March 18, 2009

Women's Basketball Weekly Release - Postseason Edition

THIS WEEK'S NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

BERKELEY REGIONAL
First and Second Rounds
At Cox Arena, San Diego, Calif.

Saturday, Mar. 21
No. 7 DePaul (23-9) vs. No. 10 SAN DIEGO STATE (23-7), 5 p.m. PT
No. 2 Stanford (29-4) vs. No. 15 UC Santa Barbara (22-9), 7:30 p.m. PT

Monday, Mar. 23
DePaul-San Diego State winner vs. Stanford-UC Santa Barbara winner
(winner advances to the Berkeley Regional)

RALEIGH REGIONAL
First and Second Rounds
At Comcast Center, College Park, Md.

Sunday, Mar. 22
No. 8 Villanova (19-13) vs. No. 9 UTAH (22-9), Noon ET
No. 1 Maryland (28-4) vs. No. 16 Dartmouth (18-10), 2:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Mar. 24
Villanova-Utah winner vs. Maryland-Dartmouth winner
(winner advances to the Raleigh Regional)

First and Second Rounds
At United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas

Sunday, Mar. 22
No. 7 South Dakota State (31-2) vs. No. 10 TCU (20-10), 6 p.m. CT
No. 2 Baylor (27-5) vs. No. 15 UTSA (24-8), 8:30 p.m. CT

Tuesday, Mar. 24
South Dakota State-TCU winner vs. Baylor-UTSA winner
(winner advances to the Raleigh Regional)

THIS WEEK'S WNIT SCHEDULE

March 18 (Wednesday)
Southern at NEW MEXICO, 7 p.m.

MWC NOTABLES
MWC TOURNAMENT RECAP
Utah won its third MWC Tournament title with a 63-58 win over San Diego State. Utah's Morgan Warburton scored a game-high 24 points, marking her 65th consecutive game in double figures. The Utes' Kalee Whipple also added 21 points, while Jené Morris led SDSU with 22 points. UNLV advanced to the semifinals, becoming the first No. 7 seed in the MWC Tournament to win a game. New Mexico also advanced to the semifinals after defeating Air Force and Colorado State earlier in the week.

SAN DIEGO STATE AND UTAH SHARE MWC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
San Diego State and Utah both finished the MWC regular season with 13-3 records. It marks Utah's seventh MWC regular season championship and San Diego State's first. The Utes and Aztecs were picked in the preseason poll to finish first and second, respectively.

MWC SENDS FOUR TEAMS TO POSTSEASON
San Diego State, TCU and Utah will make appearances in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, while New Mexico will make an appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). Utah was the MWC's automatic qualifier after winning the MWC Tournament crown. The Utes will be a No. 9 seed, while San Diego State and TCU will both be No. 10 seeds. The MWC has sent at least three teams to the NCAA Tournament the last four years.

NATIONAL HONORS
Utah head coach Elaine Elliott was named the Russell Athletic/WBCA Region 7 Coach of the Year. Elliott led the Utes to the MWC regular-season and championship titles this season. San Diego State's Jené Morris and Utah's Morgan Warburton were announced as regional finalists for the 2009 State Farm Coaches' All-America Basketball Team. Warburton was also honored as one of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and named to the Naismith Trophy Mid-Season Watch List. An honorable mention All-American and three-time all-MWC player, Warburton is leading the conference in scoring with 18.7 points per game.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Three Mountain West Conference student-athletes were named to the 2009 Academic All-District Women's Basketball Teams. New Mexico junior Amy Beggin and UNLV senior Brittany Halberg were each honored as first-team members, while BYU senior Cassie King was honored on the second team.

NCAA TOURNAMENT MATCH-UPS
First-Round Games
No. 7 seed DePaul at No. 10 seed SAN DIEGO STATE, 5:30 p.m. PT
The Aztecs will meet DePaul for the first time in school history. San Diego State's last trip to the postseason came in head coach Beth Burns' first stint on Montezuma Mesa, as she directed the team to NCAA tournament appearances in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997. The Aztecs have also played in the NCAAs in 1984 and 1985, when they advanced to the regional semifinals. San Diego State, which is 23-7 overall and 13-3 in league play, finished the season 14-0 at Cox Arena and has won 16 straight on its home floor overall, ranking as the eighth-longest streak in the country. DePaul finished the season 23-9 (10-6 Big East) and will be making its seventh straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Demons hold a record of 7-13 with six second-round appearances.

No. 8 seed Villanova vs. No. 9 seed UTAH, Noon ET
This will be the first meeting in school history for the two teams. Utah (22-9, 13-3) will be making its 16th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its fourth in the last five years after winning the MWC Tournament last weekend. The Utes are 8-15 overall in the postseason tournament, having advanced to the Elite Eight in 2006. Villanova (19-13, 10-6), an at-large selection out of the Big East, is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2004. Overall, this is the ninth appearance for the Wildcats, who own a 7-8 all-time record.

No. 7 seed South Dakota State vs. No. 10 seed TCU, 6 p.m. CT
TCU and South Dakota State will meet for the first time in school history. TCU (20-10, 12-4) earned an at-large bid out of the Mountain West Conference and is making its eighth appearance in nine years in the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs are 5-7 all-time in the tournament, advancing to the second round in five of their previous seven trips. South Dakota State (31-2, 17-1), the Summit League champion, is making its first apperance in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level. The Jackrabbits are riding a 17-game winning streak heading into the contest. South Dakota State and TCU share two common opponents this season in Utah and Maryland. The Jacks beat Utah, 70-58, in Brookings, S.D., before dropping a 68-56 decision to Maryland in the Caribbean Challenge in Cancun, Mexico. The Frogs split with Utah and defeated Maryland, then-ranked No. 3, in Fort Worth in the season opener for both teams.

WNIT MATCH-UPS
First-Round Game
Southern at NEW MEXICO, 7 p.m.
The teams will meet for the first time in school history. New Mexico (22-10, 9-7) earned a berth into the WNIT for the first time since the 2001 season, where the team advanced to the championship game. The Lobos have reached the post-season 12 straight years and will be making its fourth appearance in the WNIT. New Mexico is 16-2 inside The Pit this season. Southern is making its first-ever appearance in the WNIT. The Jaguars (16-13, 11-7) finished the regular season in second place in the SWAC and lost to Prairie View A&M in the tournament championship game.

BY THE NUMBERS
.911 - Utah's Morgan Warburton is shooting .911 from the free-throw line and is on her way to becoming Utah's first 90% free throw shooter in a season. The school record for free-throw percentage in a season is 88.6, done by Gina Butters (85-86).

1 - San Diego State finished in first place in the MWC regular season for the first time since joining the league in 1999. It marks the team's first title since 1996-97, when the Aztecs finished atop the Western Athletic Conference. This is also the Aztecs' first NCAA appearance since 1996-97, when the team fell to Oregon in the first round.

1 - New Mexico lost to Utah by one point (56-55) in the MWC semifinals. All three games between the Utes and Lobos this season were decided by three points or less. Seven of New Mexico's last eight losses have been decided by less than 10 points.

3 - The MWC is sending three teams to the NCAA Tournament (San Diego State, TCU, Utah). Since the inception of the league in 1999-2000, at least two teams have advanced to the NCAA postseason, while three teams have advanced the past four years.

3 - Wyoming finished tied for fifth in the MWC standings, despite the fact that three of the team's top four scorers are first- or second-year players. Sophomore Hillary Carlson (353), and freshmen Emma Langford (316) and Kristen Scheffler (310) have accounted for 979 of the Cowgirls 1,795 total points.

6 - Colorado State improved by six wins over its regular-season record from 2007-08 (4-28), and captured four conference victories under first-year Head Coach Kristen Holt. The four conference victories are the most by a Rams' squad since the 2004-05 team posted a record of 6-8 in MWC action.

6 - Mountain West teams have lost six straight contests in the NCAA Tournament after going 0-3 in 2006-07 and 2007-08. All four teams that advanced in 2005-06 won their first-round games as Utah advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to eventual national champion Maryland in overtime (75-65).

7 - Utah earned a share of the MWC regular season crown with a 13-3 league record. It marks the Utes' seventh title in the 10-year history of the Mountain West Conference.

14 - UNLV senior Shamela Hampton's 14 double-doubles leads the league this season. She also combines with freshman Jamie Smith for the top pair in the league with 27, as Smith has 13 of her own, the most by a freshman at UNLV and the most by a freshman in the MWC. The duo has recorded double-doubles in the same game five times this season.

14 - San Diego State finished the regular season undefeated at home for just the second time in school history (also in 1995-96). The Aztecs are 14-0 at Cox Arena in 2008-09 and have won 16 straight overall. The 14 home wins equals the school record for most home victories in a regular season with the 1983-84 squad that went 14-0, before claiming home win No. 15 in the first round of the NCAAs.

17 - BYU was unofficially tabbed the second-youngest women's basketball team in the country this season. Starting just two seniors and three sophomores, the Cougars' bench outscored their opponents' bench in 17 games this year.

20 - Four MWC teams (New Mexico, San Diego State, TCU, Utah) have 20 wins heading into the postseason. Since the inception of the MWC in 1999, every team with 20+ wins has advanced to the postseason. The Aztecs earned 20 wins for the first time since the 1996-97 season, while the Horned Frogs have recorded a 20-win campaign in eight of the last nine seasons. The Utes have also hit the milestone, record 20+ wins in six of the last seven seasons, marking head coach Elaine Elliott's 19th 20-win campaign. New Mexico has earned at least 20 wins in nine straight seasons.

65 - Utah's Morgan Warburton scored a game-high 24 points in the MWC championship game. The senior has scored in double figures in 65 straight contests.

143 - SDSU made five three-point field goals in the MWC Championship game to break the school's single-season record of 140 three pointers set in 2004-05. The Aztecs now have 143 on the season.

273 - With 273 rebounds on the season, Air Force senior Kim Kreke is the Falcons' all-time Division I single-season record holder in rebounding, surpassing Alecia Steele, who had 228 boards in 2006-07. Kreke's 273 boards is 3rd-best all-time at Air Force. Kreke also pulled down 19 rebounds in a game twice this season, also setting a Air Force Division I record. She is second in the MWC this season with 9.3 boards per game.

400 - TCU's Helena Sverrisdottir (479) and TK LaFleur (445) give the Frogs two players with at least 400 points in the same season for only the second time in program history. It also happened in 2006-07 with Adrianne Ross (553) and Ashley Davis (456). Sverrisdottir is the only player in the MWC to rank in the top seven in scoring (3rd), rebounding (6th), assists (2nd) and steals (7th).

995 - New Mexico's Amy Beggin has 995 career points, just five shy of reaching the 1,000 mark. Beggin will be the sixth junior and 16th player all-time at New Mexico to reach the mark.

18,018 - The last time New Mexico hosted a WNIT game was a sellout (18,018) against Ohio State in the championship game on March 24, 2001.