UTAH STATE’S CHRISTENSEN NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Utah State sophomore forward Devyn Christensen has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 31-Feb. 6. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
A Caldwell, Idaho (Vallivue HS) native, Christensen led Utah State to its first two WAC road wins of the season at Nevada (79-73) and Boise State (84-69). She averaged 22.0 points on 55 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in the two wins. Against the Wolf Pack, Christensen posted her first-career double-double, finishing with 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. She was 6-of-7 (.857) from the free throw line and dished out a career-high six assists in the win. Against the Broncos, Christensen had a career-high 25 points to go with four helpers and four rebounds. The Aggies have now won four straight WAC games, their longest conference winning streak since the 1975-76 season.
Other nominees included: Shawna-Lei Kuehu of Hawai`i averaged 15.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game as the Rainbow Wahine went 2-1 on the week ... Idaho’s Rachele Kloke averaged 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds as the Vandals went 1-1 on the week … Adrienne Johnson of Louisiana Tech posted her ninth double-double of the season with 26 points and 14 rebounds as the Lady Techsters defeated Fresno State in overtime to remain unbeaten in WAC play ... Nevada’s Tahnee Robinson averaged 23.3 points and 4.7 three-pointers per game as the Wolf Pack went 2-1 on the week.
LOUISIANA TECH REMAINS ONLY UNBEATEN IN WAC PLAY -
With an overtime win over Fresno State last Saturday and an 85-63 win over New Mexico State on Monday, Louisiana Tech remains the only unbeaten team in WAC play with a perfect 9-0 record.
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 (26). Fresno State is 71.
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 (11-12, 2-7 WAC)
The Broncos fell 69-53 at Hawai`i on Wednesday and 84-69 to Utah State on Saturday ... In the loss to the Rainbow Wahine, Heather Pilcher was the lone Boise State player to score in double digits, finishing with 11 points ... Against the Aggies, Janie Bos tied her season high with 19 points, while Janelle Kearney scored a career-high 16 ... In WAC games, Lauren Lenhardt leads the conference in free throw percentage (94.7), ranks third in field goal percentage (46.5), fourth in scoring (16.4) and blocked shots (1.0), and eighth in rebounding (6.4) ... Cinnamon Listers ranks second in the WAC in conference games with a 1.67 assist/turnover ratio ... The Broncos play at Fresno State on Thursday and host Idaho on Saturday.
Fresno State Bulldogs (15-6, 6-1 WAC)
The Bulldogs fell 90-84 in overtime at Louisiana Tech on Saturday ... Jaleesa Ross finished with a game-high 30 points, followed by Rosie Moult and Marnique Arnold with 16 apiece ... Taja Edwards had her first career double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds ... The team’s game at New Mexico State, originally scheduled for last Thursday, was cancelled due to power use restrictions in Las Cruces. It will be played on Feb. 21 ... As a team, the Bulldogs lead the nation in three-pointers per game (9.8) and rank 17th in steals (12.3), and 21st in scoring (75.8) and assists (16.5) ... Ross ranks fifth in the nation in three-pointers per game (3.2), while Moult is ninth (3.0) ... The Bulldogs host Boise State on Thursday and Utah State on Saturday.
Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (8-15, 2-8 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine fell 75-62 to Nevada last Monday, then defeated Boise State (69-53) and Idaho (72-60) ... Against Nevada, Shawna-Lei Kuehu led the team with 16 points and eight rebounds ... Hawai`i committed a season-low 12 turnovers vs. the Wolf Pack ... Keisha Kanekoa led UH with 17 points, while Kamilah Jackson grabbed 10 rebounds vs. the Broncos ... In the win over Idaho, Kuehu paced Hawai`i with 15 points, while Jackson added 12 points and eight rebounds ... Jackson currently leads the WAC and ranks fourth nationally with 12.2 rebounds per game ... Jackson also ranks second in the WAC with nine double-doubles on the year ... The Rainbow Wahine play at Nevada on Saturday in their only game this week.
Idaho Vandals (12-9, 5-4 WAC)
The Vandals defeated San Jose State 62-41 last Wednesday and fell 72-60 at Hawai`i on Saturday ... In the win over the Spartans, Rachele Kloke was the lone Vandal to score in double digits with 11 points ... In the loss to the Rainbow Wahine, Kloke led all scorers with 25 points to go with seven rebounds and four steals ... As a team, the Vandals rank 16th nationally in personal fouls per game (14.0) ... Yinka Olorunnife ranks 24th in the nation in double-doubles (10) and 25th in rebounds (10.0) ... In WAC games, Idaho leads the conference in scoring defense (58.4) and rebounding defense (35.7) ... The Vandals play at Utah State on Thursday and at Boise State on Saturday.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (17-5, 9-0 WAC)
The Lady Techsters defeated Fresno State 90-84 in overtime on Saturday ... Adrienne Johnson posted a double-double with 26 points and 14 rebounds ... Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey and Jasmine Bendolph added 21 points each ... A WAC season-high 7,123 fans attended the game ... On Monday, Tech defeated New Mexico State 85-63 ... Johnson and Bendolph scored 17 points each, while Johnson added 13 boards for her WAC-leading 10th double-double of the season ... Tech ranks 34th nationally in scoring (73.1) and 44th in turnover margin (3.67) ... Johnson ranks ninth in the nation in scoring (22.2) and 44th in field goal percentage (51.8) ... The Lady Techsters play at NM State on Saturday in their only other game this week.
Nevada Wolf Pack (15-7, 4-5 WAC)
The Wolf Pack defeated Hawai`i (75-62), fell to Utah State (79-73) and beat San Jose State (66-47) last week ... Tahnee Robinson scored a game-high 27 points vs. the Rainbow Wahine ... In the loss to the Aggies, Robinson finished with 22 points, while Shavon Moore added 14 ... Against the Spartans, Robinson scored 21 points, Nicole Williams had 14 and Moore added 12 ... Nevada ranks 25th nationally in rebounding margin (6.7) ... Robinson ranks 12th in the nation in scoring, 32nd in three-pointers per game (2.7) and 33rd in free throw percentage (85.4) ... In conference games, Nevada leads the WAC in free throw percentage (75.1) and field goal percentage defense (35.7) ... The Wolf Pack host San Jose State on Thursday and Hawai`i on Saturday.
New Mexico State Aggies (10-12, 4-4 WAC)
The Aggies’ only game last week vs. Fresno State was cancelled due to power use restrictions in Las Cruces. It will be played on Feb. 21 ... On Monday, the Aggies fell 85-63 at Louisiana Tech ... Jasmine Lowe led NM State with 16 points ... As a team, New Mexico State ranks 43rd nationally in turnovers per game (15.5) ... Tabytha Wampler ranks 25th in the nation in free throw percentage (86.1), while Lowe is 32nd in steals (2.9) and Danisha Corbett is 35th in three-point field goal percentage (40.9) ... In WAC play, the Aggies are first in the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.373) and second in three-pointers per game (6.71) and free throw percentage (.722)... The Aggies host the Lady Techsters on Saturday in their only other game this week.
San Jose Spartans (2-20, 2-7 WAC)
The Spartans fell 62-41 at Idaho and 66-47 to Nevada last week ... Against the Vandals, Brittany Johnson led the team with 12 points, followed by Sayja Sumler with 10 ... Against the Wolf Pack, Sumler had a team-high 17 points, while Sara Plavljanin added 13 ... In WAC games, San Jose State ranks third in scoring defense (63.7) and rebounding defense (37.2), and fourth in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.1) and steals (9.0) ... Plavljanin ranks third in the conference in WAC games in minutes played (36.7) and eighth in scoring (13.7), while Sumler is third in steals (2.3) and Johnson is fifth in rebounding (7.9) ... The Spartans play at Nevada on Thursday in their only game this week.
Utah State Aggies (12-10, 6-3 WAC)
The Aggies picked up road wins at Nevada (79-73) and Boise State (84-69) last week ... Against the Wolf Pack, Devyn Christensen scored 19 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for her first career double-double. She also dished out six assists ... Against the Broncos, Christensen scored a career-high 25 points, while Alice Coddington added 17 ... The four straight WAC wins is Utah State’s longest conference winning streak since the 1975-76 season ... USU ranks 38th nationally in assists (15.6), 39th in steals (10.9) and 46th in assist-turnover ratio (0.95) ... Christensen is 35th in the nation in free throw percentage (85.3), while Coddington is 36th in assist-turnover ratio (1.87) ... The Aggies host Idaho on Thursday and play at Fresno State on Saturday.