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SEATTLE U FALLS TO OREGON IN NCAA FIRST ROUND
After winning the WAC Tournament to secure the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Seattle U Redhawks couldn't stop the Oregon Ducks, falling 88-45 on Friday evening in Eugene. The Ducks scored the games first 10 points as the Redhawks had to wait until the 4:51 mark of the first quarter to get their first points on a jumper by Alexis Montgomery. Oregon continued to pull ahead, leading 25-6 after one period. SU's luck didn't change in the second quarter as the Ducks took a 48-16 lead into the halftime break. The Redhawks put together a competitive third quarter, putting 16 points on the board and finished the game with 13 points in the final quarter to wrap up their first NCAA appearance. Seattle U was led by 14 points and six rebounds from senior Montgomery. Kallin Spiller added 10 points. The Redhawks struggled shooting from outside the arc, making just one of 19 attempts from three-point range.
NM STATE FALLS AT WYOMING IN WNIT FIRST ROUND
WAC regular season champion NM State posted a furious second-half comeback but couldn't overcome any early deficit, falling to Wyoming, 67-59, in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday night in Laramie, Wyo. The Cowgirls jumped out to a 21-11 lead after the first quarter but the Aggies battled back in the second and pulled back within five points at the break, 35-30. After a tied third quarter, NM State completed the comeback in the fourth quarter, using an Aaliyah Prince three-pointer with 6:44 remaining to tie the game at 53. Unfortunately for the Aggies, Wyoming would go on a 10-3 run to pull back ahead by seven with just over two minutes left to play. NM State would manage to put a few more points on the board but it wouldn't be enough as the Cowgirls earned the 67-59 win. Brooke Salas did all she could for the Aggies, scoring 21 points and bringing down eight rebounds to go with four steals and a pair of blocks. Gia Pack added 20 points in the loss. The Aggies were 12-of-15 on free throws.
CSUB DROPS WBI OPENER TO FRESNO STATE
Redshirt junior guard Jazmine Johnson scored a team-high 16 points but CSU Bakersfield couldn't overcoming a first half deficit against Fresno State, falling 77-66 in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational. The Bulldogs raced out to a 26-19 lead after the first quarter and eventually pushed the lead to 46-32 at the half. CSU Bakersfield battled back and used a 10-0 run in the fourth to tie the game at 60 with 4:51 remaining. Unfortunately for the ‘Runners, the blue and gold were unable to take the lead back as Fresno built the lead back up to earn the 77-66 win. CSUB was led by 16 points from Johnson, who also added seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Malayasia McHenry added 11 points while Vanessa Austin and Alexxus Gilbert finished with 10 points each. As a team, the ‘Runners struggled to find their shot, going 25-of-69 (36.2%) from the field and 13-of-22 (59.1%) on free throws.
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
Seattle U led the WAC in scoring offense (68.2), three point defense (.289), rebounding offense (40.1), assists (13.7) and defensive rebounds (27.6). CSU Bakersfield is the leader in scoring defense (56.5), scoring margin (+3.9) and field goal defense (.369). NM State hold the top field goal percentage (.426) 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). Grand Canyon was tops in assist/turnover ratio (1.0)
Individually, WAC Player of the Year Brooke Salas led the WAC in scoring (19.1) and free throw percentage (.835). SU's Alexis Montgomery had a WAC-best 9.9 rebounds per game. 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 (5.2) 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).
THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
Six WAC women's basketball players have joined Utah Valley's Mariah Seals as active members of the WAC's 1,000-point club this season. 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 reached the 1,000-point plateua as part of a 33-point game against Chicago State on Jan. 6. The latest player to reach the mark was Utah Valley's Taylor Christensen, who scored her 1,000th point on Feb. 8 against Chicago State.
MAKE IT A TRIPLE...TWICE
Seattle U's Alexis Montgomery recorded just the fifth triple-double in WAC women's basketball hsitory on Feb. 8, putting up 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 66-62 win over Kansas City. It was the first triple-double by a WAC women's basketball player in nearly 12 years with the last time the feat was met was March 4, 2005 by Louisiana Tech's Tasha Williams, who had 10 points, 11 assists and 10 steals against Hawai'i. It also marks the first triple-double by a women's basketball player in Seattle U's Division I history. Not to be outdone, Montgomery recorded the sixth triple-double in WAC women's basketball history on the final day of the regular season, posting 15 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Utah Valley.
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.
COUGARS WIN!
On game after 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 with a 59-43 loss to Grand Canyon for the Cougars' 59th straight defeat, CSU found a way to get into the win column, earning an 84-74 win in front of a capacity crowd at Utah Valley on Feb. 8.
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)
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.