United Athletic Conference

The week is already off to a strong start as Chicago State went up north and brought home a win from Wisconsin on Monday evening. Among the other top games leading into the weekend are Abilene Christian visiting Kansas State on Tuesday, Dixie State hosting Kansas City on Wednesday and Seattle U facing off against SMU on Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. Many teams will be at holiday tournaments this weekend, including Chicago State at the FIU Thanksgiving Classic, NM State at the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico, California Baptist heading north for the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic, Grand Canyon hosting the GCU Classic and Stephen F. Austin traveling to Katy, Texas for the Van Chancellor Classic.

 

California Baptist's Caitlyn Harper has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week and Chicago State's Aaliyah Collins was named TicketSmarter WAC Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week for November 15-21.

 

Harper, a junior forward from Hartland, Wis., averaged 22.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Lancers, who fell at 15th-ranked Oregon State before holding off UC Irvine at home. Against OSU, Harper finished with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, adding five rebounds and two steals against the Beavers. On Saturday, she posted 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting and added eight rebounds, four blocks and a steal in a 93-88 win over the Anteaters.

 

Collins, a freshman guard from Snohomish, Wash., averaged 12.5 points, 6.0 steals and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Cougars in road losses at Western Illinois and Loyola-Chicago. Against WIU, the guard put up 13 points to go with eight steals, six rebounds and four assists in a 77-50 loss. She followed that up with 12 points, four steals, three rebounds and a pair of assists over 31 minutes in a 71-59 loss at Loyola-Chicago.

 

Other nominees included: Grand Canyon's Dominique Phillips scored 29 points with three steals in the Lopes' 64-57 win over Eastern Washington … Lamar's Angel Hastings put up 12.0 points per game as the Cardinals dropped road games at Mississippi and Texas Tech … NM State's Tayelin Grays led the Aggies in scoring with 15 points in a 76-61 road loss at rival UTEP … Sam Houston's Faith Cook reached double figures in all three games, including 28 points in an 88-73 win over USAO … Seattle U's Courtney Murphy put up 21 points to go with nine rebounds and three steals in the Redhawks' 71-67 win at Sacramento State … Stephen F. Austin's Stephanie Visscher averaged 17.0 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game as the 'Jacks went 2-1 with their only loss coming at nationally-ranked Texas A&M … Tarleton's Iyana Dorsey scored 23 points to lead the Texans in an 87-44 win over Howard Payne on Saturday … UT Rio Grande Valley's Sara Bershers earned the double-double with 29 points and 13 rebounds in a 74-70 home win over McNeese State … Utah Valley's Josie Williams set a new career-high with 17 rebounds, also adding 17 points, in a 60-54 win at future WAC foe Southern Utah.

 

Other freshman nominees included: California Baptist's Trinity San Antonio scored in double-digits for the first time in her career, putting up 10 points in a 93-88 win over UC Irvine on Saturday … Grand Canyon's Naudia Evans led the Lopes with 13 points in an 89-62 loss at Kansas City … UT Rio Grande Valley's Brooke Jessen posted 12 points to go with five rebounds and three assists in a 74-70 win over McNeese State.

 

Heading into the week, Stephen F. Austin is the leader in scoring offense (89.0) as well as blocked shots (6.2) and turnover margin (+15.60). Abilene Christian is tops in scoring defense (49.7), scoring margin (+36.7), field goal percentage (.475), field goal defense (.277), three-point FG defense (.193) and three-pointers made (12.7). Utah Valley holds the top spot in free throw percentage (.804) while Lamar is the leader in three-point FG percentage (.400). Dixie State leads the league in rebounding offense (47.5) while NM State is the leader in rebounding defense (28.3) and rebounding margin (9.3). California Baptist is dishing out a WAC-best 23.7 assists per game and also leading the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.6) while Grand Canyon leads the conference in steals (17.3).

 

Individually, CBU's Caitlyn Harper is the scoring leader at 21.7 points per game. UVU's Josie Williams has the rebounding lead at 13.0 per game. NMSU's Taylor Donaldson leads the WAC in field goal percentage (.737), ACU's Taylor Morgan is the leader in free throw percentage (1.000) and CBU's Dorcas Wu is the leader in three-point FG percentage (.800). CBU's Ane Olaeta once again leads the league in assists (10.3) and CSU freshman Aaliyah Collins is the leader in steals (3.6). UTRGV's Sara Bershers is averaging a WAC-best 3.3 three-pointers per game. TAR's Seyanbou Thiam is the leader in blocked shots (2.0) and ACU's Madi Miller holds the top assist/turnover ratio (3.5).

 

Playing just their fifth game as a member of the WAC, Stephen F. Austin rewrote the record book with their 137-46 win over Arlington Baptist on Nov. 20. The 91-point win set a new league-best for scoring margin and the 137 points scored is also a new WAC record, as is the 56 field goals made by the Ladyjacks. 

 

Following a shortened season, the WAC will return almost all of its stat leaders from the spring. After averaging 16.5 points per game to lead the WAC in scoring in the spring as a part of UT Rio Grande Valley, Amara Graham will return to the court this fall as a Grand Canyon Lope. The WAC's leader in rebounds per game (8.4) and field goal percentage (66.5) will also be back as California Baptist's Britney Thomas suits up for her final season as a Lancer. The Lancer roster will also include the top three-point shooter and top assister from the spring 2021 season. CBU's Sydney Palma shot 44.7 percent from deep to lead the league while Ane Olaeta averaged 7.8 assists per game to finish as the nation's leader in assists.

 

Josie Williams of Utah Valley will be back on the court for the Wolverines after leading the WAC in blocks per game last season. Seattle U's Bree Calhoun will also be disrupting WAC offenses once again as she returns after pacing the conference in steals per game at 3.3.

 

California Baptist has been named the favorite to win the 2021-22 women's basketball title and the Lancers' Ane Olaeta was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year in a vote of the league's 13 head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players.

 

After putting together one of the best seasons in WAC history a season ago, the Lancers earned the top spot with 137 points and six first-place votes in the preseason poll. WAC newcomer Stephen F. Austin was close behind with six first-place votes and a total of 133 points. The Ladyjacks were followed by Grand Canyon who received the remaining first-place vote and 112 points. Utah Valley was slotted in the fourth spot with 106 points while Abilene Christian was selected to finish fifth, garnering 91 points. Sam Houston claimed a total of 86 points as they landed in sixth. NM State came in just behind the Bearkats with 90 points while Lamar was eighth with 63 points. Seattle U captured ninth with 61 points, followed by UT Rio Grande Valley with 54 points. The Tarleton Texans earned 43 points to see themselves picked to finish 11th. Dixie State and Chicago State rounded out the poll, collecting 25 points and 14 points, respectively. 

 

Olaeta is atop the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. The senior guard is joined on the first team by fellow Lancer Britney Thomas, Stephen F. Austin's Stephanie Visscher and Zya Nugent, Utah Valley's Maria Carvalho and Josie Williams, Grand Canyon's Amara Graham and Lamar's Micaela Wilson.

 

Second team honors went to UT Rio Grande Valley's Sara Bershers, Grand Canyon's Tiarra Brown, Seattle U's Bree Calhoun and McKenzi Williams, Sam Houston's Faith Cook, California Baptist's Caitlyn Harper, Stephen F. Austin's Aiyana Johnson and Abilene Christian's Madi Miller.

 

The Western Athletic Conference women's basketball media have selected California Baptist as the preseason favorite to be named the 2021-22 conference champions while the Lancers' Ane Olaeta was named WAC Preseason Player of the Year.

 

The Lancers earned the sweep in the polls as they picked up the top spot in the media poll after being selected first overall in the coaches' poll. CBU was followed by Stephen F. Austin while Utah Valley was picked to finish third in the conference. Grand Canyon was chosen to finish fourth, Sam Houston was fifth and NM State took sixth. The Aggies were followed by Lamar, Abilene Christian, Seattle U, UT Rio Grande Valley, Tarleton, Dixie State and Chicago State.

 

Olaeta leads the group of Preseason All-WAC award getters and is joined by teammate Britney Thomas. Utah Valley's Maria Carvalho and Josie Williams joined the pair of Lancers while Stephen F. Austin also boasted two first-team members in Aiyana Johnson and Stephanie Visscher. Grand Canyon's Amara Graham and Lamar's Micaela Wilson also picked up first-team honors.

 

Second-team selections include Grand Canyon's Tiarra Brown, Seattle U's Bree Calhoun, Sam Houston's Faith Cook, Tarleton's Marissa Escamilla, California Baptist's Caitlyn Harper, NM State's Soufia Inoussa, Abilene Christian's Madi Miller and Stephen F. Austin's Zya Nugent.

 

Coming off a year in which the WAC only returned three all-conference players, the WAC will look very familiar this season, returning eight of 10 All-WAC players. From the list of first-team honorees, Utah Valley's Maria Carvalho and Josie Williams and California Baptist's Ane Olaeta and Britney Thomas will all be back in action. Also, Grand Canyon's Tiarra Brown and Amara Graham, California Baptist's Caitlyn Harper and Seattle U's McKenzi Williams are returning after earning Second Team All-WAC recognition in the spring.

 

WAC fans will also see four of the five members of the WAC All-Defensive Team back this year as Grand Canyon's Taylor Caldwell, Seattle U's Bree Calhoun, Utah Valley's Carvalho and California Baptist's Thomas make their way back. Lastly, four WAC All-Newcomer representatives are coming back for the 2021-22 season as California Baptist's Nicole Avila-Ambrosi, Grand Canyon's Brown, Seattle U's Calhoun and Utah Valley's Shay Fano look to build on their impressive debut seasons.

 

With the addition of four schools coming over from the Southland Conference, the WAC also adds four Southland All-Conference selections from last season. Both Lamar's Micaela Wilson and Stephen F. Austin's Stephanie Visscher were first-team honorees, while the Ladyjacks Aiyana Johnson and Zya Nugent garnered second team distinction.

 

After adding Dixie State and Tarleton a season ago, the WAC has expanded once again by adding four Texas schools. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin all come over to the WAC after spending time in the Southland Conference. Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston and Lamar each finished inside the top four of the Southland's standings last season. The Ladyjacks also claimed the Southland Conference title as they finished the year with a 24-2 overall record and a near-upset of Georgia Tech in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

 

This offseason, the WAC reached a new multi-year, multi-platform media reight agreement that will see over 500 annual events on ESPN+. Fans will be able to catch most women's basketball games this season on ESPN+, with the WAC Tournament Championship Game airing on an ESPN linear network. Fans will also be able to catch select #WAChoops games at wacdigitalnetwork.com.

 

The WAC will have its fair share of new faces on the court this season, but 12 of 13 schools do return a majority of starters while both California Baptist and Seattle U return all five starters. Seattle U also leads the way with 13 returners with only four programs returning less than half of their letterwinners

 

 

The WAC will have its fair share of opportunities to shine against top competition this season. The league currently has 10 games against teams that advanced to the 2021 NCAA Tournament and 10 games against teams that participated in the 2021 NIT. The complete list is below.

 

Games vs. 2021 NCAA Tournament Teams

Nov. 9 UT Rio Grande Valley at USF, 8 p.m. ET

Nov. 10 Tarleton at Arkansas, 7 p.m. ET

Nov. 14 Dixie State at Oregon, 5 p.m. PT

Nov. 17 California Baptist at Oregon State, 7 p.m. PT

Nov. 18 Stephen F. Austin at Texas A&M, 7 p.m. CT

Nov. 27 Sam Houston at Arkansas, 2 p.m. CT

Dec. 12 Abilene Christian vs. Wright St., 1 p.m. CT

Dec. 12 Stephen F. Austin at Gonzaga, noon PT

Dec. 13 Sam Houston at Alabama, 11:30 a.m. CT

Dec. 21 Utah Valley at Idaho State, 7 p.m. MT

 

Games vs. 2021 NIT Teams

Nov. 9 Lamar at New Mexico, 6 p.m. MT

Nov. 11 Utah Valley vs. Fresno State, 7 p.m. MT

Nov. 12 Stephen F. Austin vs. Houston, 6:30 p.m. CT

Nov. 16 Lamar at Ole Miss, 6 p.m. CT

Nov. 26 Stephen F. Austin vs. New Mexico, 6:30 p.m. CT (Katy, Texas)

Nov. 27 Chicago State vs. Delaware, TBA (Miami)

Dec. 3 Dixie State at Colorado, 7 p.m. MT

Dec. 3 NM State at New Mexico, 7 p.m. MT

Dec. 5 NM State vs. New Mexico, 2 p.m. MT

Dec. 16 Sam Houston vs. Rice, 6:30 p.m. CT

 

The conference will head back to #WACVegas for the 2022 tournament in Las Vegas. The tournament will begin March 8 with a pair of games to be held at Michelob Ultra Arena before the remainder of the tournament heads to Orleans Arena on March 9-12. The tournament will include the top 10 eligible teams.