United Athletic Conference

California Baptist's Ane Olaeta has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week with Lamar's Akasha Davis earning TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week. 

 

Olaeta made the Lancers offense click on all cylinders during their 3-0 week. The senior averaged 20.3 points, 6.7 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.7 rebounds during that stretch. Olaeta nailed 51.2 percent of her jump shots, including an 11-for-18 effort from behind the arc. She started the week with a 20-point, six-assist game at Seattle on Monday. Three days later she registered 21 points, nine assists and five steals in a home win against Tarleton before closing her week with an 18-point, five-assist performance during the Lancers victory against Abilene Christian.

 

Davis put together a pair of double-doubles while averaging 13 points and 9.3 rebounds a game as the Cardinals posted a pair of wins in their three games. She started her week by hitting four of her five jumpers against Stephen F. Austin en route to a 10-point game on Monday. In 29 minutes against Dixie State three days later, she recorded a 19-point, 11-rebound effort during the 75-65 victory. The forward closed the week by notching another double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) during a 59-55 home win against Utah Valley. 

 

Other nominees included:  Madison Grange averaged 15.7 points a game as Utah Valley posted two wins (Dixie State, UT Rio Grande Valley) in their three contests … Bree Calhoun came off the bench in Seattle's three games to score in double figures each time en route to averaging 15.3 points a game … UT Rio Grande Valley's Ivan Belosevic connected on 70 percent of her field goal attempts and scored 17 and 16 points respectively against Utah Valley and Dixie State … Amara Graham tied for the highest scoring game of the week (24 points) as Grand Canyon knocked off Sam Houston State … Malaya Kendrick tallied 46 total points (15.3 ppg) as Tarleton notched two wins (Sam Houston State, Seattle U) in three games … In New Mexico State's only game, Taylor Donaldson scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in their victory against Sam Houston State … Shanaijah Davison averaged 14.3 points and 6.0 rebounds a game in Dixie State's three games … Madi Miller recorded 13.5 points each time she stepped on the floor last week for Abilene Christian; notched a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) against California Baptist … Lamar had three solid performances during their two-win week as Malay McQueen averaged 12 points per game while Sabria Dean notched 11.3 points each contest last week … Davis was also under consideration for Player of the Week accolades

 

Other freshman nominees included: Trinity San Antonio helped California Baptist to a 3-0 week by scoring 7.3 points per game from her forward position … Kacee Kyle scored 12 and 14 points respectively against Utah Valley and Dixie State as UT Rio Grande Valley split their week … Ja'Mya Powell-Smith put together a six-point, four-assist, two-steal effort as Grand Canyon knocked off Sam Houston State … Mason Jones came off the bench in each of Tarleton's three games led by her six-point effort against California Baptist … Dixie State's Macie Warren averaged nine points per game in three games last week … Bella Earle scored 15 points, tying for team high honors, in Abilene Christian near Saturday victory at California Baptist

 

A pair of rescheduled games started the week on Monday then one more rescheduled game today before  a somewhat normal week ensues. Highlighting the week is Saturday's contest between California Baptist and Stephen F. Austin. Currently the last two undefeated teams in league play. 

 

Both Stephen F. Austin and California Baptist have had their fair share of winning success. The Lumberjacks currently hold the nation's longest home winning streak at 33. BYU is the next closest at 24. Meanwhile the Lancers have won 23 consecutive WAC regular season games. Only UConn (124), and Princeton (30) have a longer such streak. Moreover, the Lancers current 10-game overall winning streak is only bested by South Dakota's 14-game winning streak. Florida Gulf Coast is also at 10 straight wins.

 

Stephen F. Austin continues to show its offensive prowess as the season enters its 12th week. The Ladyjacks are averaging 77.6 points per game and outscoring the opposition by 22.6 each time they step onto the court. Not surprisingly they lead the WAC in field goal percentage (.453) as well. Abilene Christian and Dixie State are the top teams behind the arc as they are making 9.9 and 9.8 made three-pointers respectively per game. 

 

Defensively, the trio of Stephen F. Austin (55.1 ppg), Tarleton (56.7) and Lamar (59.7) are topping the league in scoring defense. 

 

Caitlyn Harper remains atop the league's top scoring players as she is averaging 19.2 points per game for California Baptist. Josie Williams is second in the league in scoring (16.5) while grabbing a conference best  11.8 rebounds each time she suits up for Utah Valley. Aiyana Johnson is knocking a WAC best 59.3 percent of her field goal attempts for Stephen F. Austin while Ane Olaeta is registering 7.8 assists per game for the undefeated Lancers.

 

The WAC team duo of Stephen F. Austin and Grand Canyon are among the best teams in the country in turning their opponents over. Stephen F. Austin leads the nation in 25.76 turnovers forced per game with Grand Canyon (24.53) ranking fourth in that same category. Stephen F. Austin also leads the country in turnover margin (+10.53). Not surprisingly, Stephen F. Austin and Grand Canyon ranked among the top three in total steals and steals per game (see page 7 of note pack). 

 

Sam Houston's Faith Cook broke into the 1,000 career point club in a big way in December to start a trend. 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 season to achieve the milestone as CBU's Georgia Dale entered the rarified scoring category in December as well. Aiyana Johnson became a member as she reached the milestone two weeks ago and now has 1,051 career points in four seasons at Stephen F. Austin. Caitlyn Harper recorded her 1,000th career point just over a week ago for California Baptist. 

 

Heading into the season, Abilene Christian's Julie Goodenough already reached the 400-win plateau. In her 26th year as a head coach, she leads the league in most seasons as a head as well as career wins (469). During the first weekend of WAC games, Stephen F. Austin's Mark Kellogg joined her with 400 career wins. Suzy Barcomb is just two wins shy of her 400th career head coaching win.

 

Following a vote of athletic directors the last week of December, 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.

 

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 return

 

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.

 

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 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

Jan. 9 UTRGV at Texas, 2 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.