THIS WEEK IN WAC BASKETBALL - For the next nine days, WAC teams will be in
action beginning with tonight's Arkansas State-Louisiana Tech game. Three tournaments are also on the schedule
over the next week as Fresno State travels to New York for the St. John's
Holiday Classic, Hawai'i hosts the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Shootout and Nevada
heads to Cancun, Mexico for the Caribbean Challenge.
WAC TEAMS POST .500 RECORD - WAC teams were 5-5 last week in
non-conference games. The WAC is now
45-36 (.556) in non-conference games this season to be ranked 14th in
conference RPI. Three teams are in the
top 100 led by Louisiana Tech (67), Nevada (79) and Fresno State (80).
UTAH STATE'S BROWN NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS
WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Utah
State forward Ashlee Brown, a junior from Chandler, Ariz. (UC Santa Barbara),
averaged 19.0 points and 14.5 rebounds in a split of two games for the Aggies
last week. On Wednesday night, she
scored 21 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out three assists and made three
steals in a win over San Francisco.
Despite a loss against Idaho State on Saturday, she scored 17 points and
pulled down 15 rebounds while blocking three shots. For the week, she was 14-of-28 (.500) from
the field in averaging 37.5 minutes per game.
The award is the second for Brown in her career and second for an Aggie
player this season.
Others
nominated:
Janie
Bos, Sr., F, Boise State -
had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Sacramento
State last week. It was her third
straight double-double and fourth of the season. She also had two assists and two steals in
the game.
Rosie
Moult, So., F, Fresno State -
grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and scored 12 points in a win over Cal State
Bakersfield. She just missed another
double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds in a game at Stanford. For the week, she averaged 11.5 points, 12.0
rebounds and 2.5 steals.
Rachele
Kloke, Sr., G/F, Idaho -
averaged 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in a split of two games last week. She was 14-of-26 (.538) from the field and
added a total of four blocks and two steals in the two games.
Adrienne
Johnson, Sr., F, Louisiana Tech - scored 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds in a win over
Southern. Johnson was 9-of-9 from the
free throw line in the game.
WAC TOURNAMENT HEADS TO LAS VEGAS, TICKETS
NOW ON SALE - The
2011 WAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament will be held March 9-12 at the
Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and will include the top eight teams in the
regular-season standings. Ticket information is available at
www.wacbasketballtournament.com.
WAC ANNOUNCES TOURNAMENT FORMAT CHANGE - The WAC will change its postseason men's and
women's basketball tournament format, effective for the 2011 tournament. The
change was recommended by both the WAC men's and women's basketball coaches and
approved by the WAC Board of Directors. The change will reward 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 and two women's games featuring the No. 5 seed against the No. 8 seed and
No. 6 versus 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. The change also
results in two men's and two women's games being played each day of the
tournament except for Saturday, which will feature the men's and women's
championship games.
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)
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (7-3, 0-0 WAC)
Has won four of its last five games ... is
second in the WAC in scoring with 71.4 points per game ... travels to Utah for
two road games at Weber State and Utah Valley beginning Saturday ... junior G
Kati Isham leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.441) making
26-of-59 ... Isham scored a career-high 22 points and hit a three-pointer with
17 seconds left to break a tie in a
73-68 win over Sacramento State ... Nicole Brady came off the bench to score 11
pointq and 12 minutes of action ... Janie Bos has had a double-double in three
straight games ... the Broncos lead the WAC in field goal percentage (.439) ...
Boise State has posted four straight seasons with winning records.
Fresno State Bulldogs (7-3, 0-0 WAC)
Is in the midst of a four-game road trip and
doesn't return home until Dec. 29 against USC ... had a four-game losing streak
snapped in the loss at Stanford ... had a 13-9 lead early in the game before
Stanford went on a 33-4 run to end the first half ... shot 24.1 percent (14-58)
from the field in the game ... leads the WAC in scoring with 72.8 points per
game ... the Bulldogs have won 18 straight WAC regular-season games ... has hit
a trey in 109 straight games ... Jaleesa Ross is the school's career
three-point leader with 311 long balls ... with 1,594 points, she needs 185 to
become the program's all-time leading scorer ... the Bulldogs have been to
three straight NCAA Tournaments.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
After a two-game road trip and 15-day break,
Hawai'i returns home this weekend for the Rainbow Wahine Shootout ... in its
last game at Portland, UH outrebounded the Pilots, 47-34 ... Kamilah Jackson
and Megan Tinnin led the 'Bows with 18 points each while Breanna Arbuckle (15
points, 10 rebounds) and Jackson (18 rebounds) each had double-doubles ...
freshman F Kamilah Jackson has posted double-doubles in five straight games ...
senior G Keisha Kanekoa is 49 points shy of becoming the 16th member of the
school's 1,000-point club ... senior G Megan Tinnin is the school's all-time
leader in three-point field goals with 135 in her career ... she returned to
action this year after a redshirt season in 2009-10.
Idaho Vandals (6-3, 0-0 WAC)
Play at Gonzaga on Friday and looks to snap
the Bulldogs' five-game winning streak ... faces three straight West Coast
Conference opponents on the road (Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, Portland) ... is
coming off a loss at Seattle and hasn't lost back-to-back games this year ...
is in the midst of its second five-game road trip of the season ... freshman C
Ashley Walters leads the WAC and is 21st in the nation in blocks with 2.6 per
game ... Yinka Olorunnife's 829 career rebounds are the most of any active
player in the WAC ... her five double-doubles on the season are tied for the
most in the WAC this year ... the Vandals are approaching their 500th all-time
victory and are currently 497-495.
Louisiana Tech Lady
Techsters (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Has won its last two games after a
three-game losing streak ... faces Arkansas State on Wednesday night and has
beaten the Red Wolves 26 straight times ... is 16-0 against Arkansas State at
home ... beat Southern last Sunday despite committing a season-high 27
turnovers ... the 52 points scored in the win were the fewest in a victory for
Tech since 2005 ... senior F Adrienne Johnson leads the WAC and is 10th in the
nation in scoring with 21.6 points per game ... she has scored in double
figures in seven straight games ... the Lady Techsters lead the WAC in scoring
defense with 56.7 ppg ... head coach Teresa Weatherspoon was inducted into the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame this past
summer.
Nevada Wolf Pack (6-2, 0-0 WAC)
Returns to action on Thursday night
following an 11-day break when it hosts Portland State ... following the game,
travels to Cancun for the Caribbean Challege where it will face Illinois State
and Ball State .... in its last game at Washington State, shot 19-of-63 (.302)
from the field ... senior F Shavon Moore scored 16 points in that game while
junior F Kayla Williams added a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds
... junior G Tahnee Robinson is second in the WAC in scoring with 21.4 points
per game and has made a WAC-best 2.75 three-point field goals per game ...
Williams is second in the WAC in rebounding with 10.1 per contest ... Nevada
leads the WAC in rebounding margin (+8.5) ... has a 43-12 record at Lawlor
Events Center since the start of the 2007-08 season.
New Mexico State Aggies (6-4, 0-0 WAC)
After New Mexico State went on an 8-0 run,
Michigan responded with a 14-2 run in the final 3:48 to win, 68-54, on Monday
night ... four Aggies scored in double figures led by junior F Tabytha Wampler
... has lost two of its last three games after winning five of its previous six
... Wampler leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.852) ... she is sixth in
the WAC in scoring (14.0) and third in rebounding (9.9) ... senior G Jasmine
Lowe is second in the WAC in steals with 3.2 per game ... the Aggies lead the
WAC in free throw percentage (.735) ... starting PG Madison Spence has missed
the last five games since suffering a concussion ... the Aggies' 2010-11
schedule includes a dozen games against teams that played in postseason
tournaments a season ago.
San Jose Spartans (0-9, 0-0 WAC)
Trailed 33-10 at the half and lost 64-27 at
Denver last Saturday ... was 10-of-42 (.238) from the field including 0-of-6
from three-point range ... junior G Sara Plavljanin scored a team-high eight
points ... it was the second fewest points
scored in the Spartans' 36-year history, behind only the contest versus
Utah on Feb. 18, 1999 (26) ... begins a six-game homestand on Saturday with a
game against Cal Poly .... it is the longest homestand for the Spartans since
playing nine in a row at home in the 2000-01 season ... has now lost 13 games
in a row ... junior F Brittany Johnson leads the team in scoring with 9.7
points per game ... will travel close to 21,000 miles this season.
Utah State Aggies (5-5, 0-0 WAC)
Has
won five of its last six games ... has a nine-day break for finals before
resuming its four-game homestand ... plays next Monday's game at noon for
School Day as students and their families from the Cache Valley are admitted
for free ... junior F Ashlee Brown is one of just two players in the WAC to
shoot more than 50 percent from the field (.514) ... Brown became the first
Aggie to win back-to-back WAC Player of the Week awards last Monday ... senior
G Alice Coddington leads the WAC in assists with 4.6 per game and in steals
with 3.4 per contest ... the Aggies are tied for first in the WAC in steals
with 11.2 per game and are second in the WAC in assists (15.3 per game).