BAKERSFIELD’S VINES NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bakersfield’s Dajy Vines has been named Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for Nov. 24 through Nov. 30.
Vines, a senior from Oxnard, Calif. (Santa Clara HS), scored a career-high 27 points to lead Bakersfield past Fresno Pacific on Wednesday before putting up 18 points in a 20-point win over Fresno State on Sunday. Vines scored 17 of her 27 points against Fresno Pacific in the first half and finished the game with five three-pointers to go with eight rebounds, four steals and two assists. Against Fresno State, she was seven-of-10 from the field in only 17 minutes of action, connecting for three baskets from three-point land.
Other nominees included: Texas-Pan American forward Shawnte’ Goff averaged 23.0 ppg as the Broncs split a pair of games on the week, falling at No. 6 Texas before holding off Houston Baptist at home…New Mexico State guard Sasha Weber collected her first double-double of the season in a double-overtime loss to Weber State, scoring 16 points and bringing down 16 rebounds in the defeat…Missouri-Kansas City forward Kiana Law scored a career-high 19 points in a loss to Abilene Christian as the Kangaroos went 1-2 on the week…Grand Canyon guard Madison Craig had back-to-back career-high scoring games, scoring 12 points against Northern Kentucky and 13 points against Navy…Utah Valley guard Mariah Seals scored a career-high 19 points in a loss at UC Davis.
BY THE NUMBERS
Atop the standings, Bakersfield also leads the WAC in a number of statistical categories. The Roadrunners lead the conference in scoring offense (77.6), scoring margin (+11.4), free throw percentage (.737), three-point field goal percentage (.412), assists (16.20), steals (13.40), turnover margin (+10.6), assists/turnover ratio (1.17) and three-point field goals made (8.00).
Grand Canyon also leads the WAC in multiple categories, including scoring defense (60.4), rebounding offense (42.0), rebounding defense (36.2), rebounding margin (+5.8) and offensive rebounds (17.80). Utah Valley is tops in field goal percentage (.445) and field goal percentage defense (.371) while New Mexico State is averaging a WAC-best 4.40 blocks per game. Texas-Pan American is best at defending outside the arc, allowing a WAC-low .276shooting percentage.
Individually, Bakersfield’s Tyonna Outland leads the WAC scoring list with 18.4 ppg. Grand Canyon’s Cheyenne Hedrington is averaging a conference-best 10.2 rebounds per game while teammate Courtney Hayes has the top field goal percentage, sitting at .600.
Hayes also leads the WAC in steals (3.20) while Bakersfield point guard Alyssa Shannon has the league lead in assists (6.20). Seattle U’s Makenna Clark leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.882) and Bakersfield’s Dajy Vines is the top three-point shooter (.500). New Mexico State’s Brianna Freeman is averaging 2.0 blocks per game to lead the WAC.
THE 100 THREE-POINTER CLUB
The opening weekend saw a pair of players record their 100th career three-pointer and Bakersfield senior guard Brooklyn Hinkens hit the milestone against Air Force and New Mexico State sophomore Abby Scott made her 100th career long-ball at UTEP.
PLAYING THE BEST
Texas-Pan American will take on their fourth Top 25 opponent of the season on Wednesday when the Broncs travel to 11th-ranked Baylor. Their best showing came on Nov. 16 as UTPA nearly knocked-off fifth-ranked Texas A&M on a neutral court at the Maggie Dixon Classic, falling to the Aggies, 63-61.
EXTRA TIME
The WAC saw its first overtime game on Nov. 28 as New Mexico State took Weber State to double-overtime before falling 100-97. NMSU junior Sasha Weber took advantage of the extra 10 minutes, collecting a career-best 16 rebounds en route to her fourth career double-double.
JUMPING JOEYS
Freshman continue to lead the way in Kansas City as four Kangaroo freshman have reached double figures in scoring this season for Missouri-Kansas City. Last week, freshman forward Kiana Law reached double-digits twice, averaging 16 ppg to earn her spot on the Plaza Lights All-Tournament team.
WELCOME TO SEATTLE
Starting with their loss to Idaho last Saturday, the Seattle U Redhawks are in the midst of a stretch of 11 of 12 games at home. SU’s lone road game before mid-January will be a Dec. 29 non-conference contest at Oregon, 285 miles from the Connolly Center.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Only one of the first team All-WAC players from last season return for the 2014-15 season in Bakersfield’s Tyonna Outland. Other WAC honorees returning are Texas-Pan American’s Shawnte’ Goff, the reigning Freshman of the Year, who was also on the All-Newcomer Team. Teammate Brittany Bush returns after earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team, while Utah Valley’s Rhaiah Spooner-Knight returns after being named to the All-Newcomer Team.
PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL
Bakersfield is the preseason favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference women’s basketball title, while Roadrunners’ senior Tyonna Outland was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the year in a vote of the league’s eight head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players.
The Roadruners received 48 points and six first-place votes to earn the top spot in the preseason poll. Texas-Pan American was predicted second with 35 points, including one first-place vote.
Outland, the lone First Team All-WAC returner, leads the list of Preseason All-WAC Honorees. Joining her on the first team are teammate Batabe Zempare, New Mexico State’s Sasha Weber, Texas-Pan American’s Shawnte’ Goff, and Utah Valley’s Rhaiah Spooner-Knight.
PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
The Western Athletic Conference women’s basketball media have selected Bakersfield as the preseason favorite to win the conference crown during the 2014-15 season, and Roadrunner senior guard Tyonna Outland has been selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
The Roadrunners earned 10 first-place votes, earning 94 points. Seattle U was picked second with 67 points and one first-place vote. Texas-Pan American and New Mexico State tied for third with 60 points, with the Broncs also earning a first-place vote.
Outland, the lone First Team All-WAC returner, leads the list of Preseason All-WAC Honorees. Joining her on the first team are teammate Batabe Zempare, New Mexico State’s Sasha Weber, Texas-Pan American’s Shawnte’ Goff, and Utah Valley’s Rhaiah Spooner-Knight.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
This season, WAC teams have 26 games scheduled 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. 15 - Texas-Pan American at DePaul (Maggie Dixon Classic)
Nov. 16 - Texas-Pan American vs. Texas A&M (Maggie Dixon Classic)
Nov. 19 - Bakersfield at Arizona State
Nov. 26 - Texas-Pan American at Texas
Nov. 29 - Idaho at Seattle U
Nov. 30 - Fresno State at Bakersfield
Dec. 3 - Texas-Pan American at Baylor
Dec. 7 - DePaul at Chicago State
Dec. 13 - Bakersfield at Nebraska
Dec. 18 - Louisville at Grand Canyon
Games vs. WNIT Teams
Nov. 14 - Northwestern at Chicago State
Nov. 14 - New Mexico State at UTEP
Nov. 21 - Seattle U at Washington State
Nov. 29 - Grand Canyon at Navy (Navy Classic)
Dec. 2 - Southern Utah at Utah Valley
Dec. 4 - Washington at Seattle U
Dec. 16 - Cal Poly at New Mexico State
Dec. 17 - Montana at Seattle U
Dec. 19 - Utah Valley at Montana (Lady Griz Classic)
Dec. 19 - New Mexico State vs. Pacific (Beach Classic)
Dec. 21 - Texas-Pan American at VCU
Dec. 23 - Hawai’i at Bakersfield
Dec. 29 - New Mexico State at Southern Utah
Dec. 29 - Seattle U at Oregon
Jan. 3 - Bakersfield at Cal Poly
Jan. 6 - Utah Valley at Southern Utah
ORLEANS ARENA IN LAS VEGAS TO HOST 2015 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2015 WAC Basketball Tournament returns to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the fifth year in a row. This year’s tournament includes all even eligible teams and will be held Wednesday-Saturday, March 11-14.
ESPNU TO TELEVISE WAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
ESPN will once again broadcast the WAC men’s and women’s tournament championship games from the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on March 14. The women’s game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 1 p.m. (PT). The men’s championship game will also be broadcast by ESPNU at 8 p.m. (PT).