United Athletic Conference

California Baptist's Britney Thomas has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for March 1 through March 6.

 

Thomas, a senior from San Jacinto, California, led the Lancers to the completion of a perfect season as she averaged a double-double in a sweep of Seattle U. Thomas' week was highlighted by a dominant 22-point, 14-rebound outing in which she shot 81.8 percent from the field to carry CBU to a narrow 66-64 victory over the Redhawks. On the season, Thomas averaged a WAC-best 8.5 rebounds per game while leading the Lancers with 13.7 points per game. 

 

Other nominees included: Chicago State's Christina Britter averaged 17.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while adding three total blocks in the Cougars' series against NM State… NM State's Deja Terrell posted a season-high 16 points to go along with seven boards on Saturday as she led the Aggies to a 71-47 win over Chicago State… Tarleton's Marissa Escamilla helped the Texans close out their first year as a Division I program with a win over UTRGV while averaging 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for the week… UT Rio Grande Valley's Amara Graham carried the Vaqueros to a win over Tarleton on Monday behind a 24-point, six rebound outing as she posted her seventh 20-plus point game of the season… Utah Valley's Maria Carvalho averaged 17.5 points, six rebounds and 2.5 steals per game as she helped the Wolverines clinch the No. 2 seed in the WAC tournament following a sweep of Tarleton last week.

 

The regular season is officially in the books and tournament time is upon us. The 2021 Hercules Tires WAC Women's Basketball Tournament will get underway on Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT as No. 4 NM State will battle with No. 5 Seattle U. The quarterfinals continue as No. 2 Utah Valley will see No. 7 Chicago State with tip-off at 4:30 p.m. PT while No. 3 Grand Canyon and No. 6 UT Rio Grande Valley tip at 8 p.m. PT close out the day. Meanwhile, top-seeded California Baptist will await the winner of Game 1 between the Aggies and Redhawks. The WAC Championship is set to tip-off on Saturday, March 13, at 2 p.m. PT. The winner of the tournament will receive the WAC's automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament and will leave for San Antonio straight from Las Vegas. In the event that CBU wins the tournament, Utah Valley will earn the AQ by virtue of finishing second in the regular-season standings.

 

California Baptist finished the year leading the league in scoring as it posts 77.6 points per game. The undefeated Lancers also finished atop the conference in several other categories, including scoring margin (+18.1), field goal percentage (.442), field goal percentage defense (.320), three-point percentage (.327), three-point field goal percentage defense (.237), rebounding offense (43.4), blocked shots (5.6), assists (21.2), assist to turnover ratio (1.4), defensive rebounds (33.7) and three-pointers made (9.1). Grand Canyon paced the conference in steals per game (13.6), turnover margin (+8.23) and offensive rebounds (13.2). Utah Valley closed the year atop the group in scoring defense (58.1), rebounding defense (33.1), rebounding margin (+5.7), and defensive rebound percentage (.750) while NM State led in offensive rebound percentage at .335. Meanwhile, Tarleton was best in the conference in free throw percentage (.727).

 

As has been the case for eleven straight weeks, Grand Canyon's Katie Scott finished the year as the league's top scorer as she averaged 16.5 points per game. Scott also led the conference in three-point percentage (.489). Utah Valley's Josie Williams led the league in blocked shots (2.1) and offensive rebounds (3.1). California Baptist's Britney Thomas collected the most rebounds per game (8.5) and had the top field goal percentage by a wide margin, shooting at a .6603 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 7.9 while also maintaining the best assist to turnover ratio (2.7). Seattle U's Bree Calhoun collected the most steals per game (3.4) while Tarleton's Iyana Dorsey connected on the most triples per contest (2.2) and held the best free throw percentage (.836). Lastly, UT Rio Grande Valley's Amara Graham recorded the most playing time as she spent 38.1 minutes on the floor per game.

 

Amidst one of the greatest women's basketball seasons in WAC history, California Baptist (22-0, 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 will become 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 will receive an automatic berth into the Women's NIT, marking the Lancers' second trip to the NIT in just three season 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 the weekend with 99 career steals. In the Redhawks' first matchup with California Baptist, 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.

 

 

Utah Valley has been named the favorite to win the 2020-21 women's basketball title and California Baptist's Ane Olaeta was selected as the 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.

 

After finishing second in the conference a year ago, the Wolverines earned the top spot with 57 points and two first-place votes in the preseason poll. California Baptist collected four first-place votes and tallied 55 points, followed by Grand Canyon with two first-place votes and 47 points. NM State garnered the final first-place vote and a total of 45 points as they were picked to finish fourth while UT Rio Grande Valley came in just behind the Aggies with 44 points. Seattle U claimed sixth with 29 points. Newcomer Tarleton followed the Redhawks to capture the seventh spot with Dixie State and Chicago State rounding out the group.

 

Olaeta is atop the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. The senior guard is joined on the first team by Utah Valley's Josie Williams and Maria Carvalho, UT Rio Grande Valley's Amara Graham and Aaliyah Prince of NM State.

 

Second team honors went to Grand Canyon's Laura Piera, NM State's Soufia Inoussa, Tarleton's Alexa Hoy and Seattle U's duo Courtney Murphy and McKenzi Williams.

 

The Western Athletic Conference women's basketball media have selected California Baptist as the preseason favorites to be named the 2020-21 conference champions while the Lancers' Ane Olaeta was named WAC Preseason Player of the Year.

 

In just their third year in the league, California Baptist earned five first-place votes and 61 points from the media to capture the top spot. Utah Valley came in just behind CBU with 60 points and received one first-place vote. UT Rio Grande Valley collected the third spot as they earned 56 points while NM State picked up a first-place vote to put them in fourth with 53 points. The media gave the fifth spot to Seattle U with 41 points. Grand Canyon tallied the final first-place vote and 39 points to finish sixth, followed by Tarleton in seventh, Dixie State in eighth and Chicago State in ninth.

 

Olaeta leads the group of Preseason All-WAC award getters and is joined by teammate Britney Thomas. UT Rio Grande Valley's Amara Graham, Utah Valley's Maria Carvalho and NM State's Aaliyah Prince are also among the first-team honorees.

 

Second-team selections include Utah Valley's Josie Williams, Seattle U's Courtney Murphy, California Baptist's Georgia Dale and Caitlyn Harper, and NM State's Soufia Inoussa.

 

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.

 

After COVID-19 cut the 2020 WAC Basketball Tournament short, the conference will head back to #WACVegas for the 2021 tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The tournament will be held March 10-13 and will include all six NCAA-eligible teams as well as transitioning member California Baptist.