United Athletic Conference

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Utah Valley's Maria Carvalho has been named Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 30 through Jan. 5.

 

Carvalho, a sophomore guard from Lisbon, Portugal, averaged 15 points, five rebounds and six assists as she led the Wolverines to a pair of dominating wins in conference play. She scored a career-high 19 points to lead UVU to a 62-41 win over Kansas City. Carvalho also shot a combined 46.7 percent from the field in the two wins. On the defensive side, Carvalho helped limit Ericka Mattingly to just nine points, nearly seven points below her season average.

 

Other nominees included: Chicago State's Courtney Crane averaged 12 points a game during the Cougars road stretch against Utah Valley and Seattle U… Cristina Soriano of Kansas City notched back-to-back double-doubles as the 'Roos went 1-1 to open conference play… Seattle U's Kamira Sanders averaged 20 points and six and a half rebounds per game as the Redhawks split a pair of home games… Zhane Templeton of UT Rio Grande Valley hit five three-pointers on her way to a career-high 17 points in a home victory over California Baptist.

 

Conference play has officially begun with each team having at least one game under their belt. The upcoming week begins with California Baptist hosting CSU Bakersfield on Wednesday. UT Rio Grand Valley will take on Kansas City while NM State battles Chicago State on Thursday night. Saturday's slate includes UT Rio Grande Valley traveling to Chicago State, Kansas City hosting NM State, Utah Valley hosting Seattle U and Grand Canyon visiting California Baptist.

 

California Baptist leads the WAC in scoring offense (76.1), three-point defense (.287), rebounding offense (40.2), assists (17.5), assist/turnover ratio (1.14), defensive rebounds (30.9) and three-pointers made per game (10.3). Utah Valley has the top scoring defense (63.4), rebounding margin (+0.4) and free throw percentage (.745) while CSU Bakersfield is the leader in scoring margin (+2.6), steals (10.4), turnover margin (+3.79) and offensive rebounds (14.7). Grand Canyon has the top field goal percentage (.423), three-point shooting percentage (.370) and rebounding defense (36.3). Kansas City is the leader in field goal defense (.376) and blocked shots (4.7).

 

Individually, Seattle U's Kamira Sanders is the leading scorer at 18.3 points per game. GCU's Da'jah Daniel is the leading rebounder (9.9) as well as the leader in blocks (1.8) and defensive rebounds (7.5). CSUB's Vanessa Austin has the top field goal percentage (.584) and GCU's Venla Varis has the top three-point field goal percentage (.444). GCU's Jada Holland is the leader in free throw percentage at .853. CBU's Ane Oleata holds the lead in assists (5.5) while UTRGV's Trelynn Tyler has the lead in steals (2.6). SU's Courtney Murphy is averaging a league-high 3.2 three-pointers per game and CSUB's Dalis Jones is the leader in assist/turnover ratio at 2.2. CSU's Ines Mata Boix is the top offensive rebounder (3.6).

 

With the Wolverines 62-41 win over Kansas City on Jan. 4, UVU extends their win streak to four games. The Utah Valley defense held the 'Roos to just 41 points, the fewest by an opponent since the 2017-18 season when they held Chicago State to 30 points. Last year the Wolverines started conference play in similar fashion, going 4-0 to open league competition.

 

UT Rio Grande Valley's 87-68 home victory over California Baptist marked the highest scoring output in UTRGV school history in WAC play. The Vaqueros shot 42 percent from the field, including 39.1 percent from beyond the arc. Heading into the matchup, the Lancers defense was holding teams to 78.1 points per game and just 28.1 percent shooting from three-point range. Redshirt junior Zhane Templeton led the way with a career-high 17 points, including going five of seven from deep. Previously, the program record was set in an 84-82 double-overtime victory over Kansas City on March 7, 2015.

 

CSU Bakersfield is a perfect 8-0 at the Icardo Center this season. The 'Runners next play at home on Jan. 16 against Kansas City.

 

Kansas City's win over Missouri was the WAC's first win over a Power Five opponent since the Roos earned a 47-44 win over Kansas on Dec. 10, 2015. It was also the league's first win over an SEC opponent since Louisiana Tech earned a win over Ole Miss on Dec. 1, 2012. 

 

Kansas City's Ericka Mattingly returns for her senior season after leading the WAC in scoring (19.8), assists (6.0), free throw percentage (.817), steals (3.2) and minutes played (35.5). California Baptist's Britney Thomas is also back after leading the league in field goal percentage (.577). Kansas City sharpshooter Emily Ivory will look for a strong sophomore campaign after averaging a WAC-best 2.7 three-pointers per game and Chicago State senior Ines Mata Boix will look to lead the league in blocked shots again after averaging 1.9 per game last season.

 

NM State is the favorite to win the 2018-19 Western Athletic Conference women's basketball title and the Aggies' Gia Pack was selected WAC Preseason Player of the Year in a vote of the league's nine head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players.

 

The Aggies, who won their fifth-straight WAC regular season title last season, received 62 points and six first-place votes in the preseason poll. California Baptist picked up two first-place votes for a total of 57 points and Kansas City earned the remaining first-place vote and 44 points. UT Rio Grande Valley was picked fourth with 40 points while CSU Bakersfield earned fifth with 35 points. Utah Valley was selected sixth with 29 points, followed by Grand Canyon, Seattle U and Chicago State.

 

Pack leads the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. Joining her on the first team are Utah Valley's Jordan Holland, Kansas City's Ericka Mattingly and California Baptist duo Ane Olaeta and Britney Thomas.

 

Second team selections include CSU Bakersfield's Vanessa Austin, Grand Canyon's Da'jah Daniel, UT Rio Grande Valley pair Amara Graham and Megan Johnson and Seattle U's Kamira Sanders.

 

The Western Athletic Conference women's basketball media have selected NM State as the preseason favorite to repeat as conference champions in 2019-20 and Kansas City's Ericka Mattingly as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.

 

The Aggies earned eight first place votes from the media to collect 110 points to top the poll. California Baptist is second with three first place votes and 96 points overall. Kansas City was right behind the 'Runners with the Roos earning two first place votes and 92 points. UT Rio Grande Valley came in fourth with 66 points, followed by Utah Valley in fifth with 64 points. CSU Bakersfield is sixth with 57 points, followed by Seattle U in seventh, Grand Canyon in eighth and Chicago State in ninth.

 

Mattingly leads the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. Joining her on the first team are Utah Valley's Jordan Holland, NM State's Gia Pack, Seattle U's Kamira Sanders and California Baptist's Britney Thomas.

 

Second team selections include Seattle U's Joana Alves, CSU Bakersfield's Jayden Eggleston, UT Rio Grande Valley's Megan Johnson, Chicago State's Ines Mata Boix and California Baptist's Ane Olaeta.

 

Three of the five First Team All-WAC players from last season return for the 2019-20 season as WAC Preseason Players of the Year Ericka Mattingly of Kansas City and Gia Pack of NM State return, along with California Baptist's Britney Thomas. Four of the five second team honorees also returns as Seattle U's Joana Alves, Grand Canyon's Da'jah Daniel, Utah Valley's Jordan Holland and California Baptist's Ane Olaeta hit the hardwood.

 

After three new coaches in each of the last two seasons, Utah Valley's Dan Nielson is the lone rookie head coach in the WAC this season. A former UVU assistant, he most recently was on the bench at nearby Brigham Young, helping lead the Cougars to the WCC Tournament title last season.

 

There will be a bit of new blood in the WAC this season but the game won't be without some familiar faces. Five of nine schools return a majority of starters, including Utah Valley returning all five starters from last season. California Baptist and Seattle U each bring back four starters and Grand Canyon boasts three starters returning.

 

This season, WAC teams will face some tough competition in the non-conference portion of the schedule, with 15 games against NCAA Tournament participants and 14 against Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) participants. The complete list is below.

 

Nov. 10 - CSU Bakersfield at Gonzaga

Nov. 19 - CSU Bakersfield at Wright State

Nov. 20 - UT Rio Grande Valley at Texas

Nov. 26 - Utah Valley at Boise State

Nov. 28 - California Baptist vs. Stanford (Victoria Invitational)

Dec. 1 - Kansas City at Missouri State

Dec. 6 - Grand Canyon at Portland State

Dec. 8 - Missouri at Kansas City

Dec. 14 - Utah Valley at Brigham Young

Dec. 14 - Kansas State at Kansas City

Dec. 18 - Arizona State at NM State

Dec. 28 - NM State at Abilene Christian

Dec. 28 - UT Rio Grande Valley at Kansas State

Dec. 29 - Grand Canyon at California

Dec. 29 - CSU Bakersfield at Oregon State

 

Nov. 5 - Denver at Kansas City

Nov. 8 - Kansas City at Pacific

Nov. 9 - Chicago State at UTA

Nov. 9 - NM State at Denver

Nov. 11 - Seattle U at Idaho State

Nov. 12 - Arizona at Chicago State

Nov. 17 - New Mexico at NM State

Nov. 20 - Pepperdine at NM State

Nov. 20 - Idaho at Seattle U

Nov. 23 - Chicago State at Green Bay

Dec. 3 - Idaho State at Utah Valley

Dec. 7 - Pacific at CSU Bakersfield

Dec. 16 - California Baptist at Idaho State

Dec. 16 - NM State at New Mexico

 

The 2020 WAC Basketball Tournament returns to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the 10th year in a row. This year's tournament includes all eight eligible teams and will be held Wednesday-Saturday, March 11-14.