March 26, 2010
MWC Women's Basketball Press Release Week No. 20 Update - March 26, 2010 
SAN DIEGO STATE ADVANCES TO SWEET 16
San Diego State used two upset victories to advance to its first Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1994. The Aztecs travel to Memphis, Tenn., to take on No. 2 seed and sixth-ranked Duke on Saturday, March 27, at FedEx Forum. Tip-off is set for 1:04 p.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPN.
San Diego State will be the fourth Mountain West institution to compete in a regional semifinal since the inception of the league (Utah - 2001 and 2006, BYU - 2002, New Mexico - 2003). Overall, MWC programs have made four appearances in the Sweet 16, the last coming in 2006 (Utah). The Aztecs are looking to become just the second league team to move into a regional final. Utah competed in the Elite Eight in 2006, losing to eventual national champion Maryland (75-65 OT) in Albuquerque, N.M.
NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST AND SECOND ROUND RECAP
The Mountain West Conference went 2-1 in the first and second rounds of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. San Diego opened the tourney by defeating No. 6 seed and 17th-ranked Texas, 74-63, at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas last Sunday. The Aztecs were led by Jené Morris, who scored a season-high tying 32 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Quenese Davis and Allison Duffy added 11 points apiece for SDSU. In second-round action, the Aztecs surprised No. 3 seed and 10th-ranked West Virginia, 64-55, on Tuesday in Austin. Morris and Davis scored 27 and 19 points, respectively, to lead SDSU.
In other first-round NCAA Tournament play, No. 9 seed TCU fell to No. 8 seed Dayton, 67-66, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday. Helena Sverrisdottir led the Horned Frogs with 17 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and two steals. Emily Carter, Eboni Mangum and TK LaFleur chipped in with 11 points each for TCU.
BYU ADVANCES TO WNIT QUARTERFINALS
BYU defeated conference foe Wyoming (67-63) in the third round of the WNIT Thursday night in Laramie, Wyo. With the win, the Cougars advance to their first postseason WNIT quarterfinal since joining the league and will travel to Berkeley, Calif., to battle the University of California on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT. Coriann Wood led BYU with a team-high 18 points off the bench. Wood shot 6-for-8 from the field, including 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Jazmine Foreman and Mindy Bonham scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Cougars. BYU is also the fourth Conference institution to compete in a WNIT quarterfinal in the last four seasons and is looking to become the first team to advance to the WNIT semifinals since Wyoming in 2007. The Cowgirls went on to win the WNIT championship that season, defeating Wisconsin, 72-56, in Laramie.
WNIT RECAP ROUNDS 1-3
The MWC has compiled a 7-3 record through the first three rounds of the postseason Women's National Invitational Tournament. In the first round, New Mexico defeated SMU, 66-51, at The Pit on March 17. Sara Halasz led the Lobos with 17 points, while Lauren Taylor came off the bench to add 13 points. BYU was victorious over Pepperdine (62-58) on March 18 at the Marriott Center in Provo. Mindy Bonham scored 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting to lead the Cougars, while Haley Hall contributed 11 points and four assists. Wyoming beat Nevada (74-53) on March 19 at the Arena Auditorium in Laramie, Wyo. Aubrey Vandiver led the Cowgirls with 22 points, while Hillary Carlson tallied a double-double with 19 points and an MWC all-time record 10 blocks. Carlson also pulled down eight rebounds in 31 minutes of action. Utah went on the road and collected a 66-53 win over St. Mary's on March 21. Taryn Wicijowski led the Utes with 21 points, while Kalee Whipple scored 17 points. Halie Sawyer controlled the boards for Utah, pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds.
In second-round action, BYU topped Arizona State (61-53) at the Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday in Tempe, Ariz. Jazmine Foreman and Haley Hall scored 17 and 14 points, respectively, to lead the Cougars. Wyoming defeated Texas Tech in overtime (68-57) on Tuesday in Laramie. Emma Langford tallied a career-high 29 points to lead the Cowgirl charge. In other second round play, New Mexico fell at Oregon, 93-67, while Utah lost at California, 64-54. Amanda Best scored a team-high 18 points, while Nikki Nelson and Sara Halasz chipped in 11 points apiece for UNM. Taryn Wicijowski and Janita Badon scored 15 points each for Utah in its loss.
In a third round battle, BYU bested Wyoming (67-63) on Thursday in Laramie, Wyo. Coriann Wood led BYU with a team-high 18 points off the bench. Wood shot 6-for-8 from the field, including 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Jazmine Foreman and Mindy Bonham scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Cougars. Aubrey Vandiver led the Cowgirls with game-highs in points (20) and rebounds (11), while Hillary Carlson chipped in 18 points in the loss.
NCAA TOURNAMENT REGIONAL SEMIFINAL MATCH-UP
No. 11 seed SAN DIEGO STATE (23-10) vs. No. 2 seed Duke (29-5), 1:04 p.m. CT (ESPNHD)
Saturday, March 27
FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.
San Diego State lost to Duke, 82-68, in the only meeting between the two teams on January 14, 1983, in Durham, N.C. The Aztecs will be competing in the Sweet 16 for the first time since the tournament field was expanded to 64 teams, while Duke will be playing in its 12th NCAA Regional in 13 years. SDSU is the lowest remaining seed in the 2010 tournament field at No. 11. The Blue Devils have participated in the Final Four four times in program history, advancing to the National Championship game twice (1999 and 2006). San Diego State defeated #17/20 Texas (74-63) in the first round and #10/10 West Virginia in the second round (64-55) to advance to the Sweet 16. Duke was victorious over Hampton (72-37) and LSU (60-52) in the first and second rounds, respectively.
WNIT QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UP
BYU (23-9) at California (21-13), 6 p.m. PT
Saturday, March 27
Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif.
California has won both games vs. BYU in the all-time series. This is the first game between the two institutions since November 20, 1981. The Cougars advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2010 WNIT after a first-round win over Pepperdine (62-58) in Provo, a win at Arizona State (61-53) in the second round, and a victory at Wyoming (67-63) in the third round. The Golden Bears defeated UC Davis (74-69 OT), Utah (64-54) and Oregon (71-57) in the first, second and third rounds, respectively, to reach the quarterfinals.
JENE MORRIS AND HELENA SVERRISDOTTIR NAMED FINALISTS FOR WBCA ALL-AMERICA TEAM
San Diego State's Jené Morris and TCU's Helena Sverrisdottir were named two of 40 finalists for the 2010 State Farm Coaches' All-America Team announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Sverrisdottir averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game this season. The Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, native, is the only Mountain West Conference student-athlete to rank among the league's top-15 individuals in each category. Morris leads the league with 2.9 steals per game, which currently ranks 21st in the nation. Morris' 288 career steals is an all-time MWC record. She also leads the Conference in scoring (17.2 ppg), while averaging 2.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game.
The State Farm Coaches' All-America Team for NCAA Division I will be announced in the Alamodome on Center Court between open practices on Saturday, April 3, at 1:05 p.m. CT as a part of the NCAA's Super Saturday events in San Antonio, Texas.
WYOMING'S HILLARY CARLSON TALLIES AN MWC ALL-TIME RECORD 10 BLOCKS
Wyoming junior Hillary Carlson set a new all-time MWC single game record for blocked shots in the Cowgirls' WNIT first-round game vs. Nevada on Friday, March 19, in Laramie, Wyo. Carlson surpassed the previous record of nine blocked shots, set by San Diego State's Paris Johnson. Carlson has now blocked five or more shots in a single game nine times this season and is currently leading the league with a 3.0 per game average, which is also currently ranked 11th in the nation.
MWC SENDS RECORD-TYING SIX TEAMS TO POSTSEASON
The Mountain West Conference sent a record-tying six women's basketball teams to the 2010 postseason. San Diego State and TCU were tabbed to represent the Mountain West Conference in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, while BYU, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are participating in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). The six postseason representatives ties the all-time mark originally set in 2006.
MWC TOURNAMENT RECAP
San Diego State won its first-ever MWC Tournament title with a 70-60 (overtime) win over Utah. SDSU's Quenese Davis scored a game-high 22 points on her way to earning Tournament MVP honors. Jené Morris added 21 points for the Aztecs, while Taryn Wicijowski led Utah with 19 points. San Diego State opened its tournament with a win over Wyoming (60-51) before upsetting No. 2 seed BYU (77-47) in the semifinals. The Utes advanced to the championship game after defeating Air Force (63-40), New Mexico (51-45 OT) in the first-round and quarterfinals, respectively, and top-seeded TCU (69-57) in the semifinals. Utah is the first team to play two overtime games in MWC Tournament history.
SAN DIEGO STATE'S JENE MORRIS SETS ALL-TIME MWC STEALS MARK
San Diego State's Jené Morris' first of four steals in the Aztecs' 73-71 win over BYU on Feb. 24 set the all-time Mountain West Conference mark for career takeaways. Morris surpassed former record-holder Sequoia Holmes (UNLV, 2004-08) and now stands as the Conference leader with 288 career steals. Her 3.06 steals per game is second all-time in the MWC record books. Morris currently leads the MWC this season with 2.9 steals per game.
WYOMING'S AUBREY VANDIVER NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM
Wyoming's Aubrey Vandiver has been selected to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VII Team. This is the second academic all-district accolade for Vandiver, as she was a third-team honoree during the 2008-09 season. Vandiver, a two-time Academic All-MWC and MWC Scholar-Athlete selection, is carrying a 3.65 grade-point average in Spanish.
NEW MEXICO'S AMY BEGGIN NAMED FINALIST FOR LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
New Mexico's Amy Beggin was selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for NCAA Division I women's basketball. The annual honor is given to senior student-athletes who excel both on and off the court and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in SchoolTM, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 women's candidates who were announced in October. Fan balloting is now available on the award's official Web site, http://www.seniorCLASSaward.com, as well as through text messaging. Fans can text WBBALL to 74567 to vote for the women's finalists. The winner will be announced during the 2010 NCAA Women's Final Four in April.
