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SU'S MONTGOMERY NAMED WAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Seattle U's Alexis Montgomery has been named Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 29 through Feb. 4.
Montgomery, a senior forward from Beaverton, Ore. (Beaverton HS), finished one rebound shy of a triple-double and hit the game-winning shot in the Redhawks' 77-75 win at Utah Valley. She finished the game with 15 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season and her first mixing points and assists. Her biggest basket came with 1.6 seconds left, nailing a jumper from the right elbow to secure the win for Seattle U. She also added three blocks and an assist in the win. It is the fourth player of the week honor for Montgomery this season, who was also named WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Alize' Lofton averaged 13.5 ppg on .588 shooting as the ‘Runners earned wins on the road at Chicago State and Kansas City … Grand Canyon's Jessica Gajewski averaged 20.5 ppg as the Lopes lost in overtime at Kansas City before bouncing back for a win at Chicago State … NM State's Zaire Williams score 17 points and dished out 11 assists in the Aggies' 79-77 overtime win at UT Rio Grande Valley … UT Rio Grande Valley's Laura Van Tilburg scored a career-high 23 points as the Vaqueros nearly knocked off NM State before falling 79-77 in overtime … Utah Valley's Jordan Holland scored a career-high 20 points with nine rebounds as the Wolverines dropped a close game at home to Seattle U.
UP NEXT
It will be a battle of first place at second place on Thursday as NM State travels to CSU Bakersfield to open up the week of play. UT Rio Grande Valley will also make the trip out west, traveling to Grand Canyon on Thursday before trading places with NMSU. Kansas City and Chicago State also head west, visiting Seattle U and Utah Valley.
BY THE NUMBERS
Seattle U continues to lead the WAC in scoring offense (69.4), rebounding offense (39.1) and assist/turnover ratio (1.1). CSU Bakersfield is the leader in scoring defense (56.3), field goal defense (.367) and offensive rebounds (15.5). Grand Canyon holds the top spot in scoring margin (+2.3), free throw percentage (.747), three-point field goal percetnage (.372), three-point defense (.299) and three-pointers per game (8.1). In addition to leading the standings, NM State also is tops in field goal percentage (.430), blocked shots (4.7) and defensive rebounds (26.2). Kansas City leads the league in rebounding defense (36.2) while UT Rio Grande Valley is the leader in rebounding margin (+2.4) and assists (14.6). Utah Valley continues to lead the WAC in steals (9.7) and turnover margin (+3.36).
Individually, SU's Alexis Montgomery continues to lead the WAC in both scoring (20.9) and rebounding (9.7) and she also holds the top mark in free throw percentage (.857) and defensive rebounds (7.3). UTRGV's Laura Van Tilburg leads the league in field goal percentage (.576) while GCU's Jessica Gajewski is the top three-point shooter (.407). NMSU's Zaire Williams holds the assists lead (5.4) and Utah Valley's Taylor Christensen continues to lead in steals (2.7). UMKC's Samantha Waldron holds the top mark in three-pointers per game (2.7) while teammate Daijane Dillard is the leader in assist/turnover ratio (2.8). NMSU's Brooke Salas is the top shot blocker (1.9) while CSU's Ines Mata Boix holds the lead in offensive rebounds (3.2).
In WAC-only play, NM State leads the league in scoring offense (69.1), field goal percentage (.453), three-point defense (.291) and are tied with Seattle U for the lead in defensive rebounds (24.6). SU also leads the league in free throw percentage (.765). CSU Bakersfield is the leader in scoring defense (56.6), field goal defense (.363), rebounding offense (38.4), blocked shots (4.9) and offensive rebounds (15.8). Grand Canyon holds the top mark in scoring margin (+9.0), three-point field goal percentage (.440), turnover margin (+3.12), assist/turnover ratio (1.4) and three-point field goals made (9.3). Utah Valley leads the WAC in rebounding defense (33.1) and UT Rio Grande Valley is the leader in rebounding margin (+4.7), assists (16.3) and steals (9.1).
Individually, NMSU's Salas is the leader in scoring (20.0), rebounding (9.0), three-point percentage (.577), defensive rebounds (6.3) and is tied with CSU's Mata Boix for the lead in blocked shots (2.0). UTRGV's Van Tilburg has the top field goal percentage (.667) and UMKC's Aries Washington holds the top free throw percentage (.895). NMSU's Williams is the leader in assists (6.0) while SU's Kamira Sanders is the leader in steals (2.7). UMKC's Waldron leads the league in three-pointers made (3.3). GCU's August Touchard holds the top assist/turnover ratio (2.7) while UVU's Jordan Holland is the leader in offensive rebounds (4.3).
THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
Three WAC women's basketball players recently joined Utah Valley's Mariah Seals as active members of the WAC's 1,000-point club. Seattle U's Alexis Montgomery scored her 1,000th point on Nov. 30 at California and Grand Canyon's Jessica Gajewski scored her 1,000th point on Dec. 3 at Bethune-Cookman. Kansas City's Samantha Waldron went over the millenium mark against Denver while teammate Aries Washington hit 1,000 against Stetson. NM State's Brooke Salas is the latest player to break the 1,000-point plateua, reaching the milestone as part of a 33-point game against Chicago State on Jan. 6.
SHATTERING RECORDS
Kansas City's lobsided 90-10 win over Central Christian College of the Bible met or broke a number of WAC records. The 80-point differential matched the largest margin of victory, last done in Rice's 115-34 win over Texas Southern during the 1997-98 season. The 10-point allowed shattered the previous WAC record of 23, which was set twice in the 1998-99 season by Fresno State and Utah, both games against San Jose State. The four field goals allowed also broke the previous record of eight, which was held by Idaho against Colorado State in the 2007-08 season. The 32 field goals attempted bested the previous mark of 36, set by Utah against New Mexico in 1992-93.
MILESTONE WINS
UT Rio Grande Valley head coach Larry Tidwell earned his 200th career win on opening night against Concordia (Texas). CSU Bakersfield head coach Greg McCall also hit a milestone, earning his 100th career win on Feb. 3 against Kansas City.
FIRST-TIME LEADERS
The WAC has three new head coaches in 2017-18 and all three of them are first-year head coaches. NM State's Brooke Atkinson, who was an assistant with the Aggies early in her career, headed to Las Cruces after serving as an assistant at Colorado State. Grand Canyon's Nicole Powell returns to her hometown of Phoenix after working as an assistant at Oregon. Kansas City's Jacie Hoyt comes to the Roos from Kansas State. All three coaches won their WAC debuts on Jan. 6.
LOOKING FOR A WIN
Chicago State set an unwanted record on Feb. 3, passing LIU Brooklyn for the longest losing streak in NCAA Division I women's basketball history. The 59-43 loss to Grand Canyon was the Cougars' 59th straight defeat. CSU's last win came on Feb. 4, 2016 in an eight-point win over Seattle U. The NCAA record is held by Division III Schreiner, who lost 83 straight games from 2002 to 2005.
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
NM State is the favorite to win the 2017-18 Western Athletic Conference women's basketball title and Seattle U's Alexis Montgomery 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 third straight WAC title last season, received 47 points and six first place votes in the preseason poll. CSU Bakersfield picked up the remaining two first place votes for a total of 39 points to edge out Seattle U by one point for second place. Utah Valley was selected fourth while Grand Canyon, UT Rio Grande Valley and Kansas City were all separated by just two points for the fifth, sixth and seventh spots. Chicago State rounded out the poll.
Montgomery leads the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. Joining her on the first team are NM State's Brooke Salas, Grand Canyon's Brie Mobley and Utah Valley's Taylor Christensen and Mariah Seals.
Second team selections include Utah Valley's Sam Lubcke, CSU Bakersfield's Jazmyne Bartee and Aja Williams, Kansas City's Samantha Waldron and NM State's Zaire Williams.
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 2017-18 and Seattle U's Alexis Montgomery as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
The Aggies earned seven first place votes in the media poll to collect 82 points to top the poll. Seattle U was second with four first place votes and 76 points while CSU Bakersfield came in third with 60 points. Grand Canyon was selected fourth with 55 points and Utah Valley earned fifth with 46 points. UT Rio Grande Valley, Kansas City and Chicago State rounded out the poll.
Montgomery leads the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. Joining her on the first team are NM State's Brooke Salas, Utah Valley's Sam Lubcke, Grand Canyon's Brie Mobley and CSU Bakersfield's Jazmyne Bartee.
Second team selections include CSU Bakersfield's Aja Williams, Utah Valley's Mariah Seals and Taylor Christensen, and Kansas City's Kristen Moore and Samantha Waldron.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Just two of five First Team All-WAC players from last season return for the 2016-17 season as WAC Preseason Player of the Year Alexis Montgomery and NM State's Brooke Salas return for this season. Second Team honoreers Brie Mobley (Grand Canyon), Taylor Christensen (Utah Valley) and Jazmyne Bartee (CSU Bakersfield) are back as well.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
This season, WAC teams will face some tough competition in the non-conference portion of the schedule, with 14 games against NCAA Tournament participants and 11 against Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) participants. The complete list is below.
Games vs. NCAA Teams
Nov. 10 - Kansas City at Western Illinois
Nov. 12 - Duke at Grand Canyon
Nov. 15 - Utah Valley at Oregon State
Nov. 19 - CSU Bakersfield at Stanford
Nov. 20 - Kansas City at Iowa State
Nov. 22 - Western Illinois at Chicago State
Nov. 24 - NM State vs. Texas Southern (at UTEP)
Nov. 29 - Chicago State at Western Illinois
Nov. 30 - Seattle U at California
Dec. 7 - Long Beach State at Grand Canyon
Dec. 10 - Grand Canyon at Washington
Dec. 18 - Chicago State at Kansas State
Dec. 20 - CSU Bakersfield at Boise State
Dec. 20 - Seattle U at Washington
Games vs. WNIT Teams
Nov. 17 - UT Rio Grande Valley at Oklahoma State
Nov. 19 - Grand Canyon at UNLV
Nov. 20 - Northern Illinois at Chicago State
Nov. 21 - Utah Valley at Brigham Young
Nov. 26 - Morehead State at Chicago State
Nov. 26 - UC Davis at Seattle U
Dec. 3 - Grand Canyon at Bethune-Cookman
Dec. 3 - Chicago State at Wright State
Dec. 3 - CSU Bakersfield at SMU
Dec. 9 - CSU Bakersfield at South Dakota
Dec. 29 - Kansas City vs. Stetson (at FAU)
READY TO GO
After playing through a four-year transition period to NCAA Division I, Grand Canyon is eligible for the postseason this year. The Lopes are predicted to finish fourth by the media and fifth by the coaches
COMING SOON
California Baptist is scheduled to join the WAC for 2018-2019 competition. They will begin their four year transition process to Division 1. This will make them ineligible to compete in post season tournaments (WAC and NCAA) until 2022-2023 season. They will be coming from the Pacific West Conference where they won five championships (M&W Cross Country, W. Basketball, W. Golf, and Softball) during 2016-2017 season.
ORLEANS ARENA IN LAS VEGAS TO HOST 2018 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2018 WAC Basketball Tournament returns to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the eighth year in a row. This year's tournament includes all eight teams and will be held Wednesday-Saturday, March 7-10.
COMING TO YOU LIVE
The WAC Digital Network will broadcast 104 regular season women's basketball games. In addition, the WDN will produce 15 regular-season games as well as all games at the 2017 WAC Basketball Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for broadcast on ESPN3