NEVADA’S ROBINSON NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK -
Nevada senior guard Tahnee Robinson has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 14-20. This is the third WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and of her career for Robinson.
A Ft. Washakie, Wyo. native, Robinson averaged 27 points on 51 percent shooting and seven rebounds in a pair of road wins last week. In a 69-63 win at Idaho, Robinson led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-16 (.563) shooting. She also finished with six rebounds, two assists and one block. In a 74-57 win at Boise State, she tallied 27 points and eight rebounds. It was the 18th and 19th times this season that Robinson led all scorers and the sixth and seventh straight games in which she has scored 20 or more points. Nevada now has 19 wins for only the third time in school history and the first time since 1998.
Other nominees included: Jaleesa Ross of Fresno State had 18 points and five rebounds in a win at Boise State ... Hawai’i’s Kamilah Jackson averaged 11.0 points and 12.0 rebounds as the Rainbow Wahine went 1-1 on the week … Adrienne Johnson of Louisiana Tech averaged 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals as the Lady Techsters remained unbeaten in WAC play … New Mexico State’s Madison Spence posted her first career double-double and averaged 12.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game ... Sayja Sumler of San Jose State averaged 17.0 points and 3.5 rebounds on the week … Utah State’s Devyn Christensen led the Aggies with 15 points, five assists and five steals in a road win at Idaho.
LOUISIANA TECH REMAINS ONLY UNBEATEN IN WAC PLAY -
With wins over Hawai’i and San Jose State last week, Louisiana Tech remains the only unbeaten team in WAC play with a perfect 12-0 record.
OLORUNNIFE GRABS 1,000TH CAREER REBOUND -
Idaho senior post Yinka Olorunnife grabbed her 1,000th career rebound at the 3:11 mark of the second half in a loss to Utah State last Saturday, becoming just the second player in WAC history ever to eclipse the 1,000-rebound plateau. She now has 1,001 on her career, good for second place all-time in the WAC and 24 shy of the record.
ROSS BECOMES ALL-TIME WAC LEADER IN THREE-POINTERS -
On Feb. 12, Fresno State’s Jaleesa Ross became the WAC’s all-time leader in career three-pointers made, surpassing Colorado State’s Becky Hammon (1995-99). Ross now has with 369 treys on her career, 23 away from tying the NCAA record of 392 held by Laurie Koehn of Kansas State. With a minimum of five games left in her career and at her current pace, Ross would finish with 385 long balls, good for third place.
FRESNO STATE SETS WAC RECORD FOR THREE-POINTERS
- In its win over Boise State last Thursday, Fresno State hit 16 three-pointers, breaking the record for long balls in a conference game and tying the record for treys in any game, which the Bulldogs did in each of the last two seasons. The previous WAC record of 15 was held by three different teams – Hawai`i in 2003, Brigham Young in 1998 and New Mexico in 1996.
NON-CONFERENCE -
The WAC is 62-57 (.521) in non-conference games this season to be ranked 13th in conference RPI. Two teams are in the top 100 led by Louisiana Tech (34). Fresno State is 66.
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 TOURNAMENT FORMAT CHANGE -
The 2011 WAC Tournament features a new format that rewards teams based on regular-season success. The tournament begins on Wednesday with two men’s and two women’s games featuring the No. 5 seed against the No. 8 seed and No. 6 vs. 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 (11-16, 2-11 WAC)
The Broncos fell 75-57 to Fresno State last Thursday and 74-51 to Nevada on Saturday ... Against the Bulldogs, Kati Isham led Boise State with 12 points ... The Broncos committed a season-high 31 turnovers in the game ... Against the Wolf Pack, Janie Bos had a team-high 13 points ... In WAC games, Lauren Lenhardt leads the conference in free throw percentage (91.5), ranks eighth in scoring (13.8), 10th in blocked shots (0.73) and 15th in rebounding (5.5) ... Kati Isham ranks fourth in the WAC in conference games in three-pointers per game (2.15) and fifth in three-point field goal percentage (32.9) ... The Broncos play at San Jose State on Saturday in their only game this week.
Fresno State Bulldogs (19-7, 10-2 WAC)
The Bulldogs defeated Boise State 75-57 last Thursday ... Jaleesa Ross led all players with 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds ... On Monday, Fresno State defeated New Mexico State 65-55 ... Taja Edwards led the team with 10 points and 11 rebounds ... Ross is the WAC’s all-time leader in three-pointers with 369 on her career, 23 shy of the NCAA record ... Fresno State leads the nation in three-pointers per game (10.0), ranks 10th in steals (12.8), 16th in assists (17.0), 19th in scoring (76.0), 31st in turnover margin (4.28), 33rd in assist/turnover ratio (0.96), 41st in three-point field goal percentage (35.1), 45th in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.8) and 46th in scoring margin (9.9) ... The Bulldogs host Idaho on Thursday and play at Hawai’i on Sunday.
Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (9-17, 3-10 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine defeated New Mexico State 57-52 last Tuesday before falling 76-50 at Louisiana Tech on Thursday ... The win over the Aggies snapped an 18-game WAC road losing skid ... Megan Tinnin led Hawai’i with 14 points, while Kamilah Jackson grabbed a game-high 14 boards ... Hawai’i out-rebounded NM State 52-32, its highest margin in WAC play ... Against Tech, Jackson had 12 points and 10 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season ... Jackson leads the WAC and ranks fifth nationally with 11.8 rebounds per game ... As a team, Hawai`i leads the WAC in blocks (4.19) and rebounding (42.4) ... The Rainbow Wahine host San Jose State on Thursday and Fresno State on Sunday.
Idaho Vandals (13-12, 6-7 WAC)
The Vandals fell 69-63 to Nevada last Thursday and 67-51 to Utah State on Saturday ... Against the Wolf Pack, Yinka Olorunnife posted her WAC-leading 12th double-double of the season of 15 points and 13 rebounds ... Against the Aggies, Derisa Taleni led Idaho with 15 points, while Olorunnife grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds ... The Vandals rank second in the WAC in conference games in scoring defense (59.8), free throw percentage (73.2), rebounding defense (35.4) and three-pointers per game (6.2) ... Idaho ranks 22nd nationally in personal fouls per game (14.2) and 37th in free throw percentage (73.9) ... Olorunnife ranks 22nd in the nation in double-doubles (12) and rebounds (10.4) ... The Vandals play at Fresno State on Thursday in their only game this week.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (20-5, 12-0 WAC)
The Lady Techsters defeated Hawai’i 76-50 last Thursday and beat San Jose State 62-53 on Saturday ... Against the Rainbow Wahine, Adrienne Johnson scored a game-high 22 points ... Against the Spartans, LA Tech watched a 20-point first-half lead whittle down to one with less than five minutes to play ... Johnson had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Whitney Jones added 13 points ... Tech ranks 29th nationally in scoring (73.9), 36th in scoring margin (10.7) and 37th in turnover margin (3.96) ... Johnson ranks ninth in the nation in scoring (21.8), and 44th in both field goal percentage (51.4) and rebounding (9.3) ... The Lady Techsters play at Utah State on Saturday in their only game this week.
Nevada Wolf Pack (19-7, 8-5 WAC)
The Wolf Pack defeated Idaho 69-63 last Thursday and beat Boise State 74-51 on Saturday ... Against the Vandals, Tahnee Robinson led all players with 27 points ... Shavon Moore added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds ... Against the Aggies, Robinson led all scorers with 27 points, while Nicole Williams set a season high with 18 points ... The Wolf Pack has tallied 19 wins for just the third time in school history ... Nevada ranks 20th nationally in rebounding margin (7.3) and 48th in field goal percentage (42.8) ... Robinson ranks 10th in the nation in scoring (21.7), 18th in three-pointers per game (2.9) and 29th in three-point field goal percentage (41.1) ... The Wolf Pack host New Mexico State on Saturday in their only game this week.
New Mexico State Aggies (11-15, 5-7 WAC)
The Aggies fell 57-52 to Hawai’i last Tuesday and beat San Jose State 54-29 last Thursday ... Against UH, Madison Spence posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds to go with a game-high five assists ... Against the Spartans, Tabytha Wampler had 16 points and 12 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season ... On Monday, the Aggies fell 65-55 to Fresno State ... Jasmine Lowe led all players with 16 points, while Spence added 12 ... As a team, New Mexico State ranks 43rd nationally in turnovers per game (15.4) ... Wampler ranks 20th in the nation in free throw percentage (87.1), while Lowe is 32nd in steals (2.8) ... The Aggies play at Utah State on Thursday and at Nevada on Saturday.
San Jose Spartans (2-23, 2-10 WAC)
The Spartans fell 54-29 at New Mexico State last Thursday and 62-53 at Louisiana Tech on Saturday ... Against the Aggies, A.J. Newton and Sayja Sumler had nine points apiece ... In the loss to LA Tech, Sumler led the Spartans with 25 points and eight steals, while Sara Plavljanin added 14 points ... In WAC games, SJSU ranks fourth in scoring defense (62.8), three-point field goal percentage defense (29.4) and steals (9.7) ... Plavljanin ranks third in the conference in WAC games in minutes played (35.8), eighth in three-point field goals per game (1.7) and 11th in scoring (12.5), while Sumler is second in steals (2.6) and Brittany Johnson is sixth in rebounding (7.1) ... The Spartans play at Hawai’i on Thursday and host Boise State on Saturday.
Utah State Aggies (14-11, 8-4 WAC)
The Aggies defeated Idaho 67-51 on Saturday in their only game last week ... Devyn Christensen led Utah State with 15 points, Ashlee Brown added 14 and Banna Diop had 12 points and eight boards ... Alice Coddington became USU’s all-time leader in career steals at the 2:58 mark of the second half when she tallied her 217th steal, passing Aggie great and current USU assistant coach Danyelle Snelgro (2006-09) ... USU ranks 23rd nationally in steals (11.6), 32nd in assists (15.8) and 46th in assist/turnover ratio (0.91) ... Christensen is 21st in the nation in free throw percentage (86.7), while Coddington is 55th in steals (2.6) ... The Aggies host New Mexico State on Thursday and Louisiana Tech on Saturday.