This Week in Women's Basketball - Dec. 28
This Week in Women's Basketball - Dec. 28
Complete Release (PDF)
WAC ANNOUNCES CHANGE TO BASKETBALL GAME CANCELATION POLICIES
Following a vote of athletic directors, the Western Athletic Conference has adjusted its game cancelation policy to balance the health and safety of coaches, student-athletes, staff and officials as well as protect the integrity of the conference schedule.
The minimum number of participants for conference play has been set at seven Covid-eligible student-athletes and one Covid-eligible coach. If a team meets the requirement, they will be expected to compete in the contest.
In addition, the WAC has determined that if a game is canceled for Covid-related reasons, administrators from the impacted institutions will work collaboratively to find a mutually agreeable date to reschedule. If they are unable to find a date, the game will be considered a no-contest.
“Ultimately, we wanted to maintain some flexibility as the Covid landscape continues to change,” said WAC commissioner Brian Thornton. “Our biggest goals are to protect the health and safety of our student-athletes and coaches as well as put our programs in the best position to compete in our conference tournament.”
The conference will continue to work with institutional leadership regarding any changes to seeding procedures for the 2022 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament.
THIS WEEK
The conference schedule begins in earnest later this week. The final non-WAC game of 2021 is a Tuesday, Dec. 28 contest as N.M. State hosts SAGU American Indian College. Two days later WAC play begins with five games on the docket as Abilene Christian, Tarleton, UT Rio Grande Valley, Chicago State and N.M. State host contests. The New Year is rung-in with four games on the first day of the year before Seattle U hosts California Baptist on Sunday, Jan. 2 to close out the opening week of league games. Lamar was slated to host a pair of games but they are on-pause until next week because of positive Covid-19 tests within the program.
TICKETSMARTER WAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ANNOUNCED
California Baptist’s Britney Thomas has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week with Grand Canyon’s Naudia Evans earning Ticketsmarter Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Week.
Thomas was stellar during the Lancers 66-64 overtime victory at Cal Poly on Tuesday, Dec. 21. Thomas scored a season high 29 points while grabbing 13 rebounds in just 23 minutes. The senior made 13 of her 19 field goal attempts while also recording one block, steal and assist from her post position.
Evans played 26 minutes in the Lopes 58-53 win against UC Irvine two days before Christmas. The native of Waynesville, Mo. scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in helping Grand Canyon move to 7-4 heading into the start of conference play. Evans also dished out a pair of assists.
Other nominees included: Courtney Murphy posted a 12-point, seven-rebound performance as Seattle U closed out non-conference play with a 61-38 victory over Western Oregon … Stephen F. Austin’s Aiyana Johnson tallied 14 points with eight rebounds and a pair of blocks in a 70-38 triumph over Southeastern Louisiana … Teammate Avery Brittingham also contributed 14 points with six rebounds in 23 minutes during the pre-Christmas win … Amara Graham played all but four minutes during Grand Canyon five-point win against UC Irvine while scoring 15 points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists
Other freshman nominees included: Franziska Prinz scored five points in just a handful of minutes during Stephen F. Austin’s 32-point win against Southeastern Louisiana
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Stephen F. Austin’s 79.7 points per game average is the league leader but, Abilene Christian (78.6 ppg) is closely behind them as the conference’s top scoring offense. Abilene Christian is shooting just slightly better from the floor than their Texas counterparts from Nacogdoches 44.7-44.6 percent. Stephen F. Austin has made 350 field goals which is 40 more than their closest WAC competition (California Baptist). Abilene Christian has made 124 shots from behind the arc. Dixie State (108) is the only other conference school with more than 100 made three-pointers. Defensively, Tarleton has limited the opposition to just 53.9 points per game and a 33 percent shooting percentage, leading the WAC in each category.
From an individual standpoint, Caitlyn Harper is scoring a conference best 18.5 points per game for California Baptist. Teammate Britney Thomas is shooting a league high 60.9 percent from the field. Josie Williams is averaging a double-double as she is fourth in the WAC in scoring (16.2 ppg) while grabbing 12.3 rebounds each time she steps on the court. CBU’s Ane Olaeta continues to be a great distrobutor of the ball, as her 8.1 assists per game average leads the league by nearly three assists per game.
1,000 POINT PLATEAU
Sam Houston’s Faith Cook recently broke into the 1,000 career point club in a big way. Needing only four points in the Bearkats game against Arlington Baptist, she scored 24 to become the seventh active member of the 1,000-point club among WAC players. She is the second person this month to achieve the milestone as CBU’s Georgia Dale entered the rarified scoring category just three weeks ago.
TURNING THE OPPONENT OVER
Both Stephen F. Austin and Grand Canyon have been among the top defensive teams in the nation. Each team is ranked in the national top 10 in total steals, steals per game, turnovers margin and turnovers forced per game (see page 6 of notes pack).
STAT LEADERS BACK
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.
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
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.
PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
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.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
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.
TEXAS SIZED ADDITION
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.
WAC ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
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.
KEY NON-CONFERENCE MATCH-UPS
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 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
WAC TOURNAMENT MAKES 11TH TRIP TO VEGAS
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.