United Athletic Conference

 

Utah Valley is set to take on top-seeded Stanford as they represent the WAC in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. 

 

The Wolverines (13-6, 10-4) earned the WAC's automatic qualification by way of finishing second in the WAC regular-season standings as regular season and tournament champion California Baptist is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to transitioning status. Utah Valley is led by sophomore standouts Josie Williams and Maria Carvalho. Williams averages 14.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game to lead the Wolverines in each category Carvalho is UVU's floor general as she averages 3.2 assists per game to go along with 13.3 points and 1.7 steals per game.

 

Stanford earned one of four No. 1 seeds as they finished the year with a 25-2 overall record and a 19-2 record in Pac-12 play. The Cardinal are led by senior guard Kiana Williams who averages 14.3 points and 2.9 assists per game. Sophomore guard Haley Jones posts 13.0 points per game to rank second on the team in scoring while also leading the Cardinal in rebounding, collecting 7.7 boards per contest.

 

The first round of the NCAA Tournament will take place across five Texas venues located in San Antonio, Austin and San Marcos. Utah Valley is scheduled to square off with Stanford on Sunday, March 21 at 8 p.m. MT at a site to be determined.

 

For the second time in program history, California Baptist will compete in the 2021 Postseason Women's National Invitational Tournament. The unbeaten Lancers are set to take on New Mexico in the first round of the WNIT.

 

Following a WAC regular-season title and the only undefeated regular season in WAC history, the Lancers (24-0, 14-0) were named one of nine automatic qualifiers for the WNIT. They also went on to win the WAC Tournament; however, CBU is unable to represent the WAC in the NCAA Tournament due to its transitioning status. The Lancers are led by WAC Player of the Year Ane Olaeta who led the nation in assists per game (8.4) while also scoring 11.7 points per game. Redshirt sophomore Caitlyn Harper emerged as the Lancers' leading scorer after a pair of breakout performances in the WAC Tournament that helped her finish the season at 13.5 points per game.

 

New Mexico (15-4, 11-3) also garnered automatic qualification as they will compete in the WNIT after finishing as the regular-season champion in the Mountain West. The Lobos are led by 14.6 points per game from junior guard LaTascya Duff. Senior New Mexico native Jaedyn De La Cerda comes in just behind Duff, accounting for 14.3 points per game to go along with 5.1 rebounds per game.

 

California Baptist is scheduled to square off with New Mexico on Friday, March 19 at 7 p.m. MT in Fort Worth, Texas. All games will be available on FloHoops.

 

 

California Baptist finished the year leading the league in scoring as it posts 77.7 points per game. The undefeated Lancers also finished atop the conference in several other categories, including scoring margin (+18.4), field goal percentage (.438), field goal percentage defense (.319), three-point percentage (.335), three-point field goal percentage defense (.236), rebounding offense (43.4), blocked shots (5.5), assists (21.0), assist to turnover ratio (1.4), defensive rebounds (33.5) and three-pointers made (9.6). Grand Canyon paced the conference in steals per game (13.4), turnover margin (+8.40) and offensive rebounds (13.1) and offensive rebound percentage (.327). Utah Valley closed the year atop the group in scoring defense (57.3), rebounding defense (32.8), rebounding margin (+5.6), and defensive rebound percentage (.739) while Tarleton was best in the conference in free throw percentage (.727).

 

Following the WAC tournament, UT Rio Grande Valley's Amara Graham led the league in scoring at 16.5 point per game while also leading the conference in minutes per game (38.1). Utah Valley's Josie Williams led the league in blocked shots (1.9) and offensive rebounds (3.1). California Baptist's Britney Thomas collected the most rebounds per game (8.6) and had the top field goal percentage by a wide margin, shooting at a .643 clip. Thomas also snagged the most defensive rebounds per game (6.3). Fellow Lancer, and one of the top passers in the country, Ane Olaeta dished out the most assists per game at 7.6 while also maintaining the best assist to turnover ratio (2.5). The Lancers also had the top three-point shooter as Sydney Palma shot .462 from deep. Seattle U's Bree Calhoun collected the most steals per game (3.3) while Tarleton's Iyana Dorsey connected on the most triples per contest (2.2) and held the best free throw percentage (.836).

 

Amidst one of the greatest women's basketball seasons in WAC history, California Baptist (24-0, 14-0) secured the regular-season title upon completing the sweep of Grand Canyon. With win number 22, the Lancers became the first school in WAC history to put together an undefeated regular season.

 

CBU also became just the sixth program in WAC history to finish the regular season with an undefeated league record. Only San Diego State (1994-95), Colorado State (1998-99), Louisiana Tech (2002-03), Fresno State (2009-10) and NM State (2016-17) have achieved the feat of an unblemished WAC record.

 

Due to the Lancers' transitioning status, they became the first team in men's or women's college basketball to go undefeated and not reach the NCAA tournament since 1983. Instead, California Baptist received an automatic berth into the Women's NIT, marking the Lancers' second trip to the NIT in just three seasons of Division I play.

 

In UT Rio Grande Valley's final regular-season game of the season, Amara Graham recorded her 1,000th point as a Vaquero. Graham posted nine points to eclipse the mark as she finished the season with 306 points as she led the Vaqueros with 16.1 points per game.

 

Seattle U's McKenzi Williams joined the 100-steal club after entering SU's series with California Baptist with 99 career steals. In the Redhawks' first matchup with the Lancers, Williams snagged a pair of steals to put her over the mark. On the season, Williams had 43 steals as she finished 7th in the WAC with 1.8 steals per game.

 

Seattle U redshirt junior guard McKenzi Williams was awarded the Seattle Sports Commission's Female Sports Star of the Year Award. The Auburn, Washington, native has been a force all year as she posts 15.4 points per game to lead the Redhawks. That mark is also good for third-best in the conference. Williams' season was highlighted by a 36-point outburst against Idaho on Dec. 21 in which she set the SU Division I program record.

 

Williams beat out four other finalists in the fan voting contest, as Alysha Clark (Seattle Storm), Morganne Flores (Washington softball), Charlisse Leger-Walker (Washington State basketball) and Jenn Wirth (Gonzaga basketball) were in the running. Williams is just the eighth Seattle U student-athlete to win a Sports Star of the Year honor.

 

UT Rio Grande Valley's Amara Graham eclipsed a pair of career marks last week during the Vaqueros series against Utah Valley. Graham knocked down her 100th triple in Friday's contest while she tallied career assist number 300 on Saturday. Graham is one of only two active players in the conference to achieve both totals, joining California Baptist's Ane Olaeta. Graham finished with the season with 32 three-pointers and 50 assists, giving her 107 threes made and 307 assists for her career.

 

Utah Valley's Maria Carvalho collected her 100th career steal last weekend. After entering the week with 98 career steals, Carvalho came up with a season-high five steals against NM State on Friday, Feb. 19, to reach the century mark. On the season, Carvalho closed the regular season with 30 steals, giving her 116 steals in her three seasons as a Wolverine.

 

California Baptist head coach Jarrod Olson posted his 200th win as the Lancer leader. Friday, Feb. 5, CBU dominated NM State 94-53 at home to help Olson reach the mark. His 74.1 win percentage is also the best in program history by far and ranks second in program wins behind Dave King as King was at the helm for 287 wins. In Olson's 200th victory, the Lancers' offense was rolling as they shot 54.8 percent from deep and knocked down 17 triples, just one shy of most all-time in a WAC contest.

 

The Redhawk defense came to play on Saturday, Jan. 30, as Seattle U took down Chicago State for its fourth WAC win of the season. Seattle U held the Cougars to just 26.8 percent shooting and allowed zero three-pointers as Chicago State went 0-for-8 in the contest. The Redhawks gave up only 39 points, marking the lowest point total for any opponent in a WAC game this year and the lowest total in a conference game since CSU Bakersfield held Grand Canyon to 37 on March 2, 2019.

 

After enduring a seven-game losing streak, Tarleton collected its first true Division I win as it took down UT Rio Grande Valley, 79-63, on Wednesday, Feb. 27. In their debut DI season, the Texans had earned wins over three non-DI opponents (Howard Payne, Bacone College, Champion Christian) before securing their first win over a DI program. In the win, the Texans had three players with 16 or more points, including Emily Cunningham's 20-point outburst to lead the way.

 

Seattle U's 106-39 win over Northwest produced a night of scoring that is unmatched in Redhawk history. SU set a Division I program scoring record with 106 points while it tied their DI program record in both assists (29) and three-pointers made (15).

 

Tarleton also posted numbers that were etched into the history books as they blew out Champion Christian College, 95-27. The Texans reached a new program record for three-pointers made, knocking down 16 triples. Tarleton also forced 32 turnovers to set a new record for a Misty Wilson-coached team. The 68-point win is also the most dominating victory during Wilson's tenure.

 

Seattle U took down Utah State 75-72 in overtime on Thursday, Dec. 3. In the Redhawks overtime win, they collected 66 rebounds, marking the third-most by an NCAA team up to that point in the season and the most by a Seattle U team since 2010.

 

Despite a slow start, Tarleton put together an 80-39 win over Bacone College on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The 41-point margin marks the Texans' most dominating victory since 2017 when they took down Arlington Baptist 104-52.

 

The WAC adds two new schools as Dixie State and Tarleton join the conference. The Dixie State Trailblazers come over from the DII Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and while the Texans of Tarleton competed in the DII Lone Star Conference a year ago. The two newcomers are replacing CSU Bakersfield (Big West) and Kansas City (Summit League). Dixie and Tarleton join California Baptist as schools transitioning from Division II to Division I. The Lancers enter the third year in the WAC and will be eligible for NCAA postseason in the 2022-23 season. Dixie and Tarleton will complete their transition and be eligible for NCAA postseason play in 2024-25.