United Athletic Conference

Complete Release (PDF)

 

On day one, the WAC tournament began to feel the effects of the coronavirus pandemic that was sweeping the world as only three of the four scheduled quarterfinal matchups were able to be played. The fourth quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 Grand Canyon and No. 4 CSU Bakersfield was initially postponed to the morning of March 12. However, on March 12 the sports world came to a screeching halt as leagues and conferences around the country stopped play as a result of the COVID-19 virus. The WAC decision was made as part of a previously scheduled meeting of the league's Board of Directors, who also made the decision to suspend all WAC play until further notice. The board later cancelled the remainder of the spring schedule on March 18.

 

The 2019-20 All-WAC teams have been named, following a vote of the WAC's nine head coaches. Kansas City's Ericka Mattingly was named WAC Player of the Year while the Roos head coach Jacie Hoyt was named WAC Coach of the Year. Seattle U's Kamira Sanders earned WAC Defensive Player of the Year and Grand Canyon's Jada Holland picked up a pair of honors as she was named the WAC Newcomer of the Year and WAC Freshman of the Year.

A 5-7 senior guard from Wichita, Kan., Mattingly finished among the top-four in the conference in points, assists and steals on the season. Along with averaging 15.7 points per game, she also averaged 4.2 assists per game and 2.4 steals per game. The senior was fifth in the WAC in assist to turnover ratio (1.6), seventh in three-pointers made per game (1.6) and tenth in free throw percentage (.721). This is also the second consecutive year that Mattingly has been named First Team All-WAC and selected to the WAC All-Defensive Team.

Hoyt garnered WAC Coach of the Year in her third season at the helm for the Roos. She led Kansas City to its first 20- win season since 2011. Under Hoyt, KC went 13-3 in league play and captured a regular-season WAC title and the top seed at the 2020 Hercules Tires WAC Tournament Presented by TicketSmarter. A graduate of Wichita State, she was a team captain and a standout point guard for the Shockers. She began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Fort Hays State. Before taking over at Kansas City, she also spent time as an assistant at Nevada and Kansas State.

Sanders, a 5-7 senior guard from Redding, Calif., earned WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors after posting a conference-best 2.6 steals per game on the season. Her efforts also helped the Redhawks finish second in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.379), three-point percentage defense (.292) and turnover margin (+2.3).

Holland, a 5-6 freshman guard from Pleasanton, Calif, burst on to conference scene as she was named the WAC Freshman of the Year and WAC Newcomer of the year. She finished the season with the league's best assist to turnover ratio at +1.9 and dished out the second-most assists per game at 4.9. She also averaged 11.7 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game and 1.5 steals per game. In addition, she was the only non-senior named First Team All-WAC.

For only the sixth time since 2000, five different schools are represented on the All-WAC first team. Joining KC's Ericka Mattingly and GCU's Jada Holland is Utah Valley's Jordan Holland, NM State's Gia Pack and Seattle U's Kamira Sanders.

The All-WAC second team includes Utah Valley's Maria Carvalho, Grand Canyon's Da'jah Daniel, UT Rio Grande Valley's Amara Graham and California Baptist teammates Ane Olaeta and Lexy Ram.

The All-Defensive team had representatives from four different schools as SU's Kamira Sanders and KC's Mattingly were joined by Carvalho of Utah Valley, Daniel of GCU and Kansas City's Cristina Soriano.

The All-Newcomer Team is made up of Grand Canyon's Holland and teammate Mae Bryant, CSU Bakersfield's Jayden Eggleston, NM State's Soufia Inoussa, and UT Rio Grande Valley's Trelynn Tyler.

Below are the complete lists of All-WAC teams and additional honors.

2019-20 All-WAC Teams

First Team All-WAC

Jada Holland	Grand Canyon	G	5-6	Fr.	Pleasanton, Calif. (Bishop O'Dowd)
#Jordan Holland	Utah Valley	F	6-0	Sr.	Los Lunas, N.M. (Los Lunas)
*Ericka Mattingly	Kansas City	G	5-7	Sr.	Wichita, Kan. (Wichita South)
**Gia Pack	NM State	G	5-10	Sr.	Phoenix, Ariz. (South Mountain)
Kamira Sanders	Seattle U	G	5-7	Sr.	Redding, Calif. (Enterprise)

 

Second Team All-WAC

Maria Carvalho	Utah Valley	G	5-8	So.	Lisbon, Portugal (Escola Secundaria de Vagos)
#Da'jah Daniel	Grand Canyon	F	6-4	Sr.	Killeen, Texas (Harker Heights/Trinity Valley CC)
Amara Graham	UT Rio Grande Valley	G	5-6	RJr.	Chicago, Ill. (Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep)
#Ane Olaeta	California Baptist	G	5-4	Jr.	Gernika-Lumo, Spain (Gernika-Lumo)
Lexy Ram	California Baptist	G/F	5-10	Sr.	Tucson, Ariz. (Ironwood Ridge)

 

All-Defensive Team

Maria Carvalho	Utah Valley	G	5-8	So.	Lisbon, Portugal (Escola Secundaria de Vagos)
Da'jah Daniel	Grand Canyon	F	6-4	Sr.	Killeen, Texas (Harker Heights/Trinity Valley CC)
^Ericka Mattingly	Kansas City	G	5-7	Sr.	Wichita, Kan. (Wichita South)
Kamira Sanders	Seattle U	G	5-7	Sr.	Redding, Calif. (Enterprise)
Cristina Soriano	Kansas City	F	6-5	Sr.	Valladolid, Spain (IES Galileo)

 

All-Newcomer Team

Mae Bryant	Grand Canyon	F	6-0	Fr.	Sammamish, Wash. (Eastlake)
Jayden Eggleston	CSU Bakersfield	F	6-1	RSo.	Las Vegas, Nev. (Centennial)
Jada Holland	Grand Canyon	G	5-6	Fr.	Pleasanton, Calif. (Bishop O'Dowd)
Soufia Inoussa	NM State	G	5-7	Fr.	Stockholm, Sweden (Solna Gymnasium)
Trelynn Tyler	UT Rio Grande Valley	G	5-8	Jr.	Omaha, Neb. (Mansfield Timberview)

 

Player of the Year: Ericka Mattingly, Sr., G, Kansas City

Defensive Player of the Year: Kamira Sanders, Sr., G, Seattle U

Newcomer of the Year: Jada Holland, Fr., G, Grand Canyon

Freshman of the Year: Jada Holland, Fr., G, Grand Canyon

Coach of the Year: Jacie Hoyt, Kansas City

 

*Indicates Previous First Team All-WAC Selection

#Indicates Previous Second Team All-WAC Selection

^Indicates Previous All-Defensive Team Selection

 

California Baptist finished as the WAC leader in scoring offense (75.0), rebounding offense (39.8), assists (18.2), assist/turnover ratio (1.3), three-point defense (.280), defensive rebounds (30.9), three-point percentage (.330) and three-pointers made per game (10.3). Utah Valley was the leader in free throw percentage (.751) while CSU Bakersfield led the league in steals (9.9), turnover margin (+2.83) and offensive rebounds (13.8). Grand Canyon held the top scoring defense (61.3) and field goal percentage (.422). Kansas City was the leader in field goal percentage defense (.367), scoring margin (+4.3) and blocked shots (4.4). NM State led the conference in rebounding margin at +3.1 and also rebounding defense at 35.5.

 

Individually, NM State's Gia Pack was the top scorer at 18.0 points per game and had the league's top free-throw shooting percentage (.835). Pack also pulled down the most defensive rebounds (7.9).GCU's Da'jah Daniel finished as the leader in rebounds (10.3) and blocked shots (1.5). Kansas City's Cristina Soriano had the top field goal percentage in the conference at .555. UTRGV's Amara Graham had the top three-point field goal percentage (.427). CBU's Ane Oleata held the lead in assists (6.0) while SU's Kamira Sanders remained the league leader in steals (2.6). KC's Emily Ivory held the lead in three-pointers made per game (2.7). CSU's Tyeshia Bowers led the league in minutes played per game at 35.0. GCU's Jada Holland was the leader in assist/turnover ratio at 1.9. CSU's Ines Mata Boix was the top offensive rebounder (3.6).

 

In WAC play only, UT Rio Grande Valley was the leader in scoring offense (70.4). CSU Bakersfield led the league in steals per game (9.4) and scoring defense (58.0). Chicago State led the conference in free throw percentage (.757). Grand Canyon had the best field goal percentage (.419) while Kansas City held opponents to the lowest field goal percentage (.357) and had the best scoring margin (+6.9). The Roos also led the conference in rebounding offense (41.2), blocked shots (4.4) and offensive rebounds (13.6). Seattle U had the stingiest three-point defense (.277) and the best turnover margin (+1.80). NM State had the best three-point field goal percentage (.349), rebounding defense (33.1) and also led the league in rebounding margin (+7.6). California Baptist was atop the conference in assists (17.6), three-pointers made (9.4), assist/turnover ratio (1.4) and defensive rebounds (30.3).

 

Individually, Seattle U's Kamira Sanders was the league's top point-scorer, averaging 17.2 points per game. She also led the conference in steals per game (2.7). Grand Canyon's Da'jah Daniel collected the most rebounds (10.5) and also snagged the most defensive rebounds (7.6). Chicago State's Ines Mata Boix led the conference in field goal percentage (.556) while California Baptist's Ane Olaeta dished out the most assists (6.2). Seattle U's Olivia Crawford had the best free throw percentage (.861) while Utah Valley's Maria Carvalho saw the most floor time at 38.4 minutes per game. UT Rio Grande Valley's Amara Graham had the best three-point percentage (.467) while Kansas City's Emily Ivory knocked down the most triples per game at 2.6. The Roos also had the top shot blocker in Cristina Soriano as she rejected 1.7 shots per game. Soriano also collected the most offensive rebounds per game (3.9). Jada Holland of Grand Canyon had the best assist to turnover ratio (2.6).

 

This season, a trio of WAC schools achieved conference win totals greater than or equal to their school's best previous mark since joining the WAC. Kansas City, Utah Valley and Grand Canyon all etched themselves in their school's record books as the Roos finished with 13 league wins, the Wolverines with nine and Grand Canyon with 10. Previously, Kansas City's highest win total in conference play was nine, accomplished by last year's team. UVU's best mark came during the 2015-16 season when they also won nine games. Meanwhile, GCU's 10-win season matches their win total from their first season in the WAC back in 2013-14.

 

Two WAC athletes eclipsed career milestones with their numbers from the week of Jan. 13-19. On Saturday, Jan. 18, Chicago State's Tyeshia Bowers became the third active conference player to reach 250 free throws made as she went nine of 10 from the stripe to in the Cougars 60-58 victory over CSU Bakersfield. Bowers joined the 1,000 point club as she went for 28 in a loss to CSU Bakersfield two weeks ago. She joined NM State's Gia Pack, Seattle U's Kamira Sanders, Utah Valley's Jordan Holland and Kansas City's Ericka Mattingly as the only active WAC players with 1,000 career points.

 

UT Rio Grande Valley's Megan Johnson became the sixth active WAC player to grab 500 rebounds for her career. Johnson became part of the 500 club with her four rebounds in a win over Seattle U on Thursday, Jan. 16.

 

After scoring 20 points against CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 23, Utah Valley's Jordan Holland went into UVU's contest with GCU only two points shy of 1,000 career points. Holland sunk a layup just 51 seconds into the first quarter to put her in elite company. She became just the eighth player in the Wolverines NCAA Division I era to reach this mark.

 

Five more players reached impressive career marks during the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2. Both Seattle U's Courtney Murphy and California Baptist's Lexy Ram eclipsed 100 three-pointers made for their careers. Murphy nailed two triples in the Redhawks victory over CBU on Feb. 1 to put her over the 100 mark. Meanwhile, Ram went four of seven from downtown in the Lancers home matchup with Utah Valley on Jan. 29 to give her exactly 100 three-pointers for her career.

 

NM State's Gia Pack and Kansas City's Ericka Mattingly also joined elite company as they both surpassed 250 free throws made in their careers. Pack went a perfect 10 for 10 at the stripe on Thursday, Jan. 30 to reach the mark. She also added another two free throws on Saturday, Feb. 1 against GCU to put her at 254 for her career. Mattingly went 7 for 10 against Chicago State on Saturday, Feb. 1 to put her over 250 free throws.

 

Mattingly also sits among the career 150 steals group as she reached the mark thanks to seven steals in the Roos 73-57 win over Chicago State on Saturday, Feb. 1. Two weeks ago, Mattingly reached another career milestone as she hit her 100th triple in a win over UTRGV. This week, Mattingly eclipsed 1,000 career points when she posted 19 points in the Roos loss to Grand Canyon. She sits in fifth amongst active WAC players with 1,019 points.

 

Seattle U's Kamira Sanders and UT Rio Grande Valley's Amara Graham both reached career milestones. Sanders eclipsed 500 career field goals made when she knocked down a jumper with just under three minutes to go in the Redhawks matchup with California Baptist on Saturday. Against the Lancers, she went 7-for-19 and now sits at 501 career field goals made.

 

Meanwhile, Graham of UTRGV dished out her 250th career assist in the third quarter of the Vaqueros matchup with CSU Bakersfield on Thursday. She finished the game with five assists and has since added four assists to sit at 256 for her career.

 

Hercules Tires was named the title sponsor of the upcoming WAC Basketball Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Hercules Tires will also be the exclusive tire partner for the Conference and will have an integrated marketing presence throughout the year, allowing the brand to connect with WAC alumni, fans, students, and employees at all conference championship events.

 

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.