BOISE STATE’S LENHARDT NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Boise State sophomore center Lauren Lenhardt has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 10-17. This is the first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor for Lenhardt.
An Eagle, Idaho native, Lenhardt led the Broncos to a pair of WAC victories over San Jose State (83-51) and Hawai`i (69-63). She averaged 23.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 61 percent from the field, 100 percent from three-point range and 92 percent from the free throw line. She opened the week with 10 points, five rebounds, one block and one steal against the Spartans. In the win over the Rainbow Wahine, Lenhardt scored more than half of Boise State’s points, tying the school record with 37 to go with a team-high 13 rebounds for her second career double-double. She set personal bests for points, field goals made (14), field goal attempts (20) and minutes played (36), while tying her highs for rebounds (13) and free throws made (8).
Other nominees included: Fresno State’s Rosie Moult averaged 17.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists as the Bulldogs went 1-1 on the week … Kamilah Jackson of Hawai`i averaged 11.5 points and 19.5 rebounds last week … Idaho’s Yinka Olorunnife averaged 13.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals on the week … Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey of Louisiana Tech finished with 14 points, 15 rebounds, six steals and four assists in the Lady Techsters’ triple overtime win at Fresno State … Nevada’s Shavon Moore averaged 17.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game last week … Ashlee Brown of Utah State posted her sixth double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Nevada.
LOUISIANA TECH REMAINS ONLY UNBEATEN IN WAC PLAY - In a battle of the WAC unbeatens last Thursday, Louisiana Tech defeated Fresno State 94-92 in triple overtime in a game that was broadcast nationally on ESPNU. With the win, the Lady Techsters snapped Fresno State’s 20-game WAC regular-season winning streak that dated back to the 2008-09 season.
NON-CONFERENCE - The WAC is 62-57 (.521) in non-conference games this season to be ranked 15th in conference RPI. Three teams are in the top 100 led by Louisiana Tech (49), Fresno State (65) and Nevada (82).
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 61, at Nevada 56 (OT)
Thursday, Jan. 13, Louisiana Tech 94, at Fresno State 92 (3OT)
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 (11-7, 2-2 WAC)The Broncos defeated San Jose State (83-51) and Hawai`i (69-63) last week to even their WAC record at 2-2 ... Kati Isham led the team with 20 points vs. the Spartans ... Against Hawaii, Lauren Lenhardt tied the school record for points with 37. She scored more than half of the Broncos’ 69 points and added a team-high 13 rebounds for her second career double-double ... Isham currently ranks 37th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (42.3) and 45th in three-point field goals per game (2.6) ... On the year, Isham leads the team and ranks fifth in the WAC in scoring (15.1) ... In league contests, Lenhardt leads the team and is tied for third in the WAC in scoring (17.3) ... The Broncos play at instate rival Idaho on Saturday.
Fresno State Bulldogs (12-6, 3-1 WAC)The Bulldogs fell 94-92 in triple overtime to Louisiana Tech and defeated New Mexico State 76-49 last week ... The loss to the Lady Techsters snapped Fresno State’s 20-game WAC winning streak ... Hayley Munro had 19 points and eight rebounds, while Rosie Moult had 15 points and nine rebounds ... Taylor Thompson nailed a last-second three-pointer to send the game into the first overtime ... In the win over NM State, Fresno State had a 20-4 first-half run and led by as many as 29 points ... Moult led all scorers with 19 points and Hayley Munro added 16 ... Jaleesa Ross needs 21 more points to surpass Yvette Roberts (1985-89) as the most prolific scorer in program history with 1,779 points ... The Bulldogs are idle this week.
Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (6-11, 0-4 WAC)The Rainbow Wahine fell at Idaho (72-48) and at Boise State (69-63) last week ... In the loss to the Vandals, Kamilah Jackson led the team with 16 points and 17 rebounds ... Against the Broncos, Shawna-Lei Kuehu finished with 18 points, followed by Megan Tinnin with 16 and Keisha Kanekoa with 14 ... Jackson pulled down 22 boards. It was the third time this season she had 20 or more rebounds ... Hawai`i is 0-4 in road games this year and has lost its last 14 WAC road games ... Jackson ranks second nationally with 13.2 rebounds per game and 14th with nine double-doubles ... Kanekoa ranks 12th all-time in scoring at UH with 1,067 career points ... The Rainbow Wahine play at San Jose State on Saturday in their only game this week.
Idaho Vandals (9-6, 2-1 WAC)The Vandals fell 84-67 to Fresno State and defeated Hawai`i 72-48 last week ... Yinka Olorunnife had her seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds vs. the Bulldogs ... Five Vandals finished in double-digit scoring against the Rainbow Wahine, led by Keri Arendse with 13 ... The win over Hawai`i was the program’s 500th all-time ... Ashley Walters leads the WAC in blocks (1.9) ... Olorunnife’s 887 career rebounds are the most of any active player in the WAC, and rank third all-time in Idaho history and fifth in WAC history ... Idaho leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.730), field goal percentage defense (.369) and blocked shots (5.1) ... The Vandals play at San Hose State on Thursday and host Boise State on Saturday.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (11-5, 3-0 WAC)The Lady Techsters defeated Fresno State 94-92 in triple overtime last Thursday to remain the only undefeated team in WAC play ... Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey tallied 14 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, a career-high-tying six steals and four assists ... She also set a program single-game record with 51 minutes played ... Kiara Young recorded a career-high 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for her third career double-double ... It was Tech’s first three overtime game in the program’s history ... Tech recorded a season-high 20 steals in the win ... Adrienne Johnson is second in the WAC and 13th in the nation in scoring (20.9) ... The Lady Techsters host Utah State on Thursday and Nevada on Saturday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (13-4, 2-2 WAC)The Wolf Pack defeated New Mexico State 65-46 last Wednesday before falling 81-69 at Utah State on Saturday ... Tahnee Robinson led the team with 25 points vs. NM State. It was her ninth game with 20 or more points this season ... Shavon Moore tied her career high with 24 points at Utah State, eclipsing the 1,000-point career scoring mark during the game. She also set a new career mark with five blocks ... Moore posted double-doubles in both games last week and now has six on the season and 16 in her career ... Nevada’s 13-4 record is tied for the best start in school history ... Robinson leads the WAC and is 11th in the nation in scoring (21.3) ... The Wolf Pack play at league-leader Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
New Mexico State Aggies (8-10, 2-2 WAC)The Aggies dropped a pair of games to Nevada (65-46) and Fresno State (76-49) last week ... Jasmine Rutledge pulled down a career-high 15 boards against the Bulldogs ... As a team, the Aggies shot a season-low 52 percent (14-of-27) from the free throw line at Fresno State ... Three Aggies are averaging double figures scoring on the year - Madison Spence (13.4), Tabytha Wampler (13.1) and Jasmine Lowe (13.8) ... Wampler leads the WAC and ranks 31st nationally in free throw percentage (.862) ... Lowe is first in the WAC and 22nd in the nation in steals per game (3.1) ... The Aggies are 7-2 when scoring 65 points or more this season ... NM State hosts Utah State on Saturday.
San Jose Spartans (0-16, 0-3 WAC)The Spartans fell 83-51 at Boise State last Thursday ... Sara Plavljanin led SJSU with 13 points ... Brittany Johnson grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds ... Marnesha Hall appeared her first game of the season after being diagnosed with exertional compartment syndrome two months before the season began causing her to experience severe leg pain. Hall started for the Spartans, played 31 minutes, grabbed five rebounds and scored five points ... San Jose State has now lost 20 games in a row, the longest active losing streak in the country and is one of three teams without a win this year (Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Centenary) ... The Spartans host Idaho on Thursday and Hawai`i on Saturday.
Utah State Aggies (8-8, 2-1 WAC)The Aggies defeated Nevada 81-69 in their only game last week ... Ashlee Brown tallied her sixth double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds. It was the sixth time this season she has scored 20 or more points and the seventh time she has had double-digit boards. She needs one more double-double to tie Ali Marchant’s single-season record of seven ... As a team, Utah State ranks 44th nationally in steals (11.1), 45th in fouls (15.3) and 48th in assists (15.4) ... Alice Coddington leads the WAC in assists (4.6) and is second in steals (2.9) ... Banna Diop ranks sixth all-time at Utah State in career blocks with 63, two shy of fifth place ... The Aggies play at Louisiana Tech on Thursday and at New Mexico State on Saturday.