UTAH STATE’S BROWN NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah State senior forward Ashlee Brown has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 30-Feb. 5. This is the third WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Brown and the fifth of her career.
The Chandler, Ariz., native led the Aggies to a pair of road wins at San Jose State (78-73) and Hawai‘i (69-55). In the win over the Spartans, she posted her sixth double-double of the season with game highs of 30 points and 14 rebounds. She helped erase a 12-point second-half deficit with five steals, three assists and two blocks. In the win over the Rainbow Wahine, Brown scored 11 points and added five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in 29 minutes. For the week, she averaged 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game, all above her season averages.
Other nominees included: Madison Parrish of Fresno State averaged 15.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as the Bulldogs went 2-0 on the week ... Idaho’s Keri Arendse averaged 16.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and posted her first career double-double as the Vandals went 2-0 on the week ... Jasmine Bendolph of Louisiana Tech averaged 10.5 assists, 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as the Lady Techsters went 1-1 on the week ... New Mexico State’s Tabytha Wampler averaged 16.0 points and 15.5 rebounds per game as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week ... Brittany Johnson of San Jose State averaged 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds and extended her streak of double-digit scoring games to 23 as the Spartans went 0-2 on the week.
LA TECH’S BENDOLPH DISHES OUT CAREER-HIGH 15 ASSISTS
Louisiana Tech senior point guard Jasmine Bendolph recorded her third career double-double with a 12-point, 15-assist effort in a win over Nevada on Feb. 2. The 15 assists (to only 3 turnovers) were not only a career high, but marked the first time a LA Tech player recorded 15 or more assists since current Lady Techster coach Teresa Weatherspoon accomplished the feat in 1987-88. Bendolph is the first WAC player to reach 15 assists since Cricket Williams of San Jose State did so on Dec. 9, 2003.
JOHNSON’S DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK EXTENDS TO 23 GAMES
San Jose State senior forward Brittany Johnson has scored in double figures in 23 straight games (each of the team’s 22 games this season, plus one last year). The WAC’s leading scorer, she currently ranks 20th nationally in scoring with an average of 19.4 points per game. She has scored 20 or more points 10 times this season and scored a career-high 32 against Nevada on Jan. 28.
WAC STAT LEADERS
San Jose State’s Brittany Johnson currently leads the WAC in scoring with 19.4 points per game. Kamilah Jackson of Hawai‘i is tops in rebounding with an average of 11.1 boards. Louisiana Tech’s Shantale Bramble-Donaldson leads the WAC in field goal percentage (51.6), while Nevada’s Kayla Williams is tops in blocked shots (2.0). Louisiana Tech’s Jasmine Bendolph leads the league in assists (6.0), Utah State’s Brooke Jackson is tops in free throw percentage (86.4) and Fresno State’s Ki-Ki Moore leads the WAC in steals (2.57). Fresno State’s Rosie Moult is tops in three-pointers per game (2.67), while Utah State’s Maddy Plunkett leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (47.1). Taylor Thompson of Fresno State leads the WAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.39).
In WAC games only, Utah State’s Devyn Christensen leads the WAC in scoring (20.0), field goal percentage (56.2), free throw percentage (87.0) and three-pointers per game (2.86). Kamilah Jackson is tops in rebounding (13.3), while Bendolph leads the WAC in assists (8.0) and assist-turnover ratio (3.11). Thompson leads the WAC in steals (3.4) and three-point field goal percentage (57.9), while Idaho’s Ashley Walters leads the league in blocks (2.7).
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 (19-4, 7-0 WAC)
Fresno State defeated New Mexico State 79-54 last Thursday and won 61-59 at Louisiana Tech on Saturday to remain the only unbeaten team in WAC play ... Against the Aggies, Ki-Ki Moore led all players with 18 points, while Madison Parrish added 15, Rosie Moult had 13 and Blakely Goldberg added 10 ... In the win over LA Tech, Moore led the team with 20 points, while Parrish added 15 and Moult grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds ... The Bulldogs were 0-for-8 from three-point range, the first time all season they didn’t make at least one trey ... Fresno State has now won 118 games by 10 or more points under head coach Adrian Wiggins ... The Bulldogs rank second nationally in three-pointers per game (9.5), eighth in turnover margin (6.83), 13th in assist-turnover ratio (1.09), 15th in scoring (75.2), 18th in assists per game (16.6) and steals per game (12.2), 20th in winning percentage (82.6), 25th in three-point percentage (35.4), 35th in scoring margin (11.5) and 50th in turnovers per game (15.3) ... Taylor Thompson ranks 11th in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (2.39), while Moult is 25th in three-pointers per game (2.7) ... The Bulldogs play at Nevada on Saturday.
HAWAI‘I RAINBOW WAHINE (8-14, 3-4 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine fell 61-69 to Idaho last Thursday and lost 55-69 to Utah State on Saturday ... Against the Vandals, Kamilah Jackson grabbed a season-high 20 rebounds and scored 15 points for her 12th double-double of the season ... Alissa Campanero and Kanisha Bello added 11 points apiece ... Against the Aggies, Breanna Arbuckle led UH with 19 points, while Jackson pulled down 14 rebounds ... Jackson has scored in double figures 17 times and has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 15 games this season ... The Rainbow Wahine rank 18th nationally in personal fouls per game (13.6) ... Jackson leads the WAC and ranks seventh in the nation in double-doubles (12) and is tops in the WAC and ninth nationally in rebounding (11.1). She also ranks sixth in the conference in minutes played (32.6) and seventh in scoring (13.6) ... Arbuckle ranks third in the WAC in blocked shots (1.5) ... Hawai‘i leads the WAC in defensive rebounds (27.5), ranks second in rebounding margin (2.5), and third in free throw percentage (68.2), field goal percentage defense (38.8), rebounding (39.7), rebounding defense (37.2) and blocked shots (3.7) ... Hawai‘i hosts San Jose State on Saturday.
IDAHO VANDALS (7-16, 2-5 WAC)
Idaho picked up road wins at Hawai‘i (69-61) and at San Jose State (67-63) last week ... Against the Rainbow Wahine, Keri Arendse had career highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double ... Ganeaya Rogers finished with 14 points and a career-high seven assists, while Alyssa Charlston was one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds ... The Vandals overcame an 18-point second half deficit to pick up their first road win and first WAC win of the season ... In the win over the Spartans, Krissy Karr posted her first career double-double, finishing with 13 points and a career-high 10 assists ... Charlston had 14 points and matched her career high with 16 rebounds ... Charlston ranks fourth in the WAC in blocks (1.2), fifth in scoring (14.5) and rebounding (8.5), and sixth in field goal percentage (47.8) ... Ashley Walters is second in the WAC in blocks (1.9), while Adrie Shiels is ninth (0.82) ... Stacey Barr is fourth in the conference in three-pointers per game (1.82), while Karr is second in assists (4.1) ... As a team, Idaho leads the WAC in blocked shots (4.52) ... The Vandals host New Mexico State on Thursday and Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (11-11, 4-3 WAC)
Louisiana Tech defeated Nevada 77-63 last Thursday, then fell 59-61 to Fresno State on Saturday ... Against the Wolf Pack, Jasmine Bendolph dished out a career-high 15 assists, the most by a Tech player since head coach Teresa Weatherspoon had 15 dimes in a win over Oklahoma State in 1987-88. Bendolph added 12 points for her third career double-double ... Shantale Bramble-Donaldson added 16 points, while Whitney Frazier had 14 ... In the loss to the Bulldogs, Angie Felton and Bramble-Donaldson led Tech with 13 points apiece, while Frazier added 12 ... The Techsters rank 39th nationally in assists (15.2), 42nd three-point field goal percentage (34.1) and 48th in assist-turnover ratio (0.92) ... Bendolph leads the WAC and ranks 13th nationally in assists (6.0) and ranks second in the WAC and 31st in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (1.97) ... LA Tech ranks second in the WAC in assists (15.23) and assist-turnover ratio (0.92), and third in scoring (66.9), scoring margin (0.7), field goal percentage (41.4), three-point field goal percentage (34.1), three-point field goal percentage defense (29.0), turnover margin (1.32) and three-pointers per game (5.5) ... The Techsters play at Utah State on Thursday and at Idaho on Saturday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (5-17, 1-6 WAC)
Nevada fell 63-77 at Louisiana Tech last Thursday and lost 50-70 at New Mexico State on Saturday ... Against LA Tech, Chanelle Brennan led the team with a game-high 17 points to go with eight rebounds ... Against the Aggies, Kayla Williams led the Pack with 12 points, followed by Kate Kevorken with 11 and Brennan with 10 ... Kevorken ranks 35th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (38.2), while Kayla Williams is 46th in blocks (2.0) ... As a team, Nevada ranks second in the WAC in rebounding (40.2), blocked shots (4.41) and offensive rebounds (14.45), third in rebounding margin (0.5), and fourth in scoring (66.3), field goal percentage (40.8), rebounding defense (39.7), assists (13.95), steals (7.36), assist-turnover ratio (0.69) and defensive rebounds (25.73) ... Kevorken ranks third in the WAC in scoring (16.4) and three-pointers per game (2.14), eighth in three-point field goal percentage (38.2) and ninth in free throw percentage (70.4) ... Williams leads the WAC in blocks (2.0), and ranks second in field goal percentage (50.3) and seventh in rebounding (7.6) ... The Wolf Pack host Fresno State on Saturday in their only game this week.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (5-17, 2-5 WAC)
New Mexico State fell 54-79 to Fresno State last Thursday, then defeated Nevada 70-50 on Saturday ... Against the Bulldogs, Jasmine Rutledge led the team with 12 points, while Tabytha Wampler grabbed 16 rebounds ... In the win over the Wolf Pack, Wampler posted game highs of 25 points and 15 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season, while Kelsie Rozendaal added 12 points ... The 70 points against Nevada marked a season high in a regulation game ... The Aggies matched a season-high of 50 percent shooting (28-of-56) from the field and set a season-high with 28 made field goals against the Wolf Pack ... NM State also posted a season-high 18 assists and matched a season high of four blocks in the game ... Wampler ranks 32nd nationally and second in the WAC in rebounds (9.7) ... As a team, New Mexico State leads the WAC in scoring defense (63.1), rebounding defense (34.8) and rebounding margin (2.6), and ranks second in free throw percentage (68.7) and three-point field goal percentage defense (29.0) ... The Aggies play at Idaho on Thursday and at Utah State on Saturday.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (8-14, 3-4 WAC)
San Jose State fell 73-78 to Utah State last Thursday and lost 63-67 to Idaho on Saturday ... Against the Aggies, Brittany Johnson scored 26 points and grabbed 11 boards, while Sara Plavljanin scored 19 points ... Against the Vandals, Johnson led SJSU with 15 points and nine rebounds, followed by Palagi Atoe with 14 points and Ta’Rea Cunnigan with 13 ... Johnson has scored in double digits in 23 straight games, dating back to last season ... Johnson leads the WAC and ranks 21st nationally in scoring (19.4), while Sara Plavljanin ranks 16th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (40.7) ... Johnson also ranks fourth in the WAC in rebounding (8.6) and seventh in steals (1.68) ... Plavljanin ranks second in the WAC in three-pointers per game (2.18) and minutes played (36.09), fourth in steals (2.09), and sixth in scoring (13.7), assists (3.5) and assist-turnover ratio (0.90) ... As a team, San Jose State leads the WAC in field goal percentage defense (37.2), three-point field goal percentage defense (28.9), rebounding (41.3) and offensive rebounds (14.50) ... The Spartans play at Hawai‘i on Saturday in their only game this week.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (15-6, 6-1 WAC)
Utah State defeated San Jose State 78-73 last Thursday and beat Hawai‘i 69-55 on Saturday ... After trailing by 12 points in the second half, the Aggies outscored the Spartans 12-2 in the final 3:47 to secure the win ... Ashlee Brown had her sixth double-double of the season with game highs of 30 points and 14 rebounds ... Devyn Christensen added 17 points and Maddy Plunkett had 13 ... In the win over the Rainbow Wahine, Christensen scored a season-high 25 points, including the first 15 points of the game, and Brooke Jackson added 16 ... The Aggies rank fifth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (38.3), 20th in free throw percentage (75.9), 21st in field goal percentage (43.8), 36th in scoring (71.9) and 43rd in steals (10.8) ... Jackson leads the WAC and ranks 28th nationally in free throw percentage (86.4), while Christensen is 43rd (85.3) ... Brown ranks third in the WAC in rebounding (8.7) and steals (2.1), fourth in scoring (14.9) and fifth in blocks (1.1) ... Plunkett leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (47.1), while Jackson is sixth (40.0) and Christensen is seventh (39.8) ... The Aggies host Louisiana Tech on Thursday and New Mexico State on Saturday.