Robinson and Fresno State's
Jaleesa Ross. There are four players returning from the second team, including
Fresno State's Hayley Munro, Idaho's Rachele Kloke, Nevada's Shavon Moore and
Utah State's Amber White. Meanwhile, four members of the All-Defensive Team
return in Alice Coddington of Utah State, Johnson, Moore and White.
STAT LEADERS BACK - Five of the top 10 scorers return for the
2010-11 season, including the second and third scorers last year, Fresno
State's Jaleesa Ross (17.4) and Louisiana Tech's Adrienne Johnson (16.0). Also
returning are Idaho's Rachele Kloke, who was seventh (14.5), New Mexico State's
Jasmine Lowe, who was eighth (14.1) and Fresno State's Hayley Munro, who was
10th (11.7).
Six of the top 10 rebounding leaders from a
year ago return. Idaho's Yinka Olorunnife returns this season after ranking
second in the WAC with 7.9 rebounds per game last year. Nevada's Kayla Williams
and Louisiana Tech's Johnson were third and fourth, respectively, last year at
7.3 and 7.2 per game, respectively. Boise State's Janie Bos was sixth (7.0),
Nevada's Shavon Moore was seventh (7.0) and New Mexico State's Tabytha Wampler
was 10th (7.0).
LETTERWINNER/STARTER CAPSULE - Nevada and Idaho return the most starters
this season with five. New Mexico State returns four starters, while Fresno
State, Hawai'i and Louisiana Tech each return three starters. Boise State, San
Jose State and Utah State each return two starters.