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THREE WAC TEAMS HEADED TO THE POSTSEASON
Nearly half of the women's basketball teams in the WAC received postseason invitations this week. NM State earned the conference's automatic selection to the NCAA Tournament and will head to Tempe, Ariz. as a No. 15 seed to take on second-seed Arizona State on Friday. UT Rio Grande Valley earned an automatic selection to the Women's National Invitation Tournament and will travel to Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday for a rematch with TCU. Grand Canyon accepted an invitation to the Women's Basketball Invitational and make the trip to Grand Forks, N.D. to take on North Dakota on Thursday.
NM STATE TO FACE ARIZONA STATE IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
NM State learned its NCAA tournament fate on Monday evening and the Aggies are headed to Tempe, Ariz. to take on second-seed Arizona State this Friday, March 18. The WAC tournament champion Aggies (26-4) enter the tournament as a No. 15 seed and are led by 12.3 points per game from tournament MVP and first team All-WAC honoree Sasha Weber. Moriah Mack, who also earned first team All-WAC and All-Defensive team recognition, is averaging 11.7 ppg. Led by two-time WAC Coach of the Year Mark Trakh, the Aggies ranked 26th mationally in turnover margin (4.57), 28th in turnovers forced (19.4), 29th in three point field goals per game (7.6) and 34th in steals per game (9.9).
UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY TO FACE TCU IN WNIT
For the second straight season, the UT Rio Grande Valley women's basketball teams will be participating in the postseason. This year, the Vaqueros will remain in state, traveling to TCU at 7 p.m.on Thursday.
UTRGV is led by WAC Player of the Year Shawnte' Goff, who averaged 15.6 ppg. The Vaqueros visited the Horned Frogs back in December, with TCU earning a 71-67 win. Goff scored 22 points and Anusha Maldonado came off the bench to score 12 points and secure 12 rebounds.
GRAND CANYON TRAVELS TO NORTH DAKOTA FOR WBI
Grand Canyon will make its second WBI appearance, traveling to North Dakota on Thursday in the opening round of the 16-team tournament. The Lopes finished the regular season with a record of 16-14 and is led by 12.5 points per game from Jessica Gajewski. Cheyenne Hedrington adds 11.4 ppg while Dana Jones is putting up 11.1 ppg. Grand Canyon will be making a return to postseason basketball for the second time as a member of Division I. The Lopes fell to Boise State in a WBI game at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season.
NM STATE WINS WAC TOURNAMENT
Top-seeded NM State won its second consecutive WAC Tournament title Saturday, defeating No. 2 UT Rio Grande Valley 80-53 in the championship game. The Vaqueros led 5-2 in the opening minutes, but NM State used a 14-0 run to take the lead for good. UTRGV pulled within 12 on the opening possession of the fourth quarter, but the Aggies scored the next seven points to push the game out of reach.
Brooke Salas led the Aggies with 20 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Tournament MVP Sasha Weber finished with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Shanice Davis added 11 points, seven assists and three steals. Anushka Maldonado led the Vaqueros with 14 points and five rebounds, while Hildur Björg Kjartansdóttir was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
All-Tournament Team
Shawnte' Goff, UT Rio Grande Valley
Hildur Björg Kjartansdóttir, UT Rio Grande Valley
Brooke Salas, NM State
Batabe Zempare, CSU Bakersfield
MVP: Sasha Weber, NM State
BY THE NUMBERS
NM State finished the regular season leading the WAC in scoring offense (69.2), scoring defense (59.3), scoring margin (+9.8), blocked shtos (4.2), steals (9.9), turnover margin (+4.57), assist/turnover ratio (0.9) and three-point field goals per game (7.6). Utah Valley was the top shooting team from the field (.429) while Missouri-Kansas City led the WAC on free throws (.739). UT Rio Grande Valley led the league in field goal defense (.366). CSU Bakersfield was the top three-point shooting team (.331) while Grand Canyon was the best at defending the three (.296). UTRGV also led the WAC in rebounding offense (41.8) while UMKC was the league-leader in both rebounding defense (29.8) and rebounding margin (+7.3). Seattle U led the WAC in assists (13.4).
Individually, UTRGV's Shawnte' Goff led the WAC with 15.6 ppg. CSUB's Batabe Zempare averaged 9.9 rpg to lead the WAC in rebounding for the second straight season. Utah Valley's Sam Loggins was the top shooter (.505) while CSUB's Alyssa Shannon led the league in free throw percentage (.869). Grand Canyon's Courtney Hayes leads in both assists (6.6) and steals (2.9). NM State's Sasha Weber is the top three-point shooter in terms of both percentage (.409) and per game (2.6). UVU's Loggins also led the WAC in blocked shots (1.6).
In conference-only play, NM State led the WAC in scoring offense (68.5), scoring margin (+8.8), assists (13.6), steals (8.9), turnover margin (+5.00), assist/turnover ratio (1.0) and three-point field goals per game (7.6). Utah Valley was the leader in scoring defense (57.5), field goal percentage (.447), free throw percentage (.768) and three-point field goal percentage (.379). UTRGV led the league in field goal defense (.358), three-point field goal defense (.295) and rebounding offense (41.4). UMKC led the WAC in rebounding defense (29.6) and rebounding margin (+7.2) while Chicago State was tops in blocked shots (4.2)
Individually, UTRGV's Goff led the WAC with 16.1 ppg in WAC play. Zempare averaged 9.8 rpg and was the most accurate shooter with a .551 field goal percentage. UMKC's Aries Washington was the top free throw shooter (.872) while GCU's Hayes averaged 7.5 assists per game and 2.8 steals per game. Utah Valley's Rebecca MaWhinney was the most accurate three-point shooet (.492) while CSUB freshman Addi Walters averaged a league-best 3.0 three-pointers per game. UVU's Loggins led the WAC in blocked shots in league play, averaging 2.1 per game.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
NM State senior Sasha Weber has already established herself on a pair of WAC career lists as the guard finished sixth all-time in three-pointers made during conference play with 138 and is also sixth in three-pointers made overall with 265. CSU Bakersfield senior Batabe Zempare also etched her place in the record book with 891 of her 1,125 total rebounds coming as a member of the WAC, good for seventh all-time. Zempare is also tied for third with Tanya Zachary of Hawai'i (1990-92) for rebounding average in conference play at 10.2. Grand Canyon's Courtney Hayes finished conference play tied for fourth all-time in single-season assist average with 7.5 dimes per game.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
One week after Chicago State's Layne Murphy and Seattle U's Taelor Ross joined UTRGV's Shawnte' Goff and NM State's Sasha Weber as active members of the 1,000 point club, CSU Bakersfield senior Batabe Zempare scored her 1,000th career point in a win at Grand Canyon to become the seventh active Division I player with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
FROM DOWNTOWN
CSU Bakersfield's Erika Williams became the eighth active player in the WAC to make 100 career three-pointers. NM State's Sasha Weber leads the list with 259.
MILESTONE WINS
Seattle U head coach Joan Bonvicini became the 23rd collegiate coach to hit the 700-win mark and the 17th Division I coach to reach the milestone when her Redhawks defeated Chicago State on Jan. 9. Grand Canyon head coach Trent May also earned a milestone win, collecting his 300th victory on Jan. 16 at Utah Valley.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
When CSU Bakersfield took on then-No. 14 Stanford on Dec. 22, ‘Runner head coach Greg McCall faced off against his daughter, and Cardinal forward, Erica. The younger McCall finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes played.
NO FREEBIES
CSU Bakersfield held No. 7 Oregon State to just two free throw attempts, tying the WAC record held by Hawai'i and last done in 2008-09 against Utah State.
WELCOME HOME
Seattle U finally made their true home debut on Dec. 19 when the Redhawks hosted Boise State at the newly renovated Connolly Center. The Broncos spoiled the homecoming, earning the 84-66 win.
JUMPING ON THE JAYHAWKS
Missouri-Kansas City picked up its first Division I win of the year in big fashion, knocking off Big 12 Kansas on Thursday at famed Allen Fieldhouse. The Kangaroos held the Jayhawks to just two points in the first quarter and a big game by Kiana Law led UMKC to its fourth all-time win against KU.
CLEANING THE GLASS
CSU Bakersfield senior Batabe Zempare broke her own school record for rebounds in a game with 22 against San Jose State.
COMEBACK KIDS
Utah Valley scored 37 points in the fourth quarter against San Francisco to force overtime and eventually win by six. The come-from-behind win is the biggest comeback in program history.
ISTANBUL (NOT CONSTANTINOPLE)
The Nov. 21 game between UT Rio Grande Valley and Eastern Michigan featured the first-ever matchup of Turkish-born players in an NCAA women's basketball game, including freshman Idil Türk (Istanbul) and EMU senior Sera Ozelci (Ankara). It was the second-ever matchup of players of Turkish decent, as American-born Yasemin Kimyacioglu (Santa Clara) faced her sister, Sebnem (Stanford), in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Turk finished with nine points.
BLOCK PARTY
Seattle U center Taelor Ross recorded her 100th career block in a win over Evergreen. Chicago State's Layne Murphy also passed the 100 block mark this season. The WAC record for blocks in a career is 303 by Christen Roper of Hawai'i.
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
NM State is the favorite to win the 2015-16 Western Athletic Conference women's basketball title and the Aggies' Brianna Freeman was selected 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 Aggies, who won their first WAC title last season, received 49 points and seven first place votes in the preseason poll. CSU Bakersfield was selected second with 39 points. Seattle U earned the third spot with 33 points and the remaining first place vote while UT Rio Grande Valley was selected fourth with 30 points. Grand Canyon was predicted fifth with 27 points, followed by Utah Valley (26), Missouri-Kansas City (13) and Chicago State (7).
Freeman, the 2014-15 WAC Player of the Year and 2015 WAC Tournament MVP, leads the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. Joining her on the first team are teammates Sasha Weber and Shanice Davis, UT Rio Grande Valley's Shawnte' Goff and Seattle U's Taelor Ross.
PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
The Western Athletic Conference women's basketball media have selected NM State as the preseason favorite to repeat as conference champions in 2015-16 and Aggie junior Brianna Freeman as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
The Aggies earned nine of 10 first place votes in the media poll to collect 79 of 80 possible points. CSU Bakersfield earned the other first place vote to take second with 65 points. UT Rio Grande Valley, last season's WAC Tournament runner-up, was picked third with 54 points. Seattle U picked up 48 points to earn the fourth position, followed shortly behind Grand Canyon in fifth with 43 points. Utah Valley took sixth with 40 points followed by Missouri-Kansas City (19) and Chicago State (12).
Freeman, the 2014-15 WAC Player of the Year and 2015 WAC Tournament MVP, leads the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. Joining her on the first team is teammate Sasha Weber, UT Rio Grande Valley's Shawnte' Goff, Utah Valley's Rhaiah Spooner-Knight and CSU Bakersfield's Alyssa Shannon.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Four of five First Team All-WAC players from last season return for the 2015-16 season as CSU Bakersfield's Tyonna Outland is the lone graduate. NM State will bring back the trio of Brianna Freeman, Sasha Weber and Shanice Davis while UTRGV's Shawnte' Goff looks to expand on a solid sophomore season.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
This season, WAC teams will face some tough competition in the non-conference portion of the schedule, with as many as 16 games against NCAA Tournament participants and as many as 16 against Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) participants. The complete list is below.
Games vs. NCAA Teams
Nov. 13 - Utah Valley at Brigham Young
Nov. 15 - Seattle U at Montana
Nov. 18 - Seattle U at Washington
Nov. 19 - Utah Valley at Boise State
Dec. 15 - CSU Bakersfield at Oregon State
Nov. 23 - Grand Canyon at Gonzaga
Nov. 24 - Chicago State at DePaul
Nov. 28 - CSU Bakersfield vs. South Carolina
Nov. 28 - Seattle U vs. Princeton
Nov. 29 - CSU Bakersfield vs. Arizona State
Dec. 5 - UT Rio Grande Valley at Oklahoma State
Dec. 19 - Boise State at Seattle U
Dec. 22 - CSU Bakersfield at Stanford
Dec. 22 - Missouri-Kansas City at Northwestern
Jan. 2 - Seattle U at CSUN
Games vs. WNIT Teams
Nov. 13 - Hawai'i at Grand Canyon
Nov. 13 - Pacific at CSU Bakersfield
Nov. 19 - Sacramento State at NM State
Nov. 21 - UT Rio Grande Valley at Eastern Michigan
Nov. 23 - San Francisco at Utah Valley
Nov. 27 - CSU Bakersfield at Hawai'i
Nov. 28 - UT Rio Grande Valley at TCU
Dec. 2 - CSU Bakersfield at Fresno State
Dec. 3 - Utah Valley at Eastern Washington
Dec. 5 - CSU Bakersfield at UCLA
Dec. 5 - Kansas State at Chicago State
Dec. 7 - UT Rio Grande Valley at Kansas State
Dec. 21 - Northern Colorado at Grand Canyon
Dec. 30 - Hawai'i at CSU Bakersfield
Dec. 31 - Long Beach State at Seattle U
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RULES CHANGES
The NCAA Women's Basketball Rules Committee made a number of rules changes, most of which are intended to align the college game with the international and pro game.
Key Rule Changes
- The time limit to replace a disqualified player is reduced to 15 seconds. When the head coach fails to replace a disqualified player before the second horn, the head coach is assessed a bench technical foul. (Rules 2-10.9 and 10-4.5)
- Playing time for varsity games shall consist of four 10-minute periods. The intermission between the first and second and the third and fourth periods shall be the length of the elctronic-media timeout. (Rule 5-6.1)
- When a timeout is charged to the offensive team during the last 59.9 seconds of the fourth period and/or any extra period, the team has the option to advance the throw-in spot to the 28-foot mark in the frontcourt on the same side of the court as the scorers' table. (Rule 5-14.2)
- A team is awarded two free throws for each common foul beginning with the fifth team fould in a period. (Rule 8-2.1)
- The 10-second count shall reset on all stoppages of the game clock except when the defense causes the ball to be out of bounds, the offense retains possession after a held ball, or there is a technical foul assessed to the offensive team. (Rule 9-10)
- When an offensive post player with her back to the basket in the lane area is in control of the ball, a post defender may only place one forearm or one hand with a bend in the elbow on the offensive player. (Apendix III, Section 3)