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 Feb. 27-March 4. This is the fourth WAC Player of the Week honor of the season for Brown and the sixth of her career.
The Chandler, Ariz., native led the Aggies to a pair of wins over Hawai‘i and San Jose State to give Utah State the most wins in program history. She opened the week with a double-double of 21 points and a career-high 10 assists against the Rainbow Wahine. She also added seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Brown closed out the week with her 10th double-double of the season of 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, nearing a triple-double with seven assists. For the week, she nearly averaged a triple-double with 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. She also shot an amazing 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the free throw line, becoming the program’s single-season record holder for free throws made (151) in the process. Brown’s 17 rebounds on the week also give her 497 on her career, moving her into eighth place on USU’s career rebounding list after just two seasons.
Other nominees included: Rosie Moult of Fresno State averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game as the Bulldogs went 2-0 on the week ... Idaho’s Stacey Barr averaged 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as the Vandals went 2-0 on the week to earn the No. 4 seed in the WAC Tournament ... Kate Kevorken of Nevada averaged 18.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game as the Wolf Pack went 2-0 on the week, snapping a nine-game losing skid to earn the No. 7 seed in the WAC Tournament ... New Mexico State’s Kelsie Rozendaal averaged 13.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last week.
ALL-WAC HONORS ANNOUNCED
The 2011-12 all-WAC teams have been named, following a vote of the WAC’s eight head coaches. Fresno State’s Ki-Ki Moore headlines the awards, earning both the WAC Player and Newcomer of the Year honors.
It has been a breakout season for Moore, a sophomore transfer from Washington State. In WAC games, she led the league in steals (3.6), ranked third in scoring (15.9), sixth in assists (3.1), seventh in assist-turnover ratio (1.0), eighth in rebounding (8.0) and 10th in field goal percentage (44.4). Moore scored a career-high 28 points three times this season and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds against Idaho. She has recorded six double-doubles on the year and was named WAC Player of the Week four times. She becomes the third Fresno State player to earn WAC Player of the Year and the second Bulldog to be named WAC Newcomer of the Year.
Utah State’s Ashlee Brown earned the WAC Defensive Player of the Year honor, becoming the first Aggie to earn the award, which was added in 2008. The senior forward ranked second in conference games in blocks (1.6), fifth in rebounding (8.7), tied for seventh in defensive rebounding (5.2) and sixth in steals (1.9). She is the anchor of the Utah State defense that ranked second in the WAC with 10.7 steals per game in league games.
San Jose State head coach Tim La Kose, in his first season at the helm, becomes the second Spartan head coach to be named WAC Coach of the Year. He has led San Jose State to nine more wins than last year and the most wins since the 2005-06 season. The nine-game improvement, from two to 11 wins, ranks in the top five in the nation this year. Under La Kose, the Spartans have improved their scoring by 487 points from a year ago and increased their per-game average from 47.7 to 64.5 points. The team’s 1,870 total points this season ranks fourth-best in San Jose State history.
Four different schools are represented on the first team, including Moore and Brown. Idaho’s Alyssa Charlston, Utah State’s Devyn Christensen and San Jose State’s Brittany Johnson round out the first team. Brown receives first-team all-WAC honors for the second time, while Moore, Charlston, Christensen and Johnson all earn the honor for the first time.
The all-WAC second teamers are Jasmine Bendolph and Shantale Bramble-Donaldson of Louisiana Tech, Rosie Moult and Taylor Thompson of Fresno State, and Kamilah Jackson of Hawai‘i. Bendolph and Moult are repeat selections, while the other three are making their first appearance on the team.
Brown headlines the all-Defensive team and is joined by Moult, Thompson, Breanna Arbuckle of Hawai‘i and Louisiana Tech’s Whitney Frazier.
The all-Freshman team contains five players from five different teams, including Frazier, Alissa Campanero of Hawai‘i, San Jose State’s Ta’Rea Cunnigan, Krissy Karr of Idaho and Fresno State’s Madison Parrish.
WAC STAT LEADERS
San Jose State’s Brittany Johnson currently leads the WAC in scoring with 19.7 points per game, while Kamilah Jackson of Hawai‘i is tops in rebounding with an average of 10.4 boards. Louisiana Tech’s Shantale Bramble-Donaldson is tops in field goal percentage (51.4), while teammate Jasmine Bendolph leads the league in assists (5.9). Utah State’s Devyn Christensen is tops in free throw percentage (90.2) and Fresno State’s Ki-Ki Moore leads the WAC in steals (3.0). Utah State’s Maddy Plunkett leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (47.4), while Nevada’s Kayla Williams is tops in blocked shots (1.8). Fresno State’s Rosie Moult is tops in three-pointers per game (2.9), while teammate Taylor Thompson leads the WAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.1).
In WAC games only, Christensen led the league in scoring (20.6), free throw percentage (94.7) and three-pointers per game (2.9), while Kamilah Jackson was tops in rebounding (10.6) and Utah State’s Brooke Jackson was the leader in field goal percentage (56.5). Bendolph led the WAC in assists (6.8), while Moore was tops in steals (3.6). Thompson was tops in three-point field goal percentage (52.5), Idaho’s Ashley Walters led the league in blocks (1.8) and Brown was tops in assist-turnover ratio (2.9).
UTAH STATE BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD FOR WINS IN A SEASON
When it defeated Hawai‘i on March 1, Utah State earned its 19th victory, breaking the school record for wins in a season. The previous record of 18 was set last season. The Aggies also won on March 3, improving the record to 20 wins.
FRESNO STATE’S MOULT SCORES 1,000TH CAREER POINT
Fresno State junior Rosie Moult scored her 1,000th career point last Saturday in a win over New Mexico State. The guard/forward, a two-time all-WAC honoree, has 1,010 career points. A deadly three-point shooter, 720 of her points or 71 percent have come off long balls.
LA TECH’S BENDOLPH DISHES 500TH CAREER ASSIST
Louisiana Tech senior guard Jasmine Bendolph dished out her 500th career assist on March 1 at Fresno State, becoming just the fifth player in Lady Techster history to do so. She now has 506 dimes on her career and ranks 15th nationally with a 5.9 average.
USU’S BROWN SETS AGGIE SINGLE-SEASON FREE THROW RECORD
Utah State senior Ashlee Brown became the Aggies’ single-season record holder for free throws made on March 3. She now has 151 free throws on the year, passing Sharon Epps’ record of 148 from the 1982 season.
SAN JOSE STATE’S JOHNSON SETS TWO SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
San Jose State senior Brittany Johnson last week became the Spartans’ single-season scoring leader with 572 points and single-season leader in free throws made with 153. She also ranks second in free throws attempted (218).
UTAH STATE LEADS NATION IN THREE-POINT SHOOTING
In the most recent NCAA statistics, Utah State leads the country in three-point field goal percentage at 39.2. The last time a WAC team had a three-point percentage that high was the 1994-95 season, when Utah was 161-of-411 for an identical percentage.
SEVERAL PLAYERS IN WAC CAREER TOP 10 LISTS
Several players have broken into the top 10 in various WAC career statistical categories. Louisiana Tech’s Jasmine Bendolph currently ranks sixth all-time in assists (506). Rosie Moult of Fresno State has 240 three-pointers on her career, good for sixth place in WAC history. Finally, New Mexico State’s Tabytha Wampler has 881 career rebounds, good for seventh place all-time.
SJSU’S JOHNSON’S DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK EXTENDS TO 30 GAMES
San Jose State senior forward Brittany Johnson has scored in double figures in 30 straight games (each of the team’s 29 games this season, plus one last year). The WAC’s leading scorer, she currently ranks 17th nationally in scoring with an average of 19.7 points per game. She has scored 20 or more points 13 times this season and scored a career-high 32 against Nevada on Jan. 28.
IDAHO’S CHARLSTON NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Idaho sophomore Alyssa Charlston was named to the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Women’s Basketball Team. The post player, who boasts a 4.00 grade-point average, was named to the third team. Of the 15 players to earn the honor, Charlston is one of just two sophomores, one of five to have a perfect GPA and the only student-athlete from the WAC. The Sammamish, Wash., native is majoring in broadcasting and digital media with plans to become an on-camera reporter. Charlston is the fifth player in program history to earn the prestigious honor, and the first since 2001-02.
SAN JOSE STATE HAVING BEST SEASON IN MORE THAN FIVE YEARS
With its win at Nevada on Jan. 28, San Jose State broke a 44-game conference road losing streak that dated back to the 2005-06 season. The last time the Spartans had won a WAC road game was Feb. 1, 2006, when they defeated Boise State 69-64 at Taco Bell Arena. With six conference wins, the Spartans surpassed their single-season WAC win total from any of the last five seasons. What’s more, SJSU’s 11 wins are the most the team has had since it won 13 games in 2005-06 and the six conference wins are also its highest total since the team won eight in 2005-06. The Spartans’ win at Hawai‘i gave them their first two-game, regular season sweep of a conference opponent since 2005-06 and the first win in Honolulu since San Jose State swept the season-series from the Rainbow Wahine in 2004-05. San Jose State’s win over Nevada was its first two-game, regular-season sweep of the Wolf Pack since 2005-06, while its win over Fresno State on Feb. 25 was its first victory over the Bulldogs since the 2002-03 season.
FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (25-5, 13-1 WAC)
Fresno State defeated Louisiana Tech 65-62 last Thursday and beat New Mexico State 79-43 on Saturday ... Against LA Tech, Ki-Ki Moore had 18 points, followed by Rosie Moult with 16 and Blakely Goldberg with 14 ... Against the Aggies, Moult led all players with 21 points ... Moult scored her 1,000th career point against NM State ... Moore was named both WAC Player and Newcomer of the Year ... Fresno State has now won 122 games by 10 or more points under head coach Adrian Wiggins ... The Bulldogs rank third nationally in three-pointers per game (9.7), fourth in turnover margin (7.2), 10th in scoring (75.2), 11th in steals (12.4), 13th in assist-turnover ratio (1.1), 14th in assists (16.5) and winning percentage (83.3), 23rd in scoring margin (12.6), 26th in three-point field goal percentage (35.0), 41st in turnovers (14.9) and 50th in field goal percentage (42.1) ... Moult ranks 9th nationally in three-pointers per game (2.9) and 49th in three-point percentage (36.4), while Taylor Thompson is 16th in assist-turnover ratio (2.11) and Moore is 24th in steals (3.0) ... The top-seeded Bulldogs face No. 8-seed New Mexico State in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament on Wednesday.
HAWAI‘I RAINBOW WAHINE (11-18, 6-8 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine fell 64-85 at Utah State last Thursday and lost 50-69 at Idaho on Saturday ... Against the Aggies, Breanna Arbuckle had 18 points, while Kamilah Jackson added a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds ... Against the Vandals, Arbuckle and Alissa Campanero had 11 points apiece ... Jackson was named second team all-WAC, while Arbuckle was named to the defensive team and Campanero was named to the freshman team ... Hawai‘i ranks 18th nationally in personal fouls per game (13.6) ... Jackson ranks 11th in the nation in double-doubles (15) and 16th in rebounding (10.4) ... Jackson has scored in double figures 21 times this season and has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 18 games ... Hawai‘i leads the WAC in rebounding margin (2.1) and defensive rebounds (27.6), ranks second in free throw percentage (69.5) and rebounding (39.4), and third in field goal percentage defense (39.3), rebounding defense (37.3) and blocked shots (3.7) ... Arbuckle ranks third in the WAC in blocked shots (1.5), eighth in defensive rebounds (4.9) and 10th in rebounding (6.4) ... Sixth-seeded Hawai‘i faces No. 3-seed Louisiana Tech in the WAC Tournament on Wednesday.
IDAHO VANDALS (11-19, 6-8 WAC)
Idaho defeated San Jose State 70-65 last Thursday and beat Hawai‘i 69-50 on Saturday to earn the No. 4 seed in the WAC Tournament ... Against the Spartans, Keri Arendse and Tayler Weiks had 14 points each, while Stacey Barr added 11 and Ganeaya Rogers had 10 ... Against Hawai‘i, Barr led all players with 23 points, while Alyssa Charlston added 15 and Krissy Karr had 13 ... Charlston, a third team Academic All-American and first team all-WAC pick, ranks fourth in the WAC in rebounding (8.6) and field goal percentage (49.4), and sixth in scoring (14.5) and blocks (1.1) ... Ashley Walters is second in the WAC in blocks (1.6), while Adrie Shiels is eighth (0.9) ... Barr is fifth in the conference in three-pointers per game (2.0), while Karr is third in assists (4.1) and fifth in minutes played (32.9) ... As a team, Idaho ranks second in the WAC in field goal percentage defense (37.8), blocked shots (4.1), defensive rebounds (27.3) and three-pointers per game (6.2), third in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.2) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (31.0) ... The Vandals face No. 5-seed San Jose State in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament on Wednesday.
LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS (15-14, 8-6 WAC)
Louisiana Tech fell 62-65 at Fresno State last Thursday and 72-76 at Nevada on Saturday ... Against the Bulldogs, Jasmine Bendolph had 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Whitney Jones finished with 19 points and Shantale Bramble-Donaldson grabbed 11 boards ... Against Nevada, Bramble-Donaldson posted a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Whitney Frazier led the team in scoring with 17 points ... The Lady Techsters rank 37th nationally in assists (15.1) ... Bendolph leads the WAC and ranks 15th nationally in assists (5.9) and ranks second in the WAC and 37th in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (1.82) ... Bramble-Donaldson leads the WAC in field goal percentage (51.4) and ranks seventh in rebounding (8.1) ... LA Tech leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.9), and ranks third in assists (15.10), scoring defense (65.8), scoring margin (0.9), field goal percentage (41.4), three-point field goal percentage (32.8), turnover margin (1.0) and assist-turnover ratio (0.9) ... The No. 3-seed Lady Techsters face sixth-seeded Hawai‘i in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament on Wednesday.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (7-22, 3-11 WAC)
Nevada snapped a nine-game losing skid with a 68-56 win over New Mexico State last Thursday, then beat Louisiana Tech 76-72 on Saturday ... Against the Aggies, Kate Kevorken had her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Kayla Williams added 15 points and Danika Sharp had 13 ... Against the Lady Techsters, Williams had a game-high 20 points, while Kevorken was just shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds ... Nevada leads the WAC in blocked shots (4.3) and offensive rebounds (13.8), ranks third in scoring (67.6) and rebounding (39.2), and fourth in free throw percentage (67.3), field goal percentage (41.2), rebounding defense (39.4), assists (14.1), steals (8.1) and assist-turnover ratio (0.7) ... Kevorken ranks second in the WAC in three-pointers per game (2.1), third in scoring (15.9), and eighth in free throw percentage (70.0) and three-point field goal percentage (36.3)... Williams leads the WAC in blocks (1.8), ranks third in field goal percentage (49.4), ninth in rebounding (7.0) and 10th in scoring (13.0) ... The No. 7-seed Wolf Pack face second-seeded Utah State in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament on Wednesday.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (6-23, 3-11 WAC)
New Mexico State fell 56-68 at Nevada last Thursday and lost 43-79 at Fresno State on Saturday ... Against the Wolf Pack, Kelsie Rozendaal had a game-high 20 points and Tabytha Wampler grabbed 11 boards ... Against the Bulldogs, Erica Sanchez posted her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds ... As a team, New Mexico State leads the WAC in rebounding defense (35.1), ranks second in scoring defense (63.2) and rebounding margin (1.9), third in free throw percentage (68.8), and fourth in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.3) and offensive rebounds (12.5) ... Wampler ranks second in the WAC in rebounding (9.0) and defensive rebounds (6.6), sixth in free throw percentage (74.0) and offensive rebounds (2.4), and eighth in scoring (13.2) ... In the New Mexico State career record books, Wampler ranks tied for first all-time in games started (120), second in games played (124), sixth in rebounds (881) and 13th in scoring (1,240) ... Wampler ranks seventh in WAC history with 888 career rebounds ... The No. 8-seed Aggies face top-seeded Fresno State in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament on Wednesday.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (11-18, 6-8 WAC)
San Jose State fell 65-70 at Idaho last Thursday and lost 71-84 at Utah State on Saturday ... Against the Vandals, Brittany Johnson had a game-high 26 points, while Myesha Broaden posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 boards ... Against the Aggies, Sara Plavljanin had 20 points, while Johnson added 15, Myesha Broaden had 14 and Ta’Rea Cunnigan had 11 ... Johnson was a first team all-WAC pick, while Ta’Rea was named to the all-freshman team and Tim La Kose was WAC Coach of the Year ... Johnson leads the WAC and ranks 19th nationally in scoring (19.7), while Sara Plavljanin ranks 29th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (38.2) ... Johnson also ranks fourth in the WAC in minutes played (34.2), sixth in rebounding (8.2), ninth in steals (1.6) and 10th in blocks (0.8) ... Plavljanin leads the WAC in minutes played (36.4), ranks fourth in three-pointers per game (2.1), fifth in steals (2.1), sixth in assists (3.6), seventh in scoring (13.7) and eighth in assist-turnover ratio (0.9) ... SJSU leads the WAC in field goal percentage defense (37.3) and rebounding (40.5) ... The fifth-seeded Spartans face No. 4-seed Idaho in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament on Wednesday.
UTAH STATE AGGIES (20-8, 11-3 WAC)
Utah State defeated Hawai‘i 85-64 last Thursday and beat San Jose State 84-71 on Saturday ... Against the Rainbow Wahine, Ashlee Brown posted a double-double of 21 points and 10 assists, while Devyn Christensen scored a game-high 23 points ... Against the Spartans, Christensen had 20 points, while Brown had 18 points and 10 rebounds ... Jenna Johnson also doubled up, finishing with 12 points and 10 boards ... The Aggies lead the nation in three-point field goal percentage (39.2), rank fifth in free throw percentage (78.9), 16th in field goal percentage (44.1), 22nd in scoring (72.9), 23rd in assists (15.7), 29th in assist-turnover ratio (0.97) and 36th in steals (10.9) ... Christensen leads the WAC and ranks fourth nationally in free throw percentage (90.2), while Brooke Jackson is 14th (88.4) ... Christensen also ranks 11th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (40.0), while Brown is 29th in assist-turnover ratio (1.87) ... Brown ranks third in the WAC in rebounding (8.8), fourth in blocks (1.3) and steals (2.1), fifth in scoring (14.8) and free throw percentage (76.6), and seventh in assists (3.1) ... The No. 2-seed Aggies face seventh-seeded Nevada in the WAC Tournament on Wednesday.