NEVADA’S KEVORKEN NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nevada senior guard Kate Kevorken has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 12-18. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of her career.
The Westlake Village, Calif., native recorded her second career double-double with a career-high 25 points on 60 percent shooting to go with 11 rebounds as Nevada ended its five-game losing skid with a 76-74 win over Oregon. Kevorken hit the game-winning shot, a contested jumper that rattled in as time expired. She added three assists and one block.
Other nominees included: Fresno State’s Rosie Moult averaged 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game as the Bulldogs went 2-0 on the week ... Kamilah Jackson of Hawai‘i finished with season highs of 22 points and 19 rebounds in a win over Portland State ... Idaho’s Ganeaya Rogers averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game ... Jasmine Bendolph of Louisiana Tech averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals as the Lady Techsters went 2-1 on the week ... San Jose State’s Sara Plavljanin scored 28 points, including seven three-pointers, in a win at Santa Clara ... Devyn Christensen of Utah State tallied 18 points and six rebounds in a loss to Brigham Young last week.
NM STATE’S WAMPLER SCORES 1,000TH POINT
With her layup with 1:07 left in the game in a one-point win over UC Santa Barbara, New Mexico State senior Tabytha Wampler scored her 1,000th career point. She is averaging 14.4 points per game this season.
SAN JOSE STATE POSTS 21-POINT WIN AT SANTA CLARA
San Jose State defeated Santa Clara 74-53 on the road on Dec. 17. The 21-point victory was the largest by a Spartans women’s basketball team since the 2005-06 season. That year they beat Utah State 70-49 in the Event Center. It is also San Jose State’s largest road win since the 2003-04 season when the Spartans won at Sacramento State, 70-39. The Spartans shot 54 percent from the field (29-of-54), the highest single-game shooting percentage since the 2004-05 season.
FRESNO STATE PICKS UP FIRST WIN OVER RANKED TEAM SINCE 2008
Fresno State edged No. 23 Oklahoma 69-66 at the Save Mart Center Dec. 8. The Bulldogs were led by Ki-Ki Moore, who scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. She also recorded a team-high six steals. Fresno State outscored Oklahoma 36-21 in the paint, even though OU had a height advantage. The Bulldogs’ last win over a ranked opponent was against No. 22 TCU on Dec. 4, 2008, when Fresno State earned a 75-71 win over the Horned Frogs.
FRESNO STATE MAKES 17 THREE-POINTERS AGAINST OREGON
The Bulldogs hit 17 three-pointers in a win over Oregon on Dec. 1, falling one shy of their own record of 18 set last year against Idaho. Rosie Moult and Ki-Ki Moore hit five treys apiece, while Madison Parrish was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
LOUISIANA TECH FAVORED IN PRESEASON POLLS
Louisiana Tech, which won the WAC regular-season title last year, was the preseason favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference in both the coaches and media polls.
In the coaches poll, the Lady Techsters received 47 points and five first-place votes to beat out Utah State for the top spot. The Aggies captured second place with 40 points and two first-place votes. Fresno State came in third with 36 points and received the other first-place vote.
In the media poll, Louisiana Tech 13 first-place votes, earning 144 points. Meanwhile, Fresno State was picked to finish second with 129 points and three first-place votes, just ahead of Utah State in third place with 126 points and the other three first-place votes.
WAC STAT LEADERS
San Jose State’s Brittany Johnson currently leads the WAC in scoring with 18.7 points per game. Kamilah Jackson of Hawai‘i is tops in rebounding with an average of 10.0 boards. Louisiana Tech’s Kiara Young leads the WAC in field goal percentage (.559), while teammate Jasmine Bendolph leads the league in assists (4.92) and minutes played (36.85). Nevada’s Danika Sharp is tops in free throw percentage (.885), while Fresno State’s Rosie Moult leads the WAC in steals (2.58) and three-pointers per game (2.83). Utah State’s Maddy Plunkett is tops in three-point field goal percentage (.500), while Kayla Williams of Nevada leads the WAC in blocked shots (2.20). Taylor Thompson of Fresno State leads the WAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.27).
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
WAC teams have several key non-conference matchups this season, including games against at least 26 teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament or the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) last season.
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING
A total of three players from all-WAC first and second teams return this season. Utah State’s Ashlee Brown is the lone returner from the first team, while Louisiana Tech’s Jasmine Bendolph and Fresno State’s Rosie Moult return from the second team. None of the All-Defensive Team return, while four of the five All-Freshman Team honorees return.
ORLEANS ARENA IN LAS VEGAS TO HOST WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2012 WAC Basketball Tournament will be held March 7-10 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. It will be the second year in a row the tournament has been at the Orleans. The tournament features all eight men’s and women’s teams.