SEATTLE U’S SOWELL NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Seattle U junior forward Kacie Sowell has been named Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 31-Jan 6. This is her second WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Ventura, Calif. native posted a pair of double-doubles and averaged 21.5 points on 71.4 percent shooting, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game as the Redhawks went 2-0 on the week to remain the only unbeaten team in WAC play. Sowell opened the week with a career-high 24 points to go along with 12 rebounds in an overtime win against Utah State. She followed it up with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in a win over San Jose State. Sowell is currently tied for the WAC lead in double-doubles with seven this season.
Other nominees included: Maiya Michel of Denver averaged 10.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game as the Pioneers went 3-0 on the week ... Idaho’s Stacey Barr averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.5 three-pointers per game as the Vandals went 1-1 on the week ... Kelia Shelton of Louisiana Tech averaged 16.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals as the Lady Techsters went 1-1 on the week ... New Mexico State’s Stefanie Gilbreath averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as the Aggies went 3-0 on the week ... Jenna Johnson of Utah State averaged 17.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 2.0 assists as the Aggies went 2-1 on the week.
IDAHO SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR THREE-POINTERS IN A GAME
Idaho broke a program record with 15 three-pointers against Utah State on Jan. 5. Stacey Barr and Christina Salvatore accounted for 12 of the 15, as they made six three-pointers each, tying for the second-highest total by an individual in a game in program history. It was the second time making six treys in a game for each player.
CHARLSTON GRABS 500TH CAREER REBOUND
Idaho junior Alyssa Charlston grabbed her 500th career rebound at the 5:32 mark in the first half on Jan. 7 against Utah State. The 6-1 post player is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game this year, good for fifth place in the WAC, and 6.6 boards per game on her career. She is also just 149 points shy of 1,000 on her career.
FOUR OVERTIME GAMES IN WAC PLAY ALREADY
With two overtime games last Thursday, there have already been four overtime games in WAC play just two weeks in. There were just two overtime games during WAC play in all of 2011-12, while the high for this century was six overtime games during the 2003-04 WAC season.
IDAHO’S BARR SCORES 18 POINTS IN JUST OVER FOUR MINUTES
Idaho’s Stacey Barr matched her career high with 23 points against Utah State on Jan. 5, and 18 of her points came during a 21-0 Idaho run early in the second half. Barr got the run started with an old-fashioned three-point play, then buried five consecutive long balls to score 18 points in a span of four minutes and five seconds.
SEATTLE U LEADS NATION IN STEALS PER GAME
In the most recent NCAA statistics through games of Jan. 6, Seattle U leads the nation in steals per game with an average of 15.3. The Redhawks have posted 15 or more steals in six of their last seven games and have nabbed 20 or more steals twice this season.
THREE WAC PLAYERS RANK IN TOP 25 NATIONALLY IN SCORING
Three WAC players – Utah State’s Devyn Christensen, Diamond Ford of Texas State and San Jose State’s Ta’Rea Cunnigan – rank in the top 25 nationally in scoring. Christensen averages 21.1 points, good for 10th place, while Ford is 12th with a 21.0 average. Cunnigan is 24th (19.9).
WAC STAT LEADERS
Texas State leads the WAC in scoring (74.9), rebounding (43.2), three-point field goal percentage defense (28.2), turnover margin (2.07) and assist-turnover ratio (0.98). Seattle U is tops in field goal percentage (41.3), rebounding defense (36.1), rebounding margin (3.2), assists (16.1) and steals (15.3). UTSA leads the WAC in scoring defense (55.0), scoring margin (5.3) and field goal percentage defense (34.1). Utah State tops the WAC in free throw percentage (81.0), while Idaho leads the league in three-pointers per game (8.6), Denver is tops in three-point field goal percentage (34.8) and San Jose State leads the league in blocks (4.33).
Individually, Utah State’s Devyn Christensen leads the WAC in scoring (21.1), free throw percentage (95.3) and three-point field goals per game (3.5). Texas State’s Diamond Ford leads the league in minutes per game (36.6), while teammate Ashley Ezeh is tops in rebounding (10.1). Denver’s Emiko Smith leads the league in assists (5.5), three-point field goal percentage (45.7) and assist-turnover ratio (2.34). Seattle U’s Kacie Sowell is tops in field goal percentage (59.4), while teammate Sylvia Shephard leads the league in steals (4.1). San Jose State’s Riana Byrd leads the league in blocks (2.5).
In WAC games only, Idaho is tops in three-point field goal percentage (46.1), rebounding (48.3), rebounding defense (34.3), rebounding margin (14.0) and three-pointers per game (11.7). Seattle U leads the WAC in field goal percentage (44.4), three-point field goal percentage defense (27.3), assists (19.7), steals (15.3) and turnover margin (4.0). Utah State tops the WAC in scoring (80.0) and free throw percentage (86.2), while New Mexico leads the league in scoring defense (59.8) and field goal percentage defense (34.7). Denver leads the WAC in scoring margin (9.5), while San Jose State is tops in blocks (5.3) and Texas State leads the WAC in assist-turnover ratio (1.15).
Individually, Ford leads the WAC in scoring (22.5) in WAC games, while Denver’s Maiya Michel is tops in rebounding (11.8). Seattle U’s Sowell leads the league in field goal percentage (66.7), while Utah State’s Jennifer Schlott is tops in assists (5.8). Seattle U’s Shephard leads the WAC in steals (3.7), while SJSU’s Byrd is tops in blocks (3.0). Idaho’s Christina Salvatore leads the WAC in three-pointers per game (4.0), while teammate Connie Ballestero is tops in assist-turnover ratio (3.3). Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech’s Whitney Frazier is tops in minutes per game (41.7).
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 played 40 non-conference games against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament or the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) last season, going a combined 11-29. The lone remaining non-conference game against an NCAA team is Jan. 30, when Louisiana Tech plays at UALR.