IDAHO’S KLOKE NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
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.
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.
LOUISIANA TECH AT IDAHO GAME TO BE TELEVISED NATIONALLY ON ESPNU WEDNESDAY
Wednesday’s Louisiana Tech at Idaho game will be televised live on ESPNU at 8 p.m. (PT). It is the third and final WAC regular-season game to be carried on the network. The championship game of the WAC Tournament, which will be played at 1 p.m. (PT) Saturday, March 13, will also air live on ESPNU.
FRESNO STATE IMPROVES TO 15-0 IN WAC PLAY, WINS WAC REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
After rattling off a school-record 16 straight wins, including all 15 of its WAC games, Fresno State has claimed the WAC regular-season title. The Bulldogs are currently ranked 27th in the NCAA RPI. The 15-0 WAC start is Fresno State’s best since joining the conference in the 1992-93 season. Prior to this year, the Bulldogs’ best start in WAC play was 6-0, done by three different teams.
ROSS BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD FOR CAREER THREE-POINTERS MADE
Fresno State’s Jaleesa Ross set the school record for three-pointers in a career at the 14:32 mark at Boise State Saturday, giving Fresno State a 64-40 lead. Ross hit three treys in the game and now has 274 for her career. Ross’ total also ranks fourth in the WAC record books. At her current pace, Ross would finish her career right around the WAC record of 365, held by Becky Hammon of Colorado State.
DOWDELL LEADS NATION IN DOUBLE-DOUBLES, RANKS THIRD IN REBOUNDING
Reigning WAC Player of the Year Shanavia Dowdell currently leads the nation with 19 doubles-doubles, including 12 straight. She also ranks third nationally in rebounding (12.6), and 30th in both scoring (18.3) and field goal percentage (52.7).
FRESNO STATE RANKED SIXTH IN ESPN’S MID-MAJOR TOP 10
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.”
LA TECH’S DOWDELL CLOSING IN ON WAC REBOUNDING RECORD
Louisiana Tech’s Shanavia Dowdell, the reigning WAC Player of the Year, currently has 954 career rebounds, good for second place all-time in the WAC and 20 shy of the WAC record of 974. With a minimum of three games remaining on her career, at her current pace Dowdell would conclude her career with 992 boards.
HARRIS RANKS IN TOP 10 IN WAC IN CAREER FREE THROWS
Boise State senior Tasha Harris currently has 460 made free throws on her career, good for seventh place all-time in the WAC. With a minimum of three games remaining in her career, at her current pace, Harris would finish with 472 career free throws, good for fifth place in WAC history.
VAN HOOGEN CLIMBING WAC STEALS CHART
Boise State senior Jessica Van Hoogen has 284 career steals, good for seventh place all-time in the WAC career record books, 19 away from sixth place.
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 (17-11, 6-8 WAC)
The Broncos fell 66-64 at Hawai`i last Wednesday and lost 95-72 to Fresno State on Saturday ... In the loss at Hawai`i, Janie Bos led the Broncos with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Rebecca Kepilino added 12 points ... Against Fresno State, Julia Marshall led the team with 15 points, followed by Lauren Lenhardt with 14 ... As a team, the Broncos rank 44th nationally in scoring (71.1) ... With 1,699 career points, Tasha Harris is just outside the WAC Top 10 of 1,720. With a minimum of three games remaining and a season scoring average of 15.4 points per game, the senior should end her career in the Top 10 ... Harris also ranks seventh in the WAC with 460 career free throws ... Jessica Van Hoogen ranks seventh in the WAC with 284 career steaks ... The Broncos play at Utah State on Wednesday and host Louisiana Tech on Saturday to close out regular-season play.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (24-5, 15-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs defeated Louisiana Tech 81-78 in overtime last Wednesday and beat Boise State 95-72 on Saturday ... Against Tech, LaShay Fears had a career-high 22 points ... Emma Andrews had 16 points, while Hayley Munro had 11 points and tied her career-high of 13 rebounds ... Against Boise State, Andrews led the team with 21 points on 8-of-9 from the field and 5-of-5 from three-point range ... Fresno State won the WAC regular-season championship outright with the win at LA Tech ... The Bulldogs’ 24 wins ties the school record for wins in a season ... Jaleesa Ross set the school record for career three-pointers at Boise State. She now has 274, which ranks fourth all-time in the WAC ... Fresno State’s 16-game winning streak is tied for the seventh longest win streak in the country ... The Bulldogs host San Jose State on Wednesday to wrap up regular-season play.
HAWAI`I RAINBOW WAHINE (10-18, 4-11 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine defeated Boise State 66-64 last Wednesday in their only game of the week ... Dita Liepkalne scored a game-high 17 points, including a career-high four three-pointers. She was also two points shy of tying her career high ... Julita Bungaite added 13 points, Breanna Arbuckle had 11 points and Allie Patterson scored 10 points ... Arbuckle recorded her second career double-double, as she also pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds ... Kanekoa ranks second in the WAC in assists per game (3.43) and fourth in free throw percentage (.772), while Arbuckle is third in field goal percentage (.500) and fourth in blocks per game (1.39) ... The Rainbow Wahine have shot 40 percent or better in 17 of 28 games this season and nine of their last 11 ... The Rainbow Wahine play at Utah State on Saturday in their only game this week.
IDAHO VANDALS (9-18, 7-7 WAC)
The Vandals defeated San Jose State 74-59 last Wednesday and beat Utah State 54-53 on Saturday for their third-straight win ... Against the Spartans, Shaena Kuehu had a team-best 16 points to go with five rebounds, four steals and a career-high six assists ... Against the Aggies, Rachele Kloke scored a career-high 28 points, including the team’s final 12, the last of which was an NBA-range three-pointer at the buzzer to give Idaho the road win ... Kuehu had a career-high eight steals ... Kloke has now scored in the double digits in 12 straight games ... Idaho has gone 5-2 in its last seven games after opening WAC play with a 2-5 record and a number of close losses ... Idaho’s defense has held seven of its last 10 opponents below 60 points ... The Vandals host Louisiana Tech for a nationally-televised game on ESPNU on Wednesday and play at Nevada on Saturday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (19-7, 10-4 WAC)
The Techsters fell 81-78 in overtime to Fresno State last Wednesday before defeating Nevada 69-56 on Saturday ... Against the Bulldogs, Tarkeisha Wysinger scored a career-high 25 points, while Shanavia Dowdell finished with 17 points and a career-high tying 20 rebounds, becoming only the fourth player in Division I basketball this season with multiple 20-plus rebound performances ... In the win over Nevada, Dowdell finished with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, upping her consecutive double-double streak to 12 games. She now has 19 double doubles on the year (tied for sixth-best in program history) and 43 for her career (tied for fifth) ... Dowdell needs 21 rebounds to become the WAC’s all-time rebounding leader ... The Techsters play at Idaho on Wednesday and at Boise State on Saturday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (15-13, 9-5 WAC)
The Wolf Pack fell 69-56 at Louisiana Tech on Saturday in their only game of the week ... Tahnee Robinson led Nevada with 17 points, 14 coming in the first half ... Nicole Williams added 11 points, while Marianne Lombardi recorded a season-high 12 rebounds and Amanda Johnson dished a career-high eight assists... Nevada has dropped back-to-back WAC games for the first time this year after falling at Fresno State and LA Tech ... Johnna Ward is six three-pointers away from sole possession of 10th on Nevada’s single-season chart. Six more threes would give Ward 50 for the season ... With a 9-5 WAC record, Nevada needs one win to tie and two wins to break the school record for conference wins in a season. The 1997-98, 2006-07 and 2008-09 teams each recorded 10 conference wins ... The Wolf Pack host New Mexico State on Wednesday and Idaho on Saturday to wrap up regular-season play.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (16-11, 6-7 WAC)
The Aggies defeated Utah State 73-54 last Tuesday in their only game of the week ... Crystal Boyd led all scorers with 24 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals ... Camila Rosen scored a career-high 10 points ... The Aggies’ 17 overall victories this season rank as the second-best win total for NM State since joining the WAC, with two regular-season games remaining ... NM State is 14-5 when holding opponents to 70 points or less this year ... As a team, the Aggies lead the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.350), rank second in turnover ratio (+1.39) and defensive rebounds (26.79), and third in scoring margin (4.3), field goal percentage (.403), free throw percentage (.705), assists (12.89), steals (9.57), three-pointers per game (6.46) and assist/turnover ratio (0.74) ... The Aggies play at Nevada on Wednesday and host San Jose State on Saturday to close out the regular season.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (6-21, 2-12 WAC)
The Spartans fell 74-59 at Idaho last Wednesday in their only game of the week ... The Vandals started the game on a 21-5 run and led by as many as 27 points in the game ... Chasity Shavers led the team with 16 points, all of which were scored in the second half ... Marnesha Hall joined her in double-figures, tying a season-high with 11 points ... Aumornai Edinburgh came off the bench to record career highs in both points (eight) and rebounds (six) in 10 minutes of work ... Shavers has now scored in double figures in 21 of 27 games this season and ranks fourth in the WAC in scoring, averaging 15.6 points a game ... Shavers also ranks eighth in free throw percentage (.742) and tied for 10th in steals (1.67) with teammate Shaunna Ridge ... The Spartans play at Fresno State on Wednesday and at New Mexico State on Saturday ... SJSU needs to win both games in order to qualify for the WAC Tournament.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (12-15, 4-10 WAC)
The Aggies fell 73-54 at New Mexico State last Tuesday and lost 54-53 to Idaho on Saturday for their fourth-straight loss ... Against NM State, LaCale Pringle-Buchanan scored a season-high 22 points, while Alice Coddington added 10 ... New Mexico State outscored Utah State by 17 in the second half ... Against Idaho, Utah State was paced by Coddington with 14 points, followed by Banna Diop with 12 ... Amber White scored 10 points and added a career-high five assists ... White ranks 10th in the WAC with 11.8 points per game ... The Aggies boast the WAC’s top two three-point shooters in Trisha Jo Goddard (.455) and Pringle-Buchanan (.413) ... Coddington leads the conference with 2.67 steals per game, while Nicole Johnson is tops with 1.67 blocks per game ... The Aggies host Boise State on Wednesday and Hawai`i on Saturday to close out regular-season play.