Complete Release in PDF Format
THREE WAC TEAMS HEADING TO POSTSEASON
By virtue of two automatic bids and one invitation, three WAC women's basketball teams will participate in the postseason this year. Seattle U earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will take on host Oregon at approximately 4:30 p.m. (PT) this Friday, March 16. NM State earned the WAC's automatic bid to the WNIT and the Aggies will open up their fourth-straight postseason at Wyoming on Thursday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m. (MT). CSU Bakersfield was the lone team to accept an at-large invitation to a postseason tournament and the ‘Runners will host Fresno State in the Women's Basketball Invitational on Wednesdy, March 14 at 7 p.m. (PT).
SEATTLE U TRAVELS TO OREGON TO OPEN NCAA TOURNAMENT
The 2018 WAC Tournament Champion Seattle U women's basketball team will take on Oregon in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 16 in Eugene, Ore. The Redhawks (18-14) earned the WAC's automatic bid and will be a No. 15 seed in the program's first ever trip to the NCAA Division I Tournament. SU is led by first team All-WAC honoree Alexis Montgomery, who averages 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. WAC Freshman of the year Kallin Spiller averages 9.2 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Redhawks while Tournament MVP Kamira Sanders averages 11.9 points and 5.6 rebounds to go with 3.4 assists per game. Oregon, the No. 2 seed in the Spokane Region, punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of winning the Pac-12 Tournament with a 77-57 win over Stanford. The Ducks are led by Sabrina Ionescu, who averaged 19.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. Ruthy Hebard averages 17.5 points while leading the team with 8.8 rebounds. The Ducks rank second nationally in three-point field goal percentage at .406, including .473 from Lexi Bando.
NM STATE DRAWS WYOMING FOR WNIT FIRST ROUND
After winning a fourth-straight WAC regular season title, NM State will open the postseason in the opening round of the WIT on Thursday, March 15 at Wyoming. The Aggies (18-12) are led by WAC Player of the Year Brooke Salas, who average 19.0 points and 7.7 rebounds during the regular season. First team All-WAC selection Gia Pack averages 15.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in her sophomore season. Wyoming (21-10) earned the third seed in the Mountain West tournament but was upset by seventh-seed Nevada, 67-63, in the semifinal round. The Cowgirls are led by 13.6 points and 6.0 rebounds from Liv Roberts and 10.0 points and 2.9 assists from Taylor Rusk.
CSUB TO HOST FRESNO STATE IN WBI OPENER
CSU Bakersfield (18-13) has been selected to play in the Women's Basketball Invitational beginning Wednesday night when the Roadrunners host Fresno State (16-14) at 7 p.m. Fresno State finished fifth in the Mountain West Conference regular season standings and were knocked out of the conference tournament in the first round after a 71-55 loss to Colorado State. Junior Candice White earned Mountain West All-Conference Team honors, while teammates Aly Gamez and Maddi Utti were named to the All-Freshman Team. The ‘Runners are led by senior guard Aja Williams' 12.1 points per game. Junior point guard Alexxus Gilbert is second in scoring (9.5) with classmate Jazmine Johnson right behind her with 9.4 points per game. Jazmyne Bartee paces Bakersfield on the glass, averaging 6.6 rebounds per contest. This is the third-time CSUB will be playing in the WBI and the third postseason appearance in the last five seasons (WNIT 2014, 2015). The program currently holds a 3-2 record in the invitational, advancing to the championship in its last appearance (2010-2011). The winner of the CSU Bakersfield-Fresno State game will face the winner of the UC Irvine-Nevada game at a site to be determined.
SEATTLE U WINS 2018 WAC TOURNAMENT
The Seattle U Redhawks were red hot in in Las Vegas last week, winning three straight to earn the programs' first trip to the NCAA Tournament. After earning a 75-64 win over No. 5 Kansas City in the first round and upsetting top-seed NM State, 84-61, in the semifinals, the Redhawks battled past CSU Bakersfield, 57-54, to claim SU's first WAC tournament title. The Redhawks set a new tournament record for free throw percentage in the title game, going 18-for-19 from the line. Tournament MVP Kamira Sanders scored a game-high 20 points and All-Tournament performer Alexis Montgomery added 15 points in the championship win.
All-Tournament Team
Jazmine Johnson, CSU Bakersfield
Malayasia McHenry, CSU Bakersfield
Alexis Montgomery, Seattle U
Gia Pack, NM State
MVP: Kamira Sanders, Seattle U
TOURNAMENT FACTS
One WAC tournament record was set and another was tied during an exciting week of #WACvegas action. Seattle U set a new top mark for free throw percentage in a game, going 18-for-19 against CSU Bakersfield for a .947 percentage. The Redhawks also tied New Mexico as the lowest seed to win the tournament as the four seed. The Lobos won the 1998 tournament as the four seed, which was also the last time that the top seed in the tournament did not advance to the championship game.
BY THE NUMBERS
Heading into the national tournaments, Seattle U leads the WAC in scoring offense (68.9), three point defense (.289), rebounding offense (40.5), assists (13.9), assist/turnover ratio (1.0) and defensive rebounds (27.8). CSU Bakersfield is the leader in scoring defense (55.9), scoring margin (+4.4) and field goal defense (.366). NM State hold the top field goal percentage (.427) and also leads in blocked shots (4.5). Utah Valley finished the season leading the league in free throw percentage (.737) and turnover margin (+3.4) while Kansas City was the leader in rebounding defense (35.7) and steals (9.2). Meanwhile, UT Rio Grande Valley was tops in rebounding margin (+3.1) and offensive rebounds (15.1).
Individually, WAC Player of the Year Brooke Salas leads the WAC in scoring (19.0) and free throw percentage (.835). SU's Alexis Montgomery will take her WAC-best 10.0 rebounds per game into the NCAA Tournament. UTRGV's Laura Van Tilburg led the WAC in field goal percentage (.550) while GCU's Jessica Gajewski was the top three-point shooter (.411). NMSU's Zaire Williams is the assist-leader (5.3) and UVU's Taylor Christensen led the league in steals (2.4). CSU's Ines Mata Boix was the WAC's blocks leader (2.0).
In WAC-only play, Kansas City led the league in scoring offense (67.1), rebounding defense (32.7) and steals (8.7). CSU Bakersfield was tops in scoring defense (55.4), scoring margin (+9.6), field goal defense (.366), rebounding margin (+4.4) and blocked shots (5.1). In addition to being at the top of the standings, NM State was best in free throw percentage (.761) and three-point defense (.290). Grand Canyon held the top field goal percentage (.433) and three-point field goal percentage (.387) and was the leader in assists (13.9), assist/turnover ratio (1.3) and three-point field goals made (7.9). Seattle U was the leader in rebounding offense (41.1) and defensive rebounds (28.2). Utah Valley held the top turnover margin in league play (+3.21) while UT Rio Grande Valley was the leader in offensive rebounds (15.6).
Individually, NMSU's Salas was the leading scorer (18.4) and SU's Montgomery was the leading rebounder (10.4). UTRGV's Van Tilburg held the top field goal percentage (.563), CSUB's Alexxus Gilbert and UMKC's Aries Washington tied for the top free throw percentage (.886) and GCU's Gajewski had the top three-point field goal percentage (.451). UVU's Mariah Seals was the assist leader (5.6) and Salas was the leader in steals (2.6). UMKC's Waldron averaged a league-high 3.1 three-pointers per game while CSUB's Jazmyne Bartee and CSU's Mata Boix tied for the lead in blocked shots (2.2).