LOUISIANA TECH’S JOHNSON NAMED VERIZON WIRELESS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK -
Louisiana Tech senior forward Adrienne Johnson has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 21-27. This is the fifth WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Johnson and the ninth of her career.
A Franklin, La. native, Johnson recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 25 points and a career-high-tying 16 rebounds in a win at Utah State, Tech’s 14th straight. She hit 11-of-21 field goals (.524) and 3-of-3 free throws in the win. With Tech leading 51-50 with 11:48 to play, Johnson scored seven straight points to help the Lady Techsters build a 61-51 advantage. She scored 15 of her 25 points in the second half as Tech overcame a 36-35 halftime deficit. It was her 16th 20-plus-point scoring game of the year and moved her into eighth place all-time on the Tech career scoring list with 1,852 points.
Other nominees included: Nicole Brady of Boise State led the team with 12 points in a win at San Jose State ... Hawai`i’s Keisha Kanekoa averaged 18.0 points, 5.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds as the Rainbow Wahine went 1-1 on the week ... Jasmine Lowe of New Mexico State averaged 16.5 points, 3.0 steals and 2,5 assists as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week ... Utah State’s Ashlee Brown averaged 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week and remained in third place in the WAC standings.
THREE WAC TEAMS REACH 20 WINS -
For the first time since the 2007-08 season, three WAC teams have reached the 20-win plateau. Louisiana Tech and Fresno State each have 21 wins this season, while Nevada reached 20 victories for the first time in school history with Monday’s win over LA Tech.
LOUISIANA TECH’S JOHNSON ADDED TO WADE WATCH LIST -
Louisiana Tech’s Adrienne Johnson has been added to the 2010-11 State Farm® Wade Watch list. She is one of 34 players who are under consideration for the State Farm Wade Trophy – the Division I women’s basketball equivalent of college football’s Heisman Trophy®. A senior forward, Johnson is averaging 21.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game for the Lady Techsters. She has scored 20 or more points in 16 games, including a season-high 36 points against Utah State. Johnson was a preseason all-WAC selection by both coaches and media and has been named WAC Player of the Week five times so far this season. The State Farm Wade Trophy Committee will trim the Watch list to 12 finalists in mid-March. State Farm and the Wade Trophy Coalition will officially announce the State Farm Wade Trophy winner during the WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women’s Final Four® in Indianapolis.
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 Feb. 19, becoming just the second player in WAC history ever to eclipse the 1,000-rebound plateau. She now has 1,011 on her career, good for second place all-time in the WAC and 14 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 374 treys on her career, 18 away from tying the NCAA record of 392 held by Laurie Koehn of Kansas State. With a minimum of three games left in her career and at her current pace, Ross would finish with 383 long balls, good for third place.
FRESNO STATE SETS WAC RECORD FOR THREE-POINTERS -
In its win over Boise State on Feb. 10, 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 (28). Fresno State is 54.
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 televised 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.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (12-16, 3-11 WAC)
The Broncos defeated San Jose State 83-68 last Saturday, snapping a nine-game losing skid ... Nicole Brady scored a team-high 12 points, followed by Kati Isham and Cinnamon Lister with 11 each ... As a team, Boise State shot 51 percent from the field on the game, a season high in WAC play ... In WAC games, Lauren Lenhardt leads the conference in free throw percentage (91.5), ranks eighth in scoring (13.3), 11th in blocked shots (0.79) and 19th in rebounding (5.3) ... Kati Isham ranks fourth in the WAC in conference games in three-pointers per game (2.07) and three-point field goal percentage (31.2) ... The Broncos play at Louisiana Tech on Thursday and at New Mexico State on Saturday.
Fresno State Bulldogs (21-7, 12-2 WAC)
The Bulldogs defeated New Mexico State 65-55 last Monday, beat Idaho 77-51 on Thursday and defeated Hawai`i 83-70 on Sunday ... Against the Aggies, Taja Edwards posted her second double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds ... Jaleesa Ross is the WAC’s all-time leader in three-pointers with 374 on her career, 18 shy of the NCAA record ... Fresno State leads the nation in three-pointers per game (9.8), ranks 13th in steals (12.4) and assists (16.9), 16th in turnover margin (4.93), 17th in scoring (75.9), 22nd in assist/turnover ratio (1.0) and 35th in scoring margin (10.6) ... Ross ranks 17th nationally, while Rosie Moult is 11th with 3.1 and 2.9 three-pointers per game, respectively ... The Bulldogs play at San Jose State on Thursday and host Nevada on Saturday.
Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine (10-18, 4-11 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine defeated San Jose State 55-53 on Thursday and fell 83-70 to Fresno State on Sunday ... Against the Spartans, Keisha Kanekoa scored a game-high 20 points and hit the game-winning basket with eight seconds remaining in the game ... Against the Bulldogs, Breanna Arbuckle and Kanekoa scored 16 points apiece, while Megan Tinnin added 15 ... Kamilah Jackson pulled down 11 rebounds ... Jackson leads the WAC and ranks fifth nationally with 11.7 rebounds per game ... As a team, Hawai`i ranks second in the WAC in conference games in blocks (4.04), rebounding (42.0), rebounding margin (4.1) and field goal percentage defense (.376) ... The Rainbow Wahine host Utah State on Thursday in their only game this week.
Idaho Vandals (13-13, 6-8 WAC)
The Vandals fell 77-51 at Fresno State last Thursday in their only game last week ... Yinka Olorunnife tallied her WAC-leading 13th double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds ... Keri Arendse also scored 16 points ... Idaho committed 27 turnovers, the 11th time this season the team had 20 or more turnovers in a game ... The Vandals lead the WAC in conference games in free throw percentage (73.5), and rank second in scoring defense (61.1), rebounding defense (34.9), three-point field goal percentage (31.4) and three-pointers per game (6.1) ... Idaho ranks 19th nationally in personal fouls per game (14.0) and 35th in free throw percentage (74.1) ... The Vandals play at New Mexico State on Thursday and at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (21-6, 13-1 WAC)
The Lady Techsters defeated Utah State 78-70 last Saturday ... Adrienne Johnson tallied 25 points and 16 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season ... On Monday, LA Tech fell 71-66 at Nevada on ESPNU, snapping a 14-game winning streak ... Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey led the team with 24 points, while Jasmine Bendolph recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 13 assists ... Tech ranks 28th nationally in scoring (74.0), 34th in scoring margin (10.6) and 39th in turnover margin (3.58) ... Johnson, who was added to the Wade Trophy Watch List on Monday, ranks ninth in the nation in scoring (21.9), 42nd in rebounding (9.5) and 45th in field goal percentage (51.5) ... The Lady Techsters host Boise State on Thursday and Idaho on Saturday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (20-8, 9-6 WAC)
The Wolf Pack fell 63-59 to New Mexico State last Saturday ... Tahnee Robinson led the Nevada with a game-high 24 points ... Senior Shavon Moore went down with a career-ending knee injury ... On Monday, the Wolf Pack defeated Louisiana Tech 71-66 on ESPNU ... Robinson led all players with 32 points and nine rebounds, while Kayla Williams posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards ... Nevada ranks 17th nationally in rebounding margin (7.5) ... Robinson ranks 10th in the nation in scoring (21.8), 17th in three-pointers per game (2.8) and 32nd in three-point field goal percentage (40.6) ... This is the first time in program history that Nevada has reached 20 wins in a season ... The Wolf Pack play at Fresno State on Saturday in their only other game this week.
New Mexico State Aggies (12-16, 6-8 WAC)
The Aggies fell 65-55 to Fresno State last Monday and 72-61 at Utah State last Thursday before defeating Nevada 63-59 on the road last Saturday ... Against the Bulldogs, Jasmine Lowe led all players with 16 points, while Madison Spence added 12 ... Against USU, three players scored in double-digits, led by Lowe’s 14 points. Tabytha Wampler added 12 and Madison Spence tossed in 10 ... Against the Wolf Pack, Lowe led the Aggies with a season-high 19 points ... As a team, New Mexico State ranks 50th nationally in turnovers per game (15.6) ... Wampler ranks 29th in the nation in free throw percentage (85.5), while Lowe is 33rd in steals (2.7) ... The Aggies host Idaho on Thursday and Boise State on Saturday.
San Jose Spartans (2-25, 2-12 WAC)
The Spartans fell 55-53 at Hawai`i on Thursday and 83-68 to Boise State on Saturday ... Against the Rainbow Wahine, A.J. Newton led the team with 14 points, while Sayja Sumler posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards ... Against the Broncos, Sara Plavljanin led the Spartans with 24 points, followed by Brittany Johnson with 21 points ... In WAC games, SJSU ranks fourth in the conference in scoring defense (63.7) and steals (9.8) ... Plavljanin ranks third in the conference in WAC games in minutes played (35.4), sixth in three-point field goals per game (1.7) and ninth in scoring (13.0), while Sumler is second in steals (2.6) and Johnson is seventh in rebounding (6.6) ... The Spartans host Fresno State on Thursday and Utah State on Saturday.
Utah State Aggies (15-12, 9-5 WAC)
The Aggies defeated New Mexico State 72-61 last Thursday and fell 78-70 to Louisiana Tech on Saturday ... Against the Aggies, Ashlee Brown finished with a game-high 21 points and a career-high eight assists ... In the loss to Tech, Brown and Banna Diop both posted double-doubles. Brown had 16 points and 12 boards, while Diop finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds ... The Aggies are currently in third place in the WAC standings and are guaranteed their highest-ever WAC finish ... USU ranks 21st nationally in steals (11.4), 24th in assists (16.0) and 42nd in assist/turnover ratio (0.94) ... Devyn Christensen is 18th in the nation in free throw percentage (87.1) ... The Aggies play at Hawai`i on Thursday and at San Jose State on Saturday.