KANSAS CITY’S NEZIANYA NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kansas City senior Kim Nezianya has been named Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 10-16. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Carrollton, Texas, native led the Kangaroos to a 2-0 record last week with two home victories over New Mexico State and Texas-Pan American. Nezianya had 38 points, 21 rebounds and 16 made field goals against New Mexico State, all career highs and WAC season highs. The 38 points is the fifth-most ever in a UMKC game and she became the first player in school history with a 30-point, 20-rebound performance. Nezianya followed up that historic performance with her 13th double-double of the season, scoring 26 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in the victory over UTPA. On the week, she averaged 32.0 points, 17.5 rebounds and shot 56.5 percent from the field. Nezianya became the all-time leading rebounder in school history during the week and now has 887 career boards. Her 248 rebounds this season is currently 10th-best in school history and she also moved into seventh place on the UMKC career scoring list with 1,256 points.
Other nominees included: Bakersfield’s Tyonna Outland averaged 24.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals as the Roadrunners went 1-1 last week ... Stacey Barr of Idaho averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the Vandals went 1-1 on the week ... New Mexico State’s Sasha Weber averaged 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and shot 55.5 percent from three-point range as NM State went 1-1 ... Sylvia Shephard of Seattle U averaged 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 4.0 steals as the Redhawks went 2-0 on the week ... Texas-Pan American’s Brittany Bush averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks last week ... Whitney Jenkins of Utah Valley averaged 11.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals last week.
WAC STAT LEADERS
Idaho leads the WAC in scoring margin (10.8), field goal percentage defense (35.1), rebounding (43.7), blocks (4.38), assist-turnover ratio (1.22) and defensive rebounds (30.96). Seattle U is tops in field goal percentage (45.0), rebounding defense (36.6), rebounding margin (4.96) and assists (16.44), while Kansas City leads the league in scoring (75.2), free throw percentage (77.2) and three-point field goal percentage defense (27.2). Grand Canyon leads the WAC in scoring defense (61.1) and steals (9.09), while Bakersfield leads the conference in offensive rebounds (15.65). New Mexico State is tops in three-pointers per game (8.68), while Texas-Pan American leads the WAC in turnover margin (5.08) and Utah Valley is tops in three-point field goal percentage (34.4).
Individually, Kansas City’s Eilise O’Connor leads the WAC in scoring (21.3) and minutes per game (37.88), while Bakersfield’s Batabe Zempare is tops in rebounding (11.4), offensive rebounds (4.26) and defensive rebounds (7.17). Utah Valley’s Katie Kuklok leads the league in free throw percentage (94.2) and three-pointers per game (2.89), while Idaho’s Ali Forde is tops in field goal percentage (60.6) and blocks (1.95). Grand Canyon’s Kaitlyn Petersen leads the WAC in assists (5.04), while teammate Deanna Daniels is tops in steals (2.35). Dajy Vines of Bakersfield leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (44.4), while Connie Ballestero of Idaho is tops in assist/turnover ratio (2.43).
In WAC games only, Idaho leads the conference in scoring (78.7), scoring defense (59.8), scoring margin (18.9), field goal percentage defense (32.3), three-point field goal percentage defense (26.7), rebounding (44.8), blocks (5.9), assists (16.3), assist-turnover ratio (1.34) and defensive rebounds (33.3). Seattle U leads the WAC in field goal percentage (47.3), rebounding defense (33.2) and rebounding margin (10.0), while Grand Canyon is tops in free throw percentage (80.5) and three-point field goal percentage (36.6). Texas-Pan American leads the league in steals (7.7) and turnover margin (5.5), while Kansas City is tops in offensive rebounds (14.18) and New Mexico State leads the WAC in three-pointers per game (9.4).
Individually in WAC games, O’Connor leads the conference in scoring (23.0) and minutes played (38.0), while teammate Kim Nezianya is tops in rebounding (13.5), offensive rebounds (4.45) and defensive rebounds (9.09). Seattle U’s Kacie Sowell leads the WAC in field goal percentage (66.1), while teammate Makenna Clark is tops in three-point field goal percentage (54.2). Petersen is tops in assists (5.9), while Daniels leads the league in steals (2.2). Idaho’s Addie Schivo leads the WAC in free throw percentage (89.3), Forde is tops in blocked shots (2.6) and Ballestero leads the WAC in assist/turnover ratio (2.78). Sasha Weber of New Mexico State is tops in three-pointers per game (3.2).
KANSAS CITY’S NEZIANYA BECOMES PROGRAM LEADER IN CAREER REBOUNDS
Kansas City’s Kim Nezianya became the program’s all-time leading rebounder at the 1:29 mark of the first half against New Mexico State on Feb. 13 when she pulled down her 865th career rebound, breaking the record of 864 held by Laurie Smith (1981-85). Nezianya now has 887 career rebounds and at her current pace would end her career with 952 career boards. In addition, her 248 rebounds this season ranks 10th all-time in the UMKC single-season record books.
UMKC’S O’CONNOR SETS PROGRAM, WAC RECORDS FOR FREE THROWS IN A SEASON
Kansas City’s Eilise O’Connor broke her own school record for free throws in a season (180) against New Mexico State on Feb. 13. Then, with a pair of free throws made with 36 seconds left in the game against Texas-Pan American on Feb. 15, O’Connor tied and then broke the WAC record for free throws in a season when she passed Wyoming’s Amy Burnett, who had 194 during the 1993-94 season. O’Connor, who made 15 of 17 free throws on the game, has now made 199 free throws this season.
THREE PLAYERS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Three WAC women’s basketball players – Alyssa Charlston of Idaho, Judy Jones of Grand Canyon and Eilise O’Connor of Kansas City – earned Capital One Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). All three now advance to the national ballot for Academic All-America® consideration.
Charlston, a senior post player from Sammamish, Wash., has a 3.97 cumulative grade-point average in broadcast and digital media. A candidate for the Senior CLASS Award, Charlston earned third team Academic All-America® honors during the 2011-12 season, and has twice earned first team All-WAC and WAC All-Tournament Team honors. The three-time Academic All-WAC honoree has been named WAC Player of the Week three times in her career and has been on the Dean’s List on five occasions.
Jones, a 5-9 guard/forward from Monroe, La., boasts a 3.96 GPA as an exercise science major. In her second season with the program after transferring from UTSA, she was averaging 13.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game before suffering a season-ending injury just before the start of WAC play. Last year, she was a Daktronics third team All-American and first team All-West Region selection after ranking fifth in the nation (in Division II) with 20 double-doubles. She was the 2012-13 PacWest Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
A senior guard from San Francisco, Calif., O’Connor has a 3.99 GPA as a health sciences (pre-dentistry) major and chemistry minor. She broke both the Kansas City and WAC records for free throws in a game with 22 at New Mexico State on Jan. 18. A finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and the WBCA Allstate Good Works Team, last season O’Connor was named to the Division I-AAA Scholar Athlete Team and Summit League Academic All-League, while three-times being selected as a member of the Summit League Academic Honor Roll and twice as a member of the Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR WAC TOURNAMENT
All-session tickets for the 2014 WAC Tournament, which consists of 14 games in eight sessions, are on sale now through WAC institutions and through the Orleans Arena Box Office. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets from their institution’s ticket office to avoid service fees associated with the Orleans Arena site. Single-session tickets, which allow access to the two games in each session, will not be available for purchase until March 12 and can only be purchased through the Orleans Arena Box Office.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS (14-9, 8-3 WAC)
The Roadrunners handed Idaho its first WAC loss of the season last Thursday, defeating the Vandals 79-60, then fell 74-67 at Seattle U on Saturday ... Against the Vandals, Tyonna Outland had 24 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season ... Melissa Sweat added 18 points, while Dajy Vines finished with 15 and Batabe Zempare grabbed 10 boards ... Against the Redhawks, Outland had a game-high 25 points, while Brooklynn Hinkens added 13 points ... Zempare posted a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds ... Zempare ranks 13th nationally in rebounds per game (11.4), while Outland is 32nd in points per game (20.3) ... As a team, Bakersfield leads the WAC in offensive rebounds (15.65), and ranks second in scoring (74.0), rebounding (41.9) and assist-turnover ratio (0.92) ... Outland has 1,291 career points, good for fifth all-time at Bakersfield and 505 points shy of the record ... The Roadrunners host Kansas City on Thursday and Chicago State on Saturday.
CHICAGO STATE COUGARS (3-21, 0-11 WAC)
The Cougars fell 75-52 to Texas-Pan American last Thursday and 74-64 to New Mexico State on Saturday ... Against the Broncs, Tierra Williams and Jessica Cerda scored 11 points apiece, while Tashuna Brown added 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds ... Against the Aggies, Layne Murphy had 19 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season ... Konner Harris added 15 points, Jasmine Sanders had 12 and Brown tallied 10 ... Chicago State ranks 30th nationally in personal fouls per game (16.2) ... The Cougars rank second in the WAC in steals (8.79), third in blocked shots (2.83) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.0) ... Jasmine Sanders ranks third in the WAC in steals (1.95), while Chanel Wilson-Stewart is fifth in blocks (1.38) and Murphy is ninth in rebounding (7.1) ... Sanders has set career highs in points, rebounds, assists and steals this season ... The Cougars play at Utah Valley on Thursday and at Bakersfield on Saturday.
GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES (16-7, 5-5 WAC)
The Antelopes were idle last week, but defeated Utah Valley 66-63 on Feb. 6 before falling 77-70 at Bakersfield on Feb. 8 ... Against the Wolverines, Johnna Brown had 18 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year ... Justine Johnson and Kaitlyn Petersen added 14 points apiece, with Petersen also dishing out eight assists ... Against the Roadrunners, Petersen had 20 points and seven assists, Deanna Daniels added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Brown tallied 12 points and nine rebounds ... August Touchard scored a career-best 12 points ... GCU leads the WAC in scoring defense (61.1) and steals (9.09), ranks second in scoring margin (9.4), rebounding defense (37.7) and turnover margin (3.65), and third in field goal percentage defense (40.0), three-point field goal percentage (33.2), three-point field goal percentage defense (29.6), assists (13.57) and assist-turnover ratio (0.92) ... The Antelopes host Seattle U on Thursday and Idaho on Saturday.
IDAHO VANDALS (18-8, 11-1 WAC)
The Vandals suffered their first WAC loss of the season at home to Bakersfield 79-60 last Thursday, then defeated Utah Valley 69-61 on Saturday ... Against the Roadrunners, Stacey Barr had 24 points and 12 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the year, while Alyssa Charlston added 15 points ... Against the Wolverines, Barr and Christina Salvatore led Idaho with 17 points apiece, while Connie Ballestero and Brooke Reilly scored 10 each ... Barr has recorded double-figure scoring in 30 of her last 32 games ... The Vandals rank 14th nationally in field goal percentage defense (35.1), personal fouls (15.4) and turnovers (12.5), 17th in three-pointers per game (8.4), 22nd in assist-turnover ratio (1.22), 25th in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.7) and 49th in blocks (4.4) ... Ballestero ranks 24th in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (2.43), Barr is 41st in double-doubles (11) and Forde is 48th in blocks (1.95) ... Idaho plays at Grand Canyon on Saturday.
KANSAS CITY KANGAROOS (10-14, 6-5 WAC)
The Kangaroos defeated New Mexico State 92-84 last Thursday and beat Texas-Pan American 87-84 on Saturday ... Against the Aggies, Kim Nezianya led all players with career highs of 38 points and 21 rebounds ... Against the Broncs, Eilise O’Connor finished with 31 points, while Nezianya posted her 13th double-double of the season with 26 points and 14 rebounds ... O’Connor broke the WAC record for free throws in a season with 199, passing Wyoming’s Amy Burnett who hit 194 during the 1993-94 season ... Nezianya became the all-time program leader in rebounds vs. NM State and now has 887 on her career ... UMKC ranks 10th nationally in free throw percentage (77.2), 16th in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.2) and 48th in scoring (75.2) ... O’Connor ranks 23rd in the nation in points (510) and points per game (21.3), and 28th in free throw percentage (86.9), while Nezianya is 20th in double-doubles (13) and 22nd in rebounds per game (10.8) ... The ‘Roos play at Bakersfield on Thursday and at Utah Valley on Saturday.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (9-16, 6-6 WAC)
The Aggies fell 92-84 at Kansas City last Thursday, then beat Chicago State 74-64 on Saturday ... Against the Kangaroos, Sasha Weber had 22 points, while Danesia Williamson added 17, Abby Scott tallied 14 and Brianna Freeman finished with 10 ... Against the Cougars, Weber had 19 points and six assists, while Scott added 19 and Williamson finished with 11 ... Tyler Ellis grabbed a team-high eight rebounds ... New Mexico State leads the WAC and ranks 14th nationally in three-pointers per game (8.7) ... The Aggies also rank second in the WAC in blocked shots (3.16) ... Weber ranks fourth in the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (36.8) and three-pointers per game (2.4), ninth in scoring (13.4), and 10th in both steals (1.36) and minutes per game (31.8) ... Scott is sixth in the WAC in three-pointers per game (1.96), while Ellis is eighth in offensive rebounds (2.65) ... The Aggies host Texas-Pan American on Thursday in their only game this week.
SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (13-12, 8-4 WAC)
The Redhawks defeated Utah Valley 69-65 last Thursday and beat Bakersfield 74-67 on Saturday ... Against the Wolverines, Sylvia Shephard led all players with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals ... Makenna Clark added 14 points, while Ashley Ward finished with 12 ... Wilma Afungo tallied 10 points, while Kacie Sowell grabbed a team-high nine rebounds ... Against the Roadrunners, Sowell had 14 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season ... Ward added 13 points and a game-high seven assists, while Afungo had 12 points ... Shephard also doubled up with 11 points and 11 rebounds ... Seattle U leads the WAC and ranks 23rd nationally in field goal percentage (45.0) and leads the WAC and ranks 28th in the nation in assists per game (16.4) ... Sowell ranks 13th nationally in field goal percentage (57.9) ... Seattle U also leads the WAC in rebounding defense (36.6) and rebounding margin (4.6) ... The Redhawks play at Grand Canyon on Thursday.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN BRONCS (12-13, 6-6 WAC)
The Broncs beat Chicago State 75-52 last Thursday before falling 87-84 at Kansas City on Saturday ... Against the Cougars, Brittany Bush had 16 points and eight rebounds, Shawnte’ Goff finished with 13 points, Tonisha Walker added 12 points and KaeLynn Boyd tallied 11 ... Walker also nabbed a game-high five steals, while Boyd dished out six assists ... Against the ‘Roos, Goff had 20 points, while Boyd added 16 ... Bush finished with 13 points and nine rebounds ... UTPA leads the WAC and ranks 21st nationally in turnover margin (5.08), and ranks third in the WAC and 32nd nationally in three-pointers per game (7.64) ... The Broncs also rank second in the WAC in offensive rebounds (14.52), third in scoring defense (64.8) and steals (8.24), and fourth in field goal percentage defense (40.9) and blocks (2.72) ... Goff is third in the WAC in three-point percentage (37.8), while Bush is fourth in blocks (1.42) and fifth in rebounding (8.0) ... The Broncs play at New Mexico State on Thursday.
UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (4-20, 1-10 WAC)
The Wolverines fell 69-65 at Seattle U last Thursday and lost 69-61 at Idaho on Saturday ... Against the Redhawks, Georgia Agnew had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists ... Whitney Jenkins added 15 points, while Rhaiah Spooner-Knight had 14 ... Against the Vandals, Spooner-Knight had 17 points, while Katie Kuklok added 13 and Sam Loggins had 11 ... As a team, the Wolverines rank 43rd nationally in free throw percentage (73.7) and 50th in personal fouls per game (16.9) ... Katie Kuklok ranks fourth in the nation in free throw percentage (94.2), and 24th in both three-pointers per game (2.89) and three-point field goal percentage (43.0) ... Utah Valley leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (34.4), ranks second in free throw percentage (73.7), third in field goal percentage (42.2) and rebounding defense (38.5), and fourth in scoring defense (70.0) and defensive rebounds (26.71) ... The Wolverines host Chicago State on Thursday and Kansas City on Saturday.