LOUISIANA TECH’S JOHNSON NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Louisiana Tech junior forward Adrienne Johnson has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 15-21. This is the third WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Johnson and the fourth of her career.
Johnson, a Franklin, La., native, averaged 19.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game while leading Louisiana Tech to a pair of road wins last week. She shot a blazing 72 percent (17-of-24) from the field and 80 percent (4-of-5) from the free throw line on the week. Johnson recorded back-to-back double-doubles on the week, scoring a team-high 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a 62-55 win at New Mexico State. She followed it up with 20 points and 11 boards in a 79-71 win at Hawai`i.
Other nominees included: Rebecca Kepilino of Boise State averaged 16.5 points and 3.0 rebounds as the Broncos went 2-0 on the week … Fresno State’s Hayley Munro averaged 17.5 points and 3.5 rebounds as the Bulldogs clinched at least a share of the WAC regular-season title … Keisha Kanekoa of Hawai`i averaged 17.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists over three games last week … Idaho’s Charlotte Otero dished her 350th career assist and scored a career-high 16 points on the week … Shavon Moore of Nevada averaged 12.0 points on 65 percent shooting and 5.0 rebounds per game … New Mexico State’s Tabytha Wampler posted her first two career double-doubles and averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks … Chasity Shavers of San Jose State averaged 25.0 points, including a career-high 34 in a loss to Boise State, as the Spartans went 1-1 on the week … Utah State’s Amber White scored a career-high 27 points in the Aggies’ loss to first-place Fresno State.
WAC TO STREAM SELECTED WAC TOURNAMENT GAMES
A total of three men’s games and six women’s games will be streamed via the internet from the 2010 WAC Basketball Tournament presented by Verizon Wireless. Those nine games will be available live on WAC.tv. Games that will be shown on any ESPN networks cannot be shown due to contractual obligations. These ESPN games include the men’s afternoon quarterfinals on March 11, the second men’s semifinal game on March 12 and both the men’s and women’s championship games. Individual tournament games may be purchased for $7.95 each.
FRESNO STATE IMPROVES TO 13-0 IN WAC PLAY, WINS AT LEAST SHARE OF REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
After rattling off a school-record 14 straight wins, including all 13 of its WAC games, Fresno State has locked up at least a share of the regular-season title. The Bulldogs are currently ranked 39th in the NCAA RPI. The 13-0 WAC start is Fresno State’s best since joining the conference in the 1992-93 season. Prior to this year, three different Bulldog teams had started WAC play 6-0.
DOWDELL RANKS THIRD NATIONALLY IN REBOUNDING, DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Reigning WAC Player of the Year Shanavia Dowdell currently ranks third in the nation in rebounding (12.4) and double-doubles (17). She’s also ranked 34th in field goal percentage (52.0) and 42nd in scoring (18.0).
FRESNO STATE RANKED SIXTH IN ESPN’S MID-MAJOR TOP 10
After winning 12 straight games, Fresno State was ranked sixth in the Feb. 15 ESPN.com Mid-Major Poll. Graham Hays had this to say about the Bulldogs: “Here’s how Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins made his case recently: ‘If you flipped and put our name on Arizona State’s stats or UCLA’s stats and changed the names, I think you’d be amazed at what you’d think about our team.’ He has a point. The lack of a signature win hurts in raising the profile, but the Bulldogs played Stanford close into the second half and acquitted themselves well on the road at TCU and USC without guard Emma Andrews early on. The next hurdle comes with Nevada, second in the WAC, at home on Saturday, followed by trips to Louisiana Tech and Boise State in the week that follows.”
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 271, two shy of the all-time record. Ross’ total also ranks fifth in the WAC record books, one away from fourth place.
HARRIS RANKS IN TOP 10 IN WAC IN CAREER FREE THROWS
Boise State senior Tasha Harris currently has 455 made free throws on her career, good for eighth place all-time in the WAC. With a minimum of five games remaining in her career, at her current pace, Harris would finish with 476 career free throws, good for fifth place in WAC history.
LA TECH’S DOWDELL RANKS IN WAC TOP FIVE IN REBOUNDING
Louisiana Tech’s Shanavia Dowdell, the reigning WAC Player of the Year, currently has 924 career rebounds, good for fourth place all-time in the WAC. At her current pace, with a minimum of five games remaining on her career, Dowdell would conclude her career with 986 boards, good for first place in WAC history.
VAN HOOGEN CLIMBING WAC STEALS CHART
Boise State senior Jessica Van Hoogen has 282 career steals, good for seventh place all-time in the WAC career record books, 20 away from sixth place.
JOHNSON BECOMES UTAH STATE’S CAREER BLOCKED SHOTS LEADER
Utah State senior Nicole Johnson recorded her 128th career block at the 19:07 mark of the second half at Nevada on Feb. 13 when she blocked a Shavon Moore jumper. In doing so, she took sole possession of the Aggie career record for blocked shots. Her 129 blocks places her fifth in the WAC career record books, 22 shy of first place. Johnson has 44 blocks this season, which places her fifth on USU’s single-season charts.
BOISE STATE’S HARRIS, VAN HOOGEN NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Boise State’s Tasha Harris and Jessica Van Hoogen were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Harris was named to the District 8 first team, which makes her eligible for Academic All-America honors, while Van Hoogen was named to the second team.
This marks the second time in Harris’ career that she has been named to the district team, making the third team in 2008. The Longmont, Colo., native is a three-time Academic all-WAC honoree who has already earned her bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in athletic administration, and is currently working on a master’s in communication. She finished her undergraduate work with a 3.6 grade-point average and has a 3.68 graduate GPA.
Van Hoogen, a Temecula, Calif., native, is a three-time Academic all-WAC honoree who has earned her bachelor’s degree in communication and is currently working on a master’s in athletic administration. She finished her undergraduate degree with a 3.33 GPA and has a 4.00 GPA in graduate school.
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 (17-9, 6-6 WAC)
The Broncos defeated Idaho 73-63 last Wednesday and beat San Jose State 80-62 on Saturday to snap an eight-game road losing skid ... In the win over Idaho, Tasha Harris led the team with 17 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals ... Rebecca Kepilino added 14 points, followed by Janie Bos’ double-double of 12 points and team-high 10 rebounds ... Against the Spartans, Kepilino led the Broncos with a season-high 19 points ... Harris followed with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Bos added 12 points, a team-high seven rebounds and four assists ... With a minimum seven games remaining, the Broncos have clinched a winning season ... Boise State ranks 25th nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense (.281), and 44th in both scoring (71.3) and steals (10.3) ... The Broncos play at Hawai`i on Wednesday and host Fresno State on Saturday.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (22-5, 13-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs defeated Utah State 69-63 last Wednesday and beat second-place Nevada 69-58 on Saturday to earn at least a share of the WAC regular-season title ... Against the Aggies, Jaleesa Ross scored a game-high 31 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds ... Hayley Munro added 20 points ... In the win over the Wolf Pack, Rosie Moult scored 17 points, while Munro had 15 and Ross added 12 ... Fresno State trailed 46-31 with 16:55 left in the game, then went on a 31-4 run to take a 62-50 lead with 3:55 left in the game ... Ross needs two three-pointers to become the Fresno State’s all-time leader. She currently has 271, good for fifth all-time in the WAC ... Ross also ranks fifth on the Fresno State scoring list with 1,361 points ... The Bulldogs fifth nationally in three-pointers per game with 8.5 ... The Bulldogs play at second-place Louisiana Tech on Wednesday and at fourth-place Boise State on Saturday.
HAWAI`I RAINBOW WAHINE (9-18, 3-11 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine fell 76-56 at Nevada last Monday, 68-61 at San Jose State last Wednesday and 79-71 to Louisiana Tech on Saturday ... In the loss to the Wolf Pack, UH shot 38 percent from the field, breaking a streak of four straight games shooting 43 percent or better ... Keisha Kanekoa led the Rainbow Wahine with 14 points, while Katie Wilson came off the bench to score 11 ... Against the Spartans, Kanekoa paced the Rainbow Wahine with a season-high 22 points, followed by Breanna Arbuckle and Briauna Linton with 10 apiece ... In the loss to Tech, Kanekoa led Hawai`i with 16 points, while Julita Bungaite added 13 points and Wilson had 12 ... Kanekoa ranks second in the WAC in assists (3.37) and fifth in free throw percentage (.769) ... Arbuckle is fourth in the WAC in both blocks (1.41) and field goal percentage (.494) ... The Rainbow Wahine host Boise State on Wednesday in their only game of the week.
IDAHO VANDALS (7-18, 5-7 WAC)
The Vandals fell 73-63 at Boise State last Wednesday before defeating New Mexico State 60-59 on Saturday ... Against the Broncos, Rachele Kloke scored a team-high 17 points, followed by Charlotte Otero with 16 ... In the win over the Aggies, Yinka Olorunnife finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for her 16th career double-double ... Kloke had 15 points, Charlotte Otero added 14 and a career-high five steals and Shaena Kuehu had 12 ... Otero dished her 350th career assist in Saturday’s win over NM State … With her 20 rebounds last week, Olorunnife moved into fifth place all-time at Idaho in career rebounds at 685 ... Kloke now has 10 games in a row with double-digit points and 21 overall this year ... The Vandals have won four of their last five games at the Cowan Spectrum ... The Vandals host San Jose State on Wednesday and play at Utah State on Saturday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (18-6, 9-3 WAC)
The Techsters defeated New Mexico State 62-55 last Wednesday and beat Hawai`i 79-71 on Saturday ... Adrienne Johnson scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds vs. the Aggies, while Shanavia Dowdell added 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds ... Dowdell notched her 10th straight double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds at UH, while Johnson recorded her fifth with 20 points and 11 boards ... Dowdell is on pace to become the WAC’s career rebounding leader. She currently has 924, 50 shy of the record ... Dowdell ranks third in the nation in both rebounding (12.4) and double-doubles (17) ... As a team, Louisiana Tech ranks 11th in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.7), 12th in rebounding margin (7.6) and 19th in scoring (74.9) ...
... The Techsters host Fresno State on Wednesday and Nevada on Saturday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (15-12, 9-4 WAC)
The Wolf Pack defeated Hawai`i 76-56 last Monday and fell 69-58 at Fresno State on Saturday ... Against Hawai`i, Tahnee Robinson and Shavon Moore each recorded 14 points, while Johnna Ward added 12, including her 700th career point ... Marianne Lombardi (10) and Kayla Williams (11) finished with double-digit rebounds as the Pack out-rebounded the UH 51-27 ... Against Fresno State, Moore had 12 points, followed by Ward and Hammond with 10 each ... After using four different starting lineups during non-conference play, Nevada has used the same starting lineup for all 12 WAC games (Robinson, Ward, Amanda Johnson, Williams and Moore) ... The win over Hawai`i gave Nevada 11 home wins this year ... Nevada committed 26 turnovers against Fresno State marking the first time in 12 games the team had more than 25 ... The Wolf Pack play at Louisiana Tech on Saturday in their only game this week.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (16-11, 6-7 WAC)
The Aggies fell 62-55 to Louisiana Tech last Wednesday before falling 60-59 at Idaho on Saturday ... In the loss to Tech, Tabytha Wampler posted her first career double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds ... Crystal Boyd pulled down 14 boards, while Madison Spence added 12 points ... In the loss to the Vandals, Boyd led all players with 20 points, while Wampler added a double-double of 14 points and 10 boards ... Christina Fletcher scored a career-high 10 points ... The Aggies’ 16 victories this season rank as the second-best win total for NM State since joining the WAC, with three regular-season games remaining ... NM State 13-5 when holding opponents to 70 points or less this year ... As a team, the Aggies rank second in the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.347), turnover margin (1.37) and defensive rebounds (26.74) ... NM State hosts Utah State Tuesday in their only game this week.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (6-20, 2-11 WAC)
The Spartans defeated Hawai`i 68-61 last Wednesday before falling 80-62 to Boise State on Saturday ... In the win over the Rainbow Wahine, Chasity Shavers led the Spartans with 16 points, followed by Sayja Sumler with 13 points ... Marnesha Hall and Ashley Brown tallied season highs of 11 and 12 points, respectively. ... In the loss to the Broncos, Shavers scored a career-high 34 points and nabbed a game-high five steals ... Sumler added 12 points, six boards and four assists ... The 34-point performance was the fifth-highest single game effort in program history ... Shavers scored 21 of the team’s 36 second-half points, which included a 10-minute stretch where she scored 18 of the team’s 20 points ... Shavers has reached double figures in 20 of 26 games this season ... The Spartans play at Idaho on Wednesday in their only game this week.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (12-13, 4-8 WAC)
The Aggies fell 69-63 to Fresno State last Wednesday in their only game of the week ... Amber White paced the Aggies with a career-high 27 points, while Banna Diop finished with eight points and eight rebounds ... The Aggies were down by 21 points in the first half and rallied to tie the score at 58 with four and a half minutes left, but couldn’t take the lead ... White has both of the Aggies’ 20-point games this season and has posted double-digits for seven-straight games and 15 of 20 games this season ... Utah State ranks 36th nationally in blocked shots per game (4.8) and 43rd in three-point field goal percentage (.359) ... Alice Coddington ranks 34th in the nation with 2.7 steals per game ... Coddington ranks fourth all-time at Utah State with 146 career steals ... The Aggies play at New Mexico State on Tuesday and host Idaho on Saturday.