ORLEANS ARENA IN LAS VEGAS TO HOST 2013 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2013 WAC Basketball Tournament returns to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the third year in a row. This year’s tournament includes all 10 teams and will be held Tuesday-Saturday, March 12-16.
UTAH STATE FAVORED IN PRESEASON POLLS
Utah State was the preseason favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference in both the coaches and media polls.
In the coaches poll, the Aggies received 78 points and seven first-place votes to beat out Louisiana Tech for the top spot. The Lady Techsters captured second place with 75 points and the other three first-place votes.
In the media poll, Utah State received nine first-place votes, earning 165 points. Meanwhile, Louisianan Tech was picked to finish second with 145 points and four first-place votes. Denver (1), New Mexico State (1), Seattle U (2) and Texas State (1) also earned three first-place votes.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAMS ANNOUNCED
Along with the preseason polls, the coaches and media also voted on preseason All-WAC teams. Both the coaches and the media selected Utah State senior Devyn Christensen as the WAC’s Preseason Player of the Year.
Preseason Women’s Basketball Coaches All-WAC Teams
First Team
Alyssa Charlston, Idaho
Devyn Christensen, Utah State
Whitney Frazier, Louisiana Tech
Diamond Ford, Texas State
Kacie Sowell, Seattle U
Second Team
Ta’Rea Cunnigan, San Jose State
Krissy Karr, Idaho
Quincey Noonan, Denver
Emiko Smith, Denver
Ashley Ward, Seattle U
Preseason Player of the Year: Devyn Christensen, Utah State
Preseason Women’s Basketball Media All-WAC Teams
First Team
Alyssa Charlston, Idaho
Devyn Christensen, Utah State
Whitney Frazier, Louisiana Tech
Diamond Ford, Texas State
Kacie Sowell, Seattle U
Second Team
Ta’Rea Cunnigan, San Jose State
Stefanie Gilbreath, New Mexico State
Krissy Karr, Idaho
Kelia Shelton, Louisiana Tech
Emiko Smith, Denver
Preseason Player of the Year: Devyn Christensen, Utah State
STAT LEADERS BACK
The following are the returning statistical leaders in the WAC from the 2011-12 season.
Two of the top 10 scorers are back in Utah State’s Devyn Christensen (15.1) and Idaho’s Alyssa Charlston (14.5), who ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in the league a year ago. Charlston is also the only top rebounder returning this season, ranking fourth last season (8.8).
Idaho’s Krissy Karr is the lone returner in assists, ranking third last year with 3.97 per game. Three of the top 10 steals leaders – San Jose State’s Ta’Rea Cunnigan (T-5th, 2.0), and Utah State’s Christensen (7th, 1.87) and Jenna Johnson (T-8th, 1.57) – also return.
Three of the top 10 blockers return, led by Idaho’s Ashley Walters, who last year ranked second in the WAC with 1.57 blocks per game. Also returning are Charlston (6th, 1.03) and Louisiana Tech’s Tavasha Anderson (9th, 0.83).
In addition, several newcomers to the WAC ranked in the top 10 in various statistical categories in their respective conferences last year. Emiko Smith of Denver led the Sun Belt in assists (6.4) and ranked second in steals (2.3). Her teammate Quincey Noonan ranked fifth in steals (2.0) and 10th in assists (2.4).
UTSA’s Kamra King ranked fourth in the Southland Conference in steals (1.9), while her teammate Whitney Wright ranked fourth in blocks (1.7).
Texas State’s Diamond Ford led the Southland in scoring (18.5). Ashley Ezeh was sixth in rebounding (8.0) and ninth in scoring (14.5).
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Two of the first team All-WAC players from last year return for the 2012-13 season in Idaho’s Alyssa Charlston and Utah State’s Devyn Christensen. Other WAC honorees that return are Louisiana Tech’s Whitney Frazier, who was named to both the All-Defensive and All-Freshman Teams, and fellow All-Freshman honorees Ta’Rea Cunnigan of San Jose State and Krissy Karr of Idaho.
Diamond Ford of Texas State was named first team All-Southland, while Emiko Smith of Denver was named second team All-Sun Belt. Ashley Ezeh of Texas State was named third team All-Southland, while UTSA’s Judy Jones was an honorable mention honoree.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
WAC teams have several key non-conference matchups this season, including as many as 42 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament or the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) last season. The complete list is below.
Games vs. NCAA Teams
Nov. 11 – UT Arlington at Michigan State
Nov. 12 – South Carolina at Louisiana Tech
Nov. 14 – New Mexico State at UC Santa Barbara
Nov. 20 – Utah State vs. Prairie View A&M
*Nov. 24 – Sacred Heart at Seattle U
Nov. 28 – UTEP at New Mexico State
Dec. 1 – Texas State at UTEP
Dec. 2 – UT Arlington at Fresno State
Dec. 4 – Utah State at Brigham Young
Dec. 4 – Louisiana Tech at Texas A&M
Dec. 5 – New Mexico State at UTEP
Dec. 8 – Utah State at Notre Dame
Dec. 9 – Louisiana Tech vs. Rutgers
Dec. 12 –McNeese State at Louisiana Tech
Dec. 16 – Louisiana Tech at LSU
Dec. 20 – Seattle U at Brigham Young
Dec. 20 – Idaho at Gonzaga
Jan. 30 – Louisiana Tech at UALR
Games vs. WNIT Teams
Nov. 9 – Louisiana Tech at Tulane
Nov. 9 – Pacific at Seattle U
Nov. 10 – Utah at Denver
Nov. 11 – Idaho at Colorado
Nov. 14 – Washington at Seattle U
Nov. 16 – Oral Roberts at UT Arlington
Nov. 18 – UTSA at Wichita State
Nov. 19 – San Jose State at Eastern Illinois
Nov. 20 – Central Arkansas at Louisiana Tech
Nov. 21 – Memphis at UT Arlington
*Nov. 24 – Drake at New Mexico State
Nov. 25 – San Jose State at San Diego
Nov. 27 – Utah State at Utah
Nov. 28 – Texas State at Oklahoma State
Nov. 29 – Northern Colorado at Denver
Dec. 1 – Cal State Northridge at San Jose State
Dec. 3 – Pacific at San Jose State
Dec. 8 – UNLV at UTSA
Dec. 11 – Colorado at Denver
Dec. 14 – Oral Roberts at Louisiana Tech
Dec. 16 – Idaho at Washington
Dec. 20 – South Dakota at Utah State
Dec. 21 – UMKC at New Mexico State
Dec. 22 – Oklahoma State at UT Arlington
*possible match-up in tournament
DENVER PIONEERS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Denver embarks on a season of firsts as Head Coach Kerry Cremeans became the Pioneers’ ninth head coach last summer and Denver will play its first season as part of the WAC ... The Pioneers finished 19-12 overall last season and 11-5 to finish second in the West Division in their final season in the Sun Belt Conference ... Denver returns 10 letterwinners and three starters from last year’s squad, while welcoming three newcomers ... Denver led the Sun Belt in three-point percentage (32.9) and assists (14.2) ... DU’s returners accounted for 93.2 percent of the team’s three-pointers and 84.1 percent of its assists ... Emiko Smith will lead the Pioneers after a junior season that saw her become the Pioneers’ all-time leader in assists ... In her three seasons at DU, Smith has averaged 5.7 assists per game through 93 contests ... Smith’s 6.5 assists per game last year were sixth-most in the NCAA ... The Pioneers open the season on Saturday hosting Utah.
IDAHO VANDALS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals return three starters from last year’s team in first team All-WAC selection Alyssa Charlston, fifth-year senior Jessica Graham and WAC All-Freshman Team selection Krissy Karr ... Charlston led the team in points (14.5), rebounds (8.8) and field goal percentage (48.6), while Graham averaged 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds, and Karr averaged 6.9 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds last season ... The Vandals also return Stacey Barr, Ashley Walters and Ana Overgaard, who combined to play in 74 games last season ... Rounding out Idaho’s lineup are five newcomers, including four true freshmen – Christina Salvatore, Connie Ballestero, Ali Forde and Abi Quinnett. Janelle Weiss transferred from Chemeketa CC ... Barr was Idaho’s second-leading scorer as a freshman with 10.3 points per game ... Charlston became just the second player in program history to record 280 rebounds in a season, as she grabbed 283 in 2011-12 ... Idaho plays at Wyoming on Friday and at Colorado on Sunday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech lost six letterwinners from last year’s team who accounted for 71 percent of its scoring ... Tech lost five of its top six scorers from last year’s team ... LA Tech returns just one starter and six letterwinners from last year’s team which posted a 17-15 record and advanced to the championship game of the WAC Tournament ... Whitney Frazier is the only returning starter from last year’s team. Frazier earned WAC All-Defensive and WAC All-Freshman team honors her rookie campaign ... The Lady Techsters welcome six newcomers to this year’s team, including two high school prep stars, three junior college transfers and a Division I transfer ... Louisiana Tech’s non-conference schedule features 11 games, including five against SEC foes and a match-up in Madison Square Garden against Big East foe Rutgers ... LA Tech plays at Tulane on Friday to open the season.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State returns four players that started 15 or more games last season and also welcomes eight newcomers for the 2012-13 season ... The Aggies lose the services of departed senior Tabytha Wampler, who became the 19th member of the program’s 1,000-point club ... During the 2011-12 season, NM State posted a 5-2 record when foes scored 55 points or less ... This year marks the 40th season of Aggie women’s basketball ... Last season, the Aggies were 3-3 in games decided by a single point ... Second-year NM State head coach Mark Trakh is the 10th head coach in NM State history and has nearly 30 years of head coaching experience, including 17 at the NCAA Division I level at both USC and Pepperdine ... Trakh coached his 500th career collegiate game last season against Hawai’i on Feb. 16 ... With 12 victories this season, the Aggies will reach the program’s 600-win mark all-time ... The Aggies open the season Nov. 12, when they host Loyola Marymount.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans return just one player from last year’s team that went 11-19 overall and 6-8 in the WAC ... Head coach Tim La Kose was named the 2011-12 WAC Coach of the Year in his first year in the league after leading the Spartans to the nation’s 14th-best win-loss turnaround going from two to 11 wins ... Ta’Rea Cunnigan was named to the 2011-12 WAC All-Freshman Team after leading all freshmen in scoring ... The 2011-12 team made a school record 435 free throws and took the program’s second-most attempts (657) ... San Jose State ended a 44-game, six-year conference road losing streak with its 86-79 win at Nevada on Jan. 28 ... The team’s six conference wins last season were the most since 2005-06 when the Spartans won eight WAC games ... Last year, the Spartans increased their scoring average by 16.7 points per game, the highest single-season increase in program history ... Brittany Johnson led the WAC and ranked 16th nationally with 20.1 points per game ... The Spartans host San Francisco State on Friday to open the season.
SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Last season, the Redhawks made their first Division I postseason appearance, advancing it to the semifinals of the Women’s Basketball Invitational before falling to Northern Iowa, 68-64 ... Last year, Seattle U posted its first 20-win season as an NCAA Division I program ... Head coach Joan Bonvicini was named Independent Coach of the Year, while Kacie Sowell was named Independent Player of the Year and was named to the WBI all-tournament team ... Sowell had 18 double-doubles averaged 14.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game ... Talisa Rhea (14.1) and Ashley Ward (10.3) also averaged double-figure scoring ... Nationally, Sowell ranked fifth in field goal percentage (56.6) and tied for ninth in double-doubles (18) ... Ward ranked 26th nationally in free throw percentage (.840), while Rhea was 26th in assists per game (5.2) ... Bonvicini will coach her 1000th career game vs. rival Washington at Key Arena on Nov. 14 ... The Redhawks open the season when they host Pacific on Friday.
UT ARLINGTON MAVERICKS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
UT Arlington returns 85 percent of its scoring and 84 percent of its rebounding from last year’s team as four of the Mavericks’ five starters return for the 2012-13 season ... The Mavericks return four starters and 11 letterwinners from last year’s team that went 7-21 overall and 5-11 in the Southland Conference to finish tied for fourth in the West Division ... Last season, UT Arlington had seven players average five or more points per game ... The leading returning scorer is senior Sabreena DeNure, who averaged 6.6 points per game ... In addition to DeNure, starters Takiyah Langford, Desherra Nwanguma and Kiara Parker also return ... UT Arlington welcomes six newcomers to this year’s squad – three transfers and three freshmen ... The Mavericks are led by head coach Samantha Morrow, who has two of the top 10 winningest records in UTA women’s basketball history ... The Mavericks open the season on Friday at George Washington and play at Michigan State on Sunday.
UTSA ROADRUNNERS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
UTSA returns three starters and 11 letterwinners from last year’s squad that went 8-21 overall and 4-12 in Southland Conference play ... The Roadrunners are led by head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair, the winningest coach in program history with a 200-159 mark ... Kamra King led the team and was the Southland’s top scoring freshman (10.6) ... She also ranked fourth in the league in steals (1.9) and ninth in free throw percentage (.766) ... The Roadrunners return much of their post presence from a season ago that ranked second in the Southland and 37th nationally with 4.8 blocks per game ... Whitney Wright led the group with 1.7 swats per contest to rank fourth in the league and 75th in the nation ... In addition to four newcomers, UTSA returns Whitney York and Mannasha Bell, who missed most (Bell) or all (York) of last season with injuries ... UTSA opens the season on Friday when it hosts UT-Pan American.
TEXAS STATE BOBCATS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Texas State posted an eight-game improvement in wins last year with 17 victories compared to nine in 2010-11. It marked the second-best turnaround in school history ... The Bobcats return their top two leading scorers from last year in Diamond Ford and Ashley Ezeh, who averaged 18.5 and 14.5 points per game, respectively, a year ago ... Ford led the Southland Conference and was 31st in the country in scoring ... Ford finished the season with 572 points, the fourth-best single-season total in school history. She ranks eighth on the all-time career scoring list at Texas State (1,262) ... Ezeh ranked 33rd in the NCAA last year in field goal percentage (.503) ... Zenarae Antoine finished with the most wins in a single season by a first-year head coach at Texas State with 17 ... Texas State led the Southland and ranked 65th nationally in scoring (68.0) ... In 2011-12, the Bobcats were 7-0 in games Ezeh recorded a double-double ... The Bobcats host Belmont on Friday to open the season.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Jerry Finkbeiner takes the reigns as Utah State’s ninth head women’s basketball coach ... Last season, Utah State ranked third in the nation in free throw percentage (79.6), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (38.4), 19th in field goal percentage (43.6), 21st in scoring (72.4) and 23rd in assists (15.5) ... The Aggies posted a program-record 11 WAC wins last year ... Ashlee Brown and Devyn Christensen both earned first team All-WAC honors ... Brown was the first Utah State player to earn first team All-WAC honors two-straight seasons ... Christensen, the Preseason Player of the Year, led the league in scoring in WAC games, averaging 20.6 points ... Christensen set the Utah State single-season free throw percentage record (86.1) ... Utah State welcomes nine newcomers, including four transfers that have to sit out the season ... Freshmen Makenlee Williams, Haylee Thompson and Stephanie Bairstow, junior Tanja Steed and senior Cristal Turner are eligible to play in 2012-13 ... Utah State opens the season next Monday at Utah Valley.