DENVER – Idaho junior guard/post player Rachele Kloke has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 22-28. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor ever for Kloke.
Kloke, a Stanwood, Wash., native, averaged 21.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game while leading Idaho to a pair of wins last week. She shot 58 percent (15-of-26) from the field, 64 percent (7-of-11) from three-point range and 75 percent (6-of-8) from the free throw line on the week. Kloke opened the week with 15 points and three rebounds in a 74-59 win over San Jose State. She followed it up with a career-high 28 points in Saturday’s 54-53 win at Utah State, but none were more important than her final three, as she nailed an NBA-range three-pointer at the buzzer to give Idaho the road win. She scored Idaho’s final 12 points, including a trey with 11 seconds remaining to tie the game and set up her late-game heroics. Kloke has now scored in the double digits in 12 straight games for Idaho.
Other nominees included: Fresno State’s Emma Andrews averaged 18.5 points on 75 percent shooting as the Bulldogs picked up road wins at Louisiana Tech and Boise State … Dita Liepkalne of Hawai’i scored a season-high 17 points in a win over Boise State … Louisiana Tech’s Shanavia Dowdell averaged 20.5 points, 15.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks on the week … Crystal Boyd of New Mexico State finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in a win over Utah State … Utah State’s Alice Coddington averaged 12.0 points on 63 percent shooting to go with 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals last week.