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NM STATE'S SALAS NAMED WAC WOMENâ€S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NM State's Brooke Salas has been named Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 23 through Jan. 29.
Salas, a sophomore guard from Placentia, Calif. (El Dorado HS), had arguably her best week of her Aggie career as she scored 26 and 24 in a pair of wins to keep NM State perfect in conference play. On Thursday night against Seattle U, she earned her fourth career double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds as the Aggies survived in overtime. She followed that up with 24 points and nine rebounds in a win against Utah Valley on Saturday afternoon. This marks her third player of the week honor of the season and the fourth of her career.
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Jazmyne Bartee had a pair of double-doubles as the ‘Runners won at home against Chicago State and UMKC … Chicago State's Jessica Cerda averaged 17.0 ppg in road games at CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon … Grand Canyon's Brie Mobley averaged 18.5 ppg as the Lopes picked up home wins against UMKC and Chicago State … Seattle U's Alexis Montgomery scored 14 second-half points to help lead SU to a road win at UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday night … UT Rio Grande Valley's Shawnte' Goff scored 27 points in Saturday's loss to Seattle U … Utah Valley's Mariah Seals averaged 1.95 ppg in a pair of losses at UTRGV and NM State.
ON TAP
It's another light week around the WAC with Saturday being the only day with games scheduled. First-place NM State heads to Chicago State, UT Rio Grande Valley visits UMKC, Grand Canyon crosses the desert to take on CSU Bakersfield and Seattle U travels to Utah Valley.
BY THE NUMBERS
NM State leads the conference in scoring offense (70.0), scoring defense (59.2), scoring margin (+10.8), field goal percentage (.420), three-point field goal percentage (.342), three-point defense (.273), turnover margin (+4.29) and defensive rebounds (25.3). CSU Bakersfield is the top free throw shooting team (.728) and also leads the league in blocked shots (5.3) and three-pointers made (7.4). UT Rio Grande Valley has the top field goal defense (.371) and rebounding offense (39.7) and also lead the WAC in steals (10.4) and offensive rebounds (14.5). UMKC leads the WAC in rebounding defense (31.7) and rebounding margin (+3.6) while Grand Canyon is tops in assists (14.8) and assist/turnover ratio (1.0).
Individually, GCU's Marina Laramie is the top scorer, averaging 19.9 ppg. Utah Valley's Sam Lubcke is both the top rebounder (8.2 rpg) and best shooter (.578 field goal percentage). UVU's Mariah Seals holds the lead in assists (4.8) and teammate Taylor Gordon is tops in steals (2.9). NM State's Brooke Salas is the top free throw shooter (.833) while GCU's Laramie is the top three-point shooter (.455). Seattle U's Kaylee Best holds the lead for three-pointers made (2.4) while CSU Bakersfield's Jazmyne Bartee is the top shot blocker (2.4). GCU's Laura Marcos-Canedo holds the top assist/turnover ratio (2.2).
In WAC-only play, NM State leads all teams in scoring offense (74.1), scoring margin (+15.1), free throw percentage (.459), field goal percentage (.459), three-point field goal percentage (.373) and turnover margin (+4.14). CSU Bakersfield has the top defense (50.7 ppg), field goal defense (.304), three point defense (.283) and the ‘Runners are also tops in rebounding offense (41.7), rebounding margin (+6.0) and blocked shots (6.0). UMKC is best in rebounding defense (29.4) and Seattle U is tops in assists (14.2) while Grand Canyon leads the league in steals (9.2).
Individually, GCU's Laramie leads the conference with 18.8 ppg in WAC play. SU's Alexis Montgomery is the top rebounder (10.0) while CSUB's Bartee is the top shooter (.571). UTRGC's Shawnte' Goff has a league-high 4.9 assists per game while NM State's Moriah Mack is the leader in free throw percentage (1.000) and steals (2.6). The Aggies' Salas is the leader in three-point field goal percentage while UCU's Seals and SU's Best are tied for the lead in three-pointers made (2.5). CSUB's Bartee has 3.2 blocks per game in conference play and Chicago State's Cailin Nix is averaging 40.1 minutes per game.
DON'T TAKE ME OUT
Chicago State's Cailin Nix has played 281 of 285 possible minutes for the Cougars in conference play. Her teammate Jessica Cerda has played 271 minutes for CSU.
SHE GOT GAME
CSU Bakersfield's Jazmyne Bartee became just the third player this season in NCAA Division I to take a minimum of 10 shots and make them all after going 10-for-10 in a win over Utah Valley. Kelsey Lang of Texas was 11-for-11 in a game over New Orleans on Dec. 20 and Ohio State's Tori McCoy was 10-for-10 against Southern on Dec. 7. Her eight blocks against UVU tie her for 9th among individuals this season while CSUB's 13 blocks as a team in the same game is tied for 10th nationally.
WINNING WAYS
Currently 7-0 in conference play, defending champion NM State is now 33-2 in WAC games dating back to the start of the 2014-15 season. Add in WAC tournament games and the Aggies are 37-2 against WAC schools over the last three seasons.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
CSU Bakersfield closed out 2016 with a milestone victory at home, winning the ‘Runners 100th game at the Icardo Center. Seattle U is also hit a milestone on Jan. 7 against CSUB, earning the Redhawks' 300th win at Connolly Complex.
MILLENIUM AGGIE
NM State senior Brianna Freeman scored her 1,000th career point on Jan. 7 against Chicago State. Teammate Moriah Mack accomplished the feat on Jan. 28 against Utah Valley. The two Aggies join UT Rio Grande Valley senior Shawnte' Goff as the three active 1,000-point scorers in the league. The WAC's leader in career points in Colorado State's Becky Hammon, who scored 2,740 points in her Ram career.