March 14, 2006
RENO, Nev. - Nevada (13-17, 8-8 WAC T4th) completed the season with a semi-final loss to defending and eventual 2006 WAC Champion Louisiana Tech, 69-60. The Pack advanced to the semi-final by downing San Jose State for their 10th win in the last 14 outings with a a convincing 76-61 triumph over San Jose State Wednesday night. It was the first time a Kim Gervasoni team was able to upend the Spartans in her three years here.
Criner on WAC All-Tournament Team: Freshman guard Dellena Criner (Oakland, Calif.) was named to the WAC All-Tournament team with 33 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
WAC Honors Fitzgerald, Criner: Freshman Brandi Fitzgerald (Moreno Valley, Calif.) was named the Newcomer-of-the- Year and was joined by freshman teammate Criner on the WAC All-Freshman Team. Fitzgerald led the team in scoring and steals and was second in rebounding and minutes played. Criner paced the team in assists and three-point percentage and was fourth in steals as well as sixth in scoring.
Nevada Highlights at WAC Tournament: Nevada held an eight-point halftime advantage and built a 15-point lead to win 76-61. Dellena Criner had 18 points and seven rebounds (a career-high) and Cherlanda Franklin had 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds while Jessica Preslar added 18 markers and Brandi Fitzgerald had 11 markers to lead the Pack. It was Gervasoni's first win in seven tries against the Spartans. Nevada's 30 free throws made tied the WAC Tournament record. In Friday's semi-final against 17th-ranked Louisiana Tech, Nevada, Nevada trailed by just two at the half and played the Lady Techsters straight up until the final three minutes of the game before losing, 69-60.
School Records for Steals Broken at Utah State: Nevada set a one-game and a season mark for steals with 22 steals at Utah State (2-25-06), with the previous mark 21 vs. Texas-Arlington in 1991. They also surpassed the previous one-season best (278, set in 1987-88) in that game. Nevada finished the season with 325 steals.
Best Mark Under Gervasoni: Nevada surpassed the most wins (previous best was 8) in the Gervasoni era and eclipsed the best WAC mark (4) in her tenure here. The eight WAC wins is the most since the Pack's first year in the league, 2000-01, when they were 9-7 and 16-13 over-all.
Stats Leaders: Fitzgerald led the team in scoring (10.9), steals (2.1) and minutes (28.6) and was second in rebounds (4.6). Criner is tops in assists (2.0) and three-point percentage (.410), and Jessica Preslar led in rebounding (5.2) while the top shooter was Kate Saltmarsh in free throw accuracy (.808) and in field goal percentage (.434).
WAC Statistical Leaders: Fitzgerald is sixth in steals (2.1) and Graham is eighth (1.9). Fitzgerald is 15th in scoring (10.9), and Criner is 10th in free throw percentage (.760). As a team, the Pack ranks first in steals (10.8), third in turnover margin (+0.97), in scoring defense (62.1), in rebounding defense (38.6), as well as in free throw percentage (.697).
Squad Notes: Seven different players led or shared the lead in scoring and nine different players led or shared the lead in rebounds...The Pack used eight different starting lineups and 11 different players figured in at least one opening unit, though the same lineup was used for 10 straight games toward the end of the season...Nevada played in eight different states and one U.S. Territory (Virgin Islands) in 2005-06...Games were played on every day but Monday, with Saturday being the most popular day with 15 contests scheduled...The Pack had 15 single-digit contests in 2005-06, going 6-9 in those games...The Pack's late-season four-game win streak is the longest since the Pack had a five-game string in early 2002-03. It is the longest string of consecutive WAC wins (4) in the six years Nevada has been in the league...Nevada's win over San Jose State was the first in six tries for Gervasoni and the first over the Spartans since a 2001 win in Reno...The 30-33 at the free throw line against San Jose State fell just short of season bests - those are 31 for 38 vs. Northwestern State (La.)...Dellena Criner continues to lead the team free throws made (79) and attempted (104)...Sabrina Keys went down with a knee injury (torn ACL) against Utah State and missed the remainder of the season. She should be able to return for the 2006-07 campaign.
Criner Shines in Win at Utah State: Dellena Criner helped Nevada erase a 10-point deficit and go on to win by 16 with a career-high 18 points, six rebounds and four steals in a 67-51 win in Logan, Utah, February 25.
Graham Has Season and Career Highs at Boise State: Junior guard Traci Graham had a season-high 19 points and a career-best nine rebounds to lead Nevada at Boise State.
Fine Freshman Fitzgerald: WAC Newcomer-of-the-Year, freshman guard Brandi Fitzgerald, had her first double-double for Nevada with 17 points and a career-best 11 rebounds vs. San Jose State in Reno earlier this season. She topped that in scoring with 23 points against Boise State and had 18 double-figure scoring performances and one double-digit rebounding effort in 2005-06.
McGuire Has Career-High Scoring Night In Honolulu: Sophomore forward Meghan McGuire had a career-high 28 points against Hawai`i. Her pervious best was 26 last year at Louisiana Tech. It was the most points since Laura Ingham's 28 vs. San Diego in December 2002.
Signees Ink in Early Period: Marianne Lombardi, a 6'0 post from Yakima, Wash., and Marissa Hammond, a 6'3 post from Pendleton, Ore., will join the Wolf Pack next fall as incoming freshmen. Lombardi and Hammond play on the same club team, Sagebrush Hoops Northwest, coached by Mike Hodgins. Lombardi was a second-team All-Big 9 Conference selection at Yakima's Eisenhower High School. She averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds in a guard-oriented offense at Eisenhower. She did score 27 points in the one game the offense centered around her. She was invited to the state all-star game but chose to compete with her club team when that game was played. Eisenhower was 24-3 and won the district title for the first time in several years, advanced to regionals and placed second but did not place at the state tournament in the 4-A (largest) classification. With Sagebrush Hoops Northwest, she averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds. Hammond, who averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Sagebrush Hoops Northwest, is an Honor Roll student and also won the Outstanding French Student and Citizenship Cup Awards at Pendleton High School. A first-team All-Intermountain Conference selection the last two years, she was co-captain and co-MVP last year. She also earned All-Area first team honors as a sophomore and junior and picked up co-MVP All-Area honors as a junior. A three-sport letter winner, she has earned two letters in track & field and one in soccer. She averaged 14.4 points and 8.0 rebounds as a junior to lead Pendleton to a 15-1 league mark, 22-6 over-all, and an appearance in the state tournament's Elite Eight.
2005-06 WAC Final Regular-Season Standings WAC Games (W-L, Pct.) All Games (W-L, Pct.) Louisiana Tech 15 1 .938 26 4 .867 Fresno State 14 2 .875 22 7 .759 Hawai`i 9 7 .563 18 10 .643 San Jose State 8 8 .500 13 15 .464 Nevada 8 8 .500 13 17 .433 Boise State 6 10 .375 15 15 .500 New Mexico St. 5 11 .313 10 20 .333 Idaho 5 11 .313 10 19 .345 Utah State 2 14 .125 3 24 .111
Head Coach Kim Gervasoni: Kim Gervasoni, now entering her fourth year at the helm, has turned the corner for the program as they have become an extremely competitive member of the WAC. With a fourth-place tie (8-8) and a 13-17 over-all mark in 2005-06, the Pack had their second-best finish in six years as a WAC member. A glimpse of what was to come happened in the opening round of the 2005 WAC Tournament when Nevada upset Hawaii, 65-61. Though they lost the next night to eventual WAC Champion Rice, 64-54, they were in that game until the final couple of minutes and proved they can play with and beat good teams. The Pack finished the year 8-22, a marked improvement from the previous season. Nevada lost nine single-digit games in 2004-05, largely due to a lack of depth Acknowledging her first year here was difficult as they struggled to a 3-26 mark, last year was the toughest on a personal level. Kim lost her husband and assistant coach, Mike, in a car accident as well as the availability of guard Jocelyn Mancebo, who underwent brain tumor surgery in the summer of 2004. But through adversity comes new opportunities and a chance to look within and see things differently. Gervasoni and her assistants hit the recruiting trails hard last year and have brought in one of the best classes in recent memory. Now with depth and more athleticism, she'll be able to mix things up defensively and play a more up-tempo offensive style. That first season in 2003-04 did have some positives. Gervasoni collected only the program's fourth win against Hawai'i and just the seventh against Fresno State. Nevada also had eight games that it pushed to within eight points or less and twice went to overtime. With her first two years here now under her belt, Gervasoni and her team are ready to make a statement this year. She brought in six recruits for her first signing class in 2004-05 that shared four high school state championships between them. She followed that with seven new players for the 2005-06 season, including a junior college standout, a transfer from national power Purdue and four of the better prep players in California to blend with seven returning players, among those being three starters. The 39-year-old Gervasoni was the top assistant at Arizona State for three years, 2000-03, before taking the Nevada job, and was the highly-successful head coach at Solano Community College (Calif.) for eight years prior to her stay in Tempe, Ariz. She has also been an assistant coach at De Anza College (Calif.) and at Logan High School in Union City, Calif. In her three years at Arizona State, she helped take the Sun Devils from the bottom half of the league to back-to-back PAC-10 titles and three straight post-season appearances, including two straight NCAA bids. As a recruiter, she has helped bring in two top-25 classes at Arizona State, including a top-10 group in 2003. Additionally, the team grade point average was above 3.0 each of her three years in Tempe and she was active in promoting the program in the community with the creation and development of the Hoop Devils Kids' Club. In 1995-96, Gervasoni had one of the best seasons of her coaching career at Solano when she led her team to a 32-4 record, the Bay Valley Conference title and an appearance in the semifinal of the state championships. She garnered a number of regional and national awards, including California Coaches Association, California Community College, conference, District 8 Junior College and Budget Rent-A-Car Coach of the Year accolades. What she is most proud of is that in her eight years as head coach over 50 players went on to receive their four year degrees and over 30 players earned basketball scholarships. Including the handful of Coach of the Year Awards from 1995-96, Gervasoni has been honored with five different such awards over her career. She has been part of nine conference championships. While coaching at Milpitas High School, she pursued her master's degree in physical education at Cal State Hayward, which she earned in 1991. She spent one season coaching high school basketball before taking her first collegiate coaching job at her alma mater, De Anza College, in 1992. She spent two seasons at De Anza College as an assistant coach where she helped guide the team to a 49-16 record and met her husband Mike, who had coached at De Anza since 1987. In 1992, she was inducted into the De Anza College Hall of Fame for her playing accomplishments.
Date Opponent Result Nov. 6 Bay Area Pro-Am (Exhibition) W, 87-83 Nov. 12 Sonoma State (Exhibition) W, 81-55 Nov. 18 at Portland State L, 65-61 Nov. 20 at Oregon L, 61-50 Nov. 25 at Paradise Jam (vs. Minnesota) L, 83-75 Nov. 26 at Paradise Jam (vs. Alabama) L, 76-46
Dec. 2 Nugget Classic (vs. N. Colorado) L, 68-52 Dec. 3 Nugget Classic (vs. N'western St.) W, 79-59 Dec. 6 at Cal State Fullerton L, 53-49 Dec. 10 UNLV L, 55-41 Dec. 17 Sacramento State W, 63-52 Dec. 28 at Northern Arizona L, 66-58 Dec. 31 USF W, 59-53
Jan. 5 Hawai'i * L, 79-74 Jan. 7 San Jose State * L, 64-56 Jan. 12 at Idaho * L, 69-56 Jan. 14 at Boise State * L, 58-50 Jan. 19 Utah Valley State W, 74-59 Jan. 21 Utah State * W, 64-54 Jan. 26 Boise State * W, 73-67 Jan. 28 at Hawai'i * W, 66-61
Feb. 2 Louisiana Tech * L, 72-57 Feb. 4 New Mexico State * W, 61-51 Feb. 9 at Louisiana Tech * L, 75-34 Feb. 11 at New Mexico State * W, 53-46 Feb. 16 Fresno State* W, 68-67 Feb. 18 Idaho * W, 49-43 Feb. 25 at Utah State * W, 67-51
March 2 at San Jose State * L, 53-48 March 4 at Fresno State L, 73-48 March 8 vs. San Jose State (WAC Tourn.) W, 76-61 March 10 vs. Louisiana Tech (WAC Tourn.) L, 69-60
All Times Local to Site Home Games at Lawlor Events Center * Western Athletic Conference Game
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