SAN JOSE STATE’S PLAVLJANIN NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
San Jose State senior guard Sara Plavljanin has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 2-8. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of her career.
The Zagreb, Croatia, native averaged 15.0 points 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 4.5 steals as the Spartans went 2-0 on the week, sweeping a road trip for the first time since the 2005-06 season. She opened the week with 15 points, a career-high eight steals, six assists and four rebounds in a win at Southern Utah. She followed it up with her first career double-double, posting 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, to go along with a career-high seven assists in a 57-45 win at Utah Valley.
Other nominees included: Ki-Ki Moore of Fresno State averaged 21.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals as the Bulldogs went 1-1 on the week ... Idaho’s Alyssa Charlston averaged 19.5 points on 78 percent shooting on the week ... Kate Kevorken of Nevada finished with 19 points and six rebounds in the team’s only game last week ... New Mexico State’s Kelsie Rozendaal of averaged 11.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game ... Brooke Jackson of Utah State averaged 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds as the Aggies went 2-0 on the week.
WAC PLAY BEGINS THIS WEEK
Two non-conference match-ups remain before the WAC slate begins this Thursday, Jan. 12. Louisiana Tech, the preseason favorite by both the coaches and the media, currently sits in third place in the standings.
CHARLSTON SHOOTS 91 PERCENT FROM FIELD IN GAME
Idaho’s Alyssa Charlston went 10-for-11 (.909) from the field against Seattle U. on Jan. 5, tied for the fourth-best field goal percentage in a single game in Idaho history. Charlston finished the game with 26 points, the second-highest point total of her career.
SAN JOSE STATE SWEEPS ROAD TRIP FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2005-06 SEASON
When it defeated Southern Utah on Jan. 3 and Utah Valley on Jan. 5, San Jose State swept its first road trip since the 2005-06 season. The last time the Spartans picked up a pair of consecutive road wins was Jan. 5 and 7, 2006, when they beat Utah State and Nevada in WAC action.
SECOND HALF STRUGGLES FOR NM STATE
New Mexico State has struggled in the second half as of late. The Aggies have lost the second-half scoring battle in each of their last seven games, posting a 2-5 mark. What’s more, NM State has led at the half in each of its last four games, but has lost three of those four games.
WAC STAT LEADERS
San Jose State’s Brittany Johnson currently leads the WAC in scoring with 19.3 points per game. Kamilah Jackson of Hawai‘i is tops in rebounding with an average of 10.1 boards. Louisiana Tech’s Kiara Young leads the WAC in field goal percentage (53.4), while teammate Jasmine Bendolph leads the league in assists (5.07) and minutes played (36.33). Utah State’s Brooke Jackson is tops in free throw percentage (86.2), while Fresno State’s Rosie Moult leads the WAC in steals (2.62) and three-pointers per game (2.77). Utah State’s Maddy Plunkett is tops in three-point field goal percentage (51.3), while Kayla Williams of Nevada leads the WAC in blocked shots (1.86). Taylor Thompson of Fresno State leads the WAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.72).
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.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (11-4, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State cruised to a 78-48 win at UT-Arlington last Tuesday before seeing its six-game winning streak end in a 71-73 loss at UNLV last Friday ... Ki-Ki Moore led all players with 25 points at UTA, while Blakely Goldberg added 13 ... Taylor Thompson tied her season high with eight assists and had just one turnover in the win ... Against the Lady Rebels, Moore led three players in double-digit scoring with 18 points, followed by Madison Parrish with a career-high 17 points and Alex Sheedy with 12 ... Moore has scored in double digits in 13 of 14 games this season ... The Bulldogs rank third nationally in three-pointers per game (9.5), 17th in assist-turnover ratio (1.06), 23rd in assists (16.9), 32nd in scoring (74.1), 33rd in three-point percentage (35.6) and turnover margin (4.67), and 45th in steals (11.3) ... Thompson ranks fifth in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (2.72), while Rosie Moult is 22nd in three-pointers per game (2.8) ... Moore ranks 42nd nationally in scoring (18.1) ... The Bulldogs host Seattle U. for their final non-conference game on Wednesday, then open WAC play on Saturday when they host Nevada.
HAWAI‘I RAINBOW WAHINE (5-10, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine were idle last week ... As a team, Hawai‘i ranks 11th nationally in personal fouls per game (13.2) ... Kamilah Jackson leads the WAC and ranks eighth in the nation in double-doubles (8) and is tops in the WAC and 22nd nationally in rebounding (10.1) ... The Rainbow Wahine rank second in the WAC in rebounding margin (1.2) and defensive rebounds (27.27), third in blocked shots (3.67), free throw percentage (68.5) and field goal percentage defense (39.1), and fourth in rebounding (37.9) ... Jackson also ranks fifth in the WAC in scoring (14.5), seventh in minutes played (32.73) and 10th in field goal percentage (45.5) ... Breanna Arbuckle ranks second in the WAC in blocked shots (1.53), ninth in field goal percentage (45.5) and 10th in rebounding (6.2) ... Alissa Campanero is second in the WAC in minutes played (36.13), and seventh in assists (2.87) and three-pointers per game (1.6) ... Hawai‘i opens WAC play this Saturday at San Jose State.
IDAHO VANDALS (5-11, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho fell 68-78 to North Dakota and 72-80 to Seattle U. to close out non-conference play ... Against UND, Keri Arendse finished with 16 points, followed by Stacey Barr (15) and Alyssa Charlston (13) ... The Vandals trailed 60-40 with 9:42 remaining when they went on a 24-8 run to make it 68-64 with 2:11 remaining. But the Vandals went 0-of-4 from the field in the final two minutes ... In the loss to the Red Hawks, Charlston finished with 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting (90.9), the fourth-best field goal percentage in a single game in Idaho history ... Barr added a career-high 21 points, including five three-pointers, while Tayler Weiks scored a career-high 15 points ... It was Idaho’s first game with a pair of 20-point scorers since March 10, 2010 ... The Vandals shot a season-best 50 percent from the field, but gave up 22 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 20 times ... Idaho ranks second in the WAC in blocked shots (3.88) and field goal percentage defense (37.3), and third in rebounding (38.4), three-pointers per game (5.25) and scoring defense (66.6) ... The Vandals open WAC play at Louisiana Tech on Thursday and play at New Mexico State on Saturday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (7-8, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech was idle last week ... The Techsters rank 20th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (36.4) and 45th in field goal percentage (43.0) ... Jasmine Bendolph leads the WAC and ranks 37th nationally in assists (5.1) ... LA Tech ranks second in the WAC in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.8), assists (14.53) and three-pointers per game (5.6), and third in scoring (68.1) and assist-turnover ratio (0.83) ... Kiara Young leads the WAC in field goal percentage (53.4) and ranks ninth in assists (2.64) ... Shantale Bramble-Donaldson ranks fourth in the WAC in field goal percentage (49.2), eighth in rebounding (7.0) and ninth in free throw percentage (70.8) ... Bendolph leads the WAC in minutes played (36.33), ranks second in assist-turnover ratio (1.55), fifth in three-pointers per game (1.87), and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (40.6) and steals (1.53) ... Angie Felton ranks second in the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (48.6), while Tavasha Anderson is fifth in blocks (1.0) and Whitney Frazier is seventh in free throw percentage (71.4) ... The Techsters open WAC play at home, hosting Idaho on Thursday and Utah State on Saturday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (3-11, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada fell 63-74 to UNLV last Monday in their only game ... Kate Kevorken scored a team-high 19 points, while Kayla Williams added 14 and Chanelle Brennan had 11 ... The Wolf Pack was out-rebounded 53-35 on the game ... Kevorken ranks 25th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (40.7) ... As a team, Nevada leads the WAC in blocked shots (4.29) and defensive rebounds (27.29), ranks second in rebounding (41.6) and offensive rebounds (14.36), third in rebounding margin (0.4) and assists (14.07), and fourth in scoring (64.8), free throw percentage (40.3), three-point field goal percentage (31.4) and steals (8.07) ... Kevorken ranks second in the WAC in three-pointers per game (2.36), third in scoring (17.1), seventh in three-point field goal percentage (40.7), eighth in field goal percentage (47.7) and ninth in minutes played (31.36) ... Williams leads the WAC in blocked shots (1.86), ranks second in field goal percentage (49.6), sixth in rebounding (7.8), and 10th in scoring (12.1) and free throw percentage (70.6) ... The Wolf Pack host CSU Bakersfield on Tuesday, then open WAC play at Fresno State on Saturday.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (3-12, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State fell 57-68 at UMKC last Wednesday, then fell 53-56 to Boise State at home last Saturday ... Tabytha Wampler led the team with 15 points and 12 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season against the Kangaroos ... Kelsie Rozendaal posted a career high 15 points at UMKC ... Against the Broncos, Camila Rosen led the Aggies with a career-high 13 points ... The Aggies have led at the half in each of their last four games but own a 1-3 record ... NM State has lost the second-half scoring battle in each of its last seven games with a 2-5 mark ... As a team, New Mexico State leads the WAC in scoring defense (63.5), rebounding margin (1.6), rebounding defense (35.7) and three-point field goal percentage defense (27.0), and ranks second in free throw percentage (69.7)... Wampler ranks second in the WAC in rebounding (9.3), and sixth in scoring (13.7) and free throw percentage (73.5) ... Hannah Womack ranks fourth in the WAC in free throw percentage (81.1) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (36.4) ... The Aggies host Utah State on Thursday to open WAC play, then host Idaho on Saturday.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (5-10, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State picked up road wins at Southern Utah (70-68) and Utah Valley (57-45) last week to close out non-conference play with its first road sweep since the 2005-06 season ... Against the Thunderbirds, Brittany Johnson scored a career-high 28 points, including three of San Jose State’s final four points ... Sara Plavljanin finished with 15 points, a career-high eight steals and six assists ... Against the Wolverines, Plavljanin posted her first career double-double, finishing with 15 points and a career-high 12 boards. She also dished out a career-best seven assists ... Myesha Broaden tallied a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds ... Johnson leads the WAC and ranks 27th nationally in scoring (19.3) ... Plavljanin ranks 24th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (41.0) ... Johnson ranks fifth in the WAC in rebounding (8.1), sixth in steals (1.67) and eighth in blocks (0.93) ... Plavljanin ranks third in the WAC in three-pointers per game (2.13) and minutes played (35.87), fifth in steals (2.2), sixth in assists (3.33) and assist-turnover ratio (0.79), and eighth in scoring (13.5) ... The Spartans host Hawai‘i on Saturday to open WAC play.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (9-5, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State picked up wins over Asbury (83-53) and Utah Valley (61-43) ... Against the Eagles, Banna Diop had 13 points, followed by Brooke Jackson with 11 ... Against UVU, Jackson and Ashlee Brown finished with 13 points each ... As a team, the Aggies rank seventh nationally in free throw percentage (79.0), 32nd in three-point field goal percentage (35.6) and 47th in steals (11.1) ... Jackson leads the WAC and ranks 34th nationally in free throw percentage (86.2) ... Brown ranks third in the WAC in rebounding (9.0) and steals (2.36), fourth in scoring (15.1) and ninth in blocks (0.93) ... Maddy Plunkett leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (51.3), ranks third in field goal percentage (49.5) and 10th in three-pointers per game (1.43) ... Jackson ranks fourth in three-point field goal percentage (42.3) and eighth in three-pointers per game (1.57) ... Utah State ranks second in the WAC in scoring (69.6), scoring defense (64.2), scoring margin (5.4), field goal percentage (41.8), three-point percentage (35.6), steals (11.14), turnover margin (3.07) and assist-turnover ratio (0.83) ... The Aggies open WAC play at New Mexico State on Thursday, then play at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.