THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE November 24 (Tuesday)
BYU at Southern Utah, 7 p.m.
Northern Arizona at NEW MEXICO, 7 p.m.
Black Hills State at WYOMING, 7 p.m.
November 25 (Wednesday)
AIR FORCE at Army, 7 p.m.
November 26 (Thursday)
U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam (Virgin Islands)
#23/RV SAN DIEGO STATE vs. #5/6 Notre Dame, 4:30 p.m.
November 27 (Friday)
Air Force at Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
Kansas State at BYU, 3:30 p.m.
Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational (Fort Collins, Colo.)
Texas State at Colorado State, 7 p.m.
Holiday Inn & Suites Express Midtown Thanksgiving Tournament (Albuquerque, N.M.)
North Carolina A&T at NEW MEXICO, 7 p.m.
U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam (Virgin Islands)
#23/RV SAN DIEGO STATE vs. #20/16 Oklahoma, 4:30 p.m.
Junkanoo Jam (Freeport, Bahamas)
TCU vs. Minnesota, 10 a.m.
UTAH at #2/2 Stanford, 1 p.m.
November 28 (Saturday)
Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational (Fort Collins, Colo.)
Delaware/Houston at COLORADO STATE, 7 p.m.
Holiday Inn & Suites Express Midtown Thanksgiving Tournament (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Toledo/Yale at NEW MEXICO, 5/7 p.m.
U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam (Virgin Islands)
#23/RV SAN DIEGO STATE vs. South Carolina, 2 p.m.
Junkanoo Jam (Freeport, Bahamas)
TCU vs. #18/RV Kansas/#9/14 Xavier, TBA
The Lady Rebel Round-Up (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Boise State at UNLV, 2 p.m.
November 29 (Sunday)
The Lady Rebel Round-Up (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Bradley/Washington State at UNLV, TBA
UTAH at Santa Clara, 2 p.m.
MWC NOTABLES
NEW MEXICO FALLS IN SEMIFINALS OF PRESEASON WNIT
New Mexico fell in the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT to Oklahoma State, 70-56. The Lobos are the third team in MWC history to advance to the quarterfinals of the preseason tournament. The Lobos also made an appearance in 2005-06, while TCU advanced in 2007-08.
SO CLOSE
After just two weeks of non-conference play, MWC teams have already faced two ranked teams. TCU and UNLV took No. 16/20 Oklahoma and No. 4/4 North Carolina down to the wire, respectively. The Horned Frogs fell, 74-70, in Norman, while the Rebels couldn't close a 10-point gap, falling, 78-68, in Las Vegas.
NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The MWC posted a 10-8 non-conference record last week. Wyoming leads the way with a perfect 4-0 record on the season, followed by San Diego State (3-0), who earned a big win over Pac-10 foe Arizona last weekend. Overall, the league is 20-12 in non-conference play.
COACHES CORNER
San Diego State head coach Beth Burns is just eight wins shy of reaching the 300-career win mark. New Mexico's Don Flanagan reached the milestone last season and now has 310 career victories, while Utah head coach Elaine Elliott leads all active MWC coaches with 560 career wins. TCU skipper Jeff Mittie is also a member of the club, earning 370 career victories.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The MWC boasts a 13-4 home record this season. Overall, the league holds a home record of 2,240-1,073 (.676). Utah has won a league-best 11 straight games at home, followed by TCU, who has won 10 straight contests at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The league is averaging 2,301 fans per game, led by New Mexico's average of 6,864 per contest.
1,000+ SCORERS
The Mountain West returns two 1,000-point scorers from the 2008-09 season. Utah senior Kalee Whipple currently ranks 13th all-time in the MWC record books for career points with 1,433. New Mexico senior Amy Beggin reached the milestone last season and now has 1,107 career points. San Diego State has two players within reach of 1,000 points in seniors Quenese Davis (939) and Jené Morris (958).
DOUBLE UP
UNLV sophomore Jamie Smith set a new MWC and UNLV freshman single-season record for double-doubles with 13 last season. In just the first two weeks of play in 2009-10, Smith leads the MWC with three double-doubles. Against No. 4/4 North Carolina, Smith tallied 17 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Also posting double-doubles this week were Air Force's Raimee Beck (vs. Portland), Colorado State's Meghan Heimstra (at Valparaiso), San Diego State's Paris Johnson (vs. Arizona), TCU's Starr Crawford and Helena Sverrisdottir (at Oklahoma), and Wyoming's Aubrey Vandiver (at North Dakota State).
IN THE POLLS
After a big win over Arizona, San Diego State moved into the Associated Press Top-25 poll for the first time in 14 years. The Aztecs were last ranked in 1995, during head coach Beth Burn's first stint at San Diego State. TCU is receiving votes in the AP poll, while both teams earned nods in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
San Diego State senior Jené Morris, TCU junior Helena Sverrisdottir and Utah senior Kalee Whipple were all named to the 2009-10 Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List. The Naismith Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annual to college basketball's player of the year. In addition, Morris was named to the 2009-10 preseason "Wade Watch" list for the State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year. She has also been named a preseason candidate for the Wooden Award All-America team.
Morris and New Mexico's Amy Beggin have been selected as two of just 30 nominees 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.
WHAT TO WATCH
TCU will host Louisiana Monroe live on The Mtn., on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 6:30 p.m. CT. The Horned Frogs will also match up with Texas A&M on Saturday, Dec. 12. That game will also be televised live on The Mtn.
NEW MEXICO AND UTAH TO HOST 2011 NCAA TOURNAMENT
The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee has selected New Mexico and Utah as host sites for the first and second rounds of the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championships. UNM has served as a host site the last two years. The Pit/Bob King Court was also the regional site of Utah's Elite Eight run in 2006. This will mark the second time that Utah has hosted the preliminary rounds. In 2001, the Utes defeated Fairfield and Iowa in the Huntsman Center in opening-round play to advance to their first Sweet 16.
BY THE NUMBERS .500 - BYU has shot at least 50 percent from the chartiy stripe and from 3-point range in its last two contests. Despite a close loss to Washington on Nov. 18, the Cougars shot over .500 in field-goal percentage (.500), 3-point field-goal percentage (.556) and free-throw percentage (.538).
1 - San Diego State recorded its first victory over a Pac-10 team since 2003, with a 57-38 victory over Arizona. The Aztecs are 3-0 to start the season for just the second time since the 1992-93 campaign, and the second time in the past three years.
1 - Utah freshman Taryn Wicijowski had her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Minnesota on Nov. 17. The freshman is averaging 10.0 points per game in her first three games.
2 - DeLisa Gross became only the second freshman in TCU history to open a career with consecutive double-figure scoring performances. She tallied 13 points against Houston Baptist (11/15/09) and 14 points vs. Fresno State (11/18/09).
2 - With wins at Southern Utah (11/13/09) and Sacramento State (11/19/09), UNLV has already tied its road win total from each of the last two seasons (2-9 in 2008-09, 2-10 in 2007-08).
3 - Against fourth-ranked North Carolina on Nov. 22, UNLV's Jamie Smith posted her third straight double-double of the season with a career-high 18 rebounds and a season-high 17 points. For the season, Smith has grabbed double-digit rebounds in all four games, while her three double-doubles lead the league.
4 - With victories over North Dakota and North Dakota State last week, Wyoming has started the 2009-10 campaign 4-0, marking the best start for the Cowgirls since the 2007-08 season, when they started 6-0.
6 - New Mexico has eight players averaging at least 6.0 points per game. Senior Amy Beggin leads the way, averaging 14.7 points per game. Sophomore Sara Halasz, who has moved into a starting role, is second on the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game.
17 - TCU freshman Starr Crawford pulled down 17 boards against Fresno State on Nov. 18, marking the most for a Horned Frog player since the 2006-07 season, and the second-most for a TCU freshman. Crawford also scored a career-high 19 points against No. 20/16 Oklahoma, while grabbing 13 rebounds.
17 - Colorado State's Kim Mestdagh has scored at least 17 points in all four of the Rams' contests this season, including two 20+ point outings. She is averaging 18.8 points per game, compared to last year's average of 7.5 points per game. The sophomore only had one 20+ point game in 2008-09.
18 - After defeating Arizona last weekend, San Diego State has won18 straight home regular-season games, dating back to the 2007-08 season.
19 - Utah senior Kalee Whipple scored six points in the Utes' loss to UCLA on Nov. 21. The six points snapped Whipple's 19-game streak of scoring in double-figures.
20 - UNLV had three players score at least 20 points in the team's 97-92 OT win at Sacramento State on Nov. 19. Freshman Kelli Thompson and sophomore Sandrine Nzeukou set career-highs in scoring with 26 and 24 points, respectively. Nzeukou also tallied her first double-double after grabbing 11 rebounds. Junior Erica Helms also added 20 points, marking her second career game with 20+ points.
21.3 - Wyoming has won its last three games by an average of 21.3 points per game. The Cowgirls have scored at least 65 points in each of their wins this season.
40 - Air Force junior Raimee Beck scored 40 points and pulled down 21 rebounds last week in a pair of games to average 20 points and 10.5 rebounds. She is among the MWC top-10 in scoring (19.0), rebounding (9.3), free-throw shooting (.938), minutes played (37.8) and three-point baskets (2.8) per game. Her current average of 19.0 points per game is the highest ever for an Air Force Falcon in the Division I and MWC era.
200 - The Aztecs have two players with 200 or more career steals. Senior Jené Morris has accomplished the feat in just two seasons and three games, surpassing the 200 mark during the San Diego game this year. She now has 207 career steals and is averaging 4.0 per outing for the 2009-10 season. Senior Quenese Davis has 208 career steals.
