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NM STATE'S MACK NAMED WAC WOMENâ€S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NM State's Moriah Mack has been named Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for Feb. 6 through Feb. 12.
Mack, a senior guard from San Antonio (Reagan HS), led the Aggies to a pair of wins to stay undefeated in conference play. Against CSU Bakersfield, she finished with 14 points and seven assists, also adding a pair of steals for NMSU. She followed that up with 15 points and a pair of key steals in a comeback win over Grand Canyon on Sunday afternoon. The senior leads the WAC with 2.8 steals per game in conference play and is second in three-point percentage in WAC games.
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Kate Tokuhara averaged 11.0 ppg as the ‘Runners went 1-1 on the road … Chicago State's Jessica Cerda averaged 21.5 ppg on the week as the Cougars fell twice on the road … Grand Canyon's Brie Mobley posted a pair of double-doubles as the ‘Lopes dropped a pair at NM State and UTRGV … Seattle U's Alexis Montgomery scored 22 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists in a win over UMKC … UT Rio Grande Valley's Shawnte' Goff went off for 24 points with nine rebounds in a win over Grand Canyon … Utah Valley's Sam Lubcke averaged a double-double as the Wolverines won twice at home.
ON TAP
With just three weeks left in the regular season, teams are begin to battle for seeding across the conference. Seattle U looks to remain among the conference leaders this weekend as the Redhawks, along with Utah Valley, travel to Grand Canyon and CSU Bakersfield. UT Rio Grande Valley will try to be the first WAC team to knock on NM State on Saturday in Las Cruces while Chicago State travels to Kansas City for a WAC doubleheader against UMKC at Municipal Auditorium.
BY THE NUMBERS
Conference leader NM State leads the WAC in scoring offense (69.7), scoring defense (58.9), scoring margin (+10.8), field goal percentage (.418), three-point percentage (.338), three-point defense (.286), rebounding margin (+2.9), steals (10.0) and turnover margin (+4.33). CSU Bakersfield is the top free throw shooting team (.729) and the ‘Runners also lead the league in blocked shots (5.3). UT Rio Grande Valley holds the top field goal defense (.363) and rebounding offense (40.2). UMKC leads the WAC in rebounding defense (32.7) while Grand Canyon is tops in assists (14.5) and assist/turnover ratio (1.0).
Individually, GCU's Marina Laramie is the WAC leading scorer at 19.9 ppg, also leading the league in three-point shooting (.450). Utah Valley's Sam Lubcke is the top rebounder (8.6). CSUB's Jazmyne Bartee holds the top field goal percentge (.587) while NM State's Brooke Salas is the top free throw shooter (.848). Utah Valley teammates Mariah Seals and Taylor Gordon are tops in assists and steals with 5.1 apg and 2.9 spg respectively. Seattle U's Kaylee Best is averaging a WAC-best 2.5 three-pointers per game. Bartee is also the leader in blocked shots (2.4) while GCU's Laura Marcos-Candeo holds a league-high 1.9 assist/turnover ratio.
In conference-only play, NM State leads in scoring offense (72.0), free throw percentage (.749), three-point percentage (.355), rebounding defense (32.0), rebounding margin (+5.3), steals (9.1), turnover margin (+4.30) and three-pointers made (7.1). CSU Bakersfield is the leader in scoring defense (54.8), field goal defense (.318) and blocked shots (5.8). Second-place Seattle U is the leader in scoring margin (+14.9), field goal percentage (.468), three-point defense (.306), assists (15.9) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2). UT Rio Grande Valley holds the lead in rebounding offense (42.2).
Individually, Laramie continues to lead in scoring with 19.3 ppg. UVU's Lubcke and SU's Alexis Montgomery are tied for the lead in rebounding at 10.0 rpg. SU's Jacinta Beckley is the top shooter at .553 while NM State's Salas is the best at the free throw line (.900). CSUB's Kate Tokuhara is the leader in three-point shooting (.688). UVU's Seals leads in assists (5.1) while NM State's Moriah Mack leads the WAC in steals (2.8) in conference play. SU's Best is averaging 2.6 three-pointers per game against WAC foes while CSUB's Bartee is averaging 3.0 blocks.
DON'T TAKE ME OUT
Chicago State's Cailin Nix has played 395 of 405 possible minutes for the Cougars in conference play. Her teammate Jessica Cerda has played 372 minutes for CSU in conference play.
WAC TOP 10
UT Rio Grande Valley senior Shawnte' Goff sits just 10 points away from cracking the WAC's top ten scoring list. She currently has 1,772 points and will catch Wyoming's Amy Burnett with 10 more points.
GOOD WORK(S)
Utah Valley's Britta Hall was named to the Allstate/WBCA Good Works Team. The award comes to Hall after she took time off from playing college basketball to serve a voluntary mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rancagua, Chile, for 18 months. This year, the members of the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® will be recognized during the 2017 WBCA Convention and at the 2017 NCAA Women's Final Four® in Dallas, and will also participate in a local community project in Dallas community.
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 10-0 in conference play, defending champion NM State is now 36-2 in WAC games dating back to the start of the 2014-15 season. Add in WAC tournament games and the Aggies are 40-2 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. NM State is the latest team to hit a milestone, earning the Aggies' 400th win at Pan American Center on Feb. 12 against Grand Canyon.
MILLENIUM CLUB
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. UVU's Mariah Seals is the latest to join the club, scoring her 1,000th career point on Feb. 4 against Seattle U. The trio joins UT Rio Grande Valley senior Shawnte' Goff as the four 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.