NEVADA (4-4)
at UCLA (5-1)
~ GAME 9 ~
Sunday, December 7, 2008 ~ 2 p.m. (PT) ~ Pauley Pavilion ~ Los Angeles, Calif.
RADIO: Fox Sports 1450 AM; Don Marchand, play-by-play; pregame 15 minutes before tip off
INTERNET: Live stats (nevadawolfpack.com)/Streaming video (uclabruins.com)
SERIES HISTORY: This is the first meeting between the two schools.
LAST MEETING: This is the first meeting between the two schools.
About This Game
Nevada will continue its three-game road trip with the second game in that stretch at UCLA on Sunday afternoon. The Pack, who is looking for its first road win of the season, has never faced UCLA.
About the Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada fell on the road at UC Santa Barbara 59-37 on December 4. Brandi Jones was the lone Pack player to score in double-figures as she scored a team-high 11 points. Shavon Moore grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. The 37 points scored by the Pack was the fewest amount of points Nevada has scored since the 1995-96 season.
On November 28-29, the Pack won a Nugget Classic title and recorded an upset over #7 Louisville. The Pack beat Northern Iowa 73-56 in the first game of the Nugget Classic. Against the Panthers, Nevada head coach Jane Albright picked up her 400th career victory. Dellena Criner led Nevada with 19 points while Johnna Ward added 14.
Criner scored a season-high 25 points while freshman Kayla Williams added a career-high 15 as Nevada upset #7 Louisville 85-82 to win the Nugget Classic. Criner was named tournament MVP while Cherlanda Franklin was named to the All-Tournament Team.
On 23 Nevada scored the most points since the 1986 season as the Pack beat St. Mary’s 99-91. Five Nevada players scored in double figures, Dellena Criner, Johnna Ward, Brandi Jones, Cherlanda Franklin and Marissa Hammond.
Nevada returns four starters and 12 letterwinners from last season’s team that recorded an 18-12 overall record. Nevada’s returning starters include seniors Dellena Criner, Brandi Jones and Cherlanda Franklin and junior Marianne Lombardi. Criner was named the WAC Preseason Player of the Year in the coaches poll and was also named to the first team in both the media and coaches polls while Jones was named to the Preseason All-WAC second team in the coaches poll. As a team, the Pack was picked fourth in the conference in both the WAC media and coaches poll.
Nevada enters the 2008-09 season under first-year head coach Jane Albright. Albright spent the previous five years as the head coach of Witchia State. During her 24-year career as a Division I head coach, Albright has led her teams to nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
Follow the Pack
On the Air (Fox Sports Radio 1450 AM): All 29 of Nevada’s regular-season games will be heard on Fox Sports Radio 1450 AM. Twenty-seven of Nevada’s games this season will be called by Don Marchand while two, the Nugget Classic Games, will be called by Ben Deach.
Live Stats: All of Nevada’s home games this season and select road games will have live stats and be available online at the following link.
http://www.nevadawolfpack.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml
Live Streaming Video: All of Nevada’s home games this season and select road games will have live streaming video and can be found at the link below.
http://www.nevadawolfpack.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?&&&DB_OEM_ID=10000
About the UCLA Bruins
UCLA is 5-1 this season and are coming off a 104-57 victory at home over CSU Bakersfield. The Bruins’ only loss this season was at #11 Maryland, 88-65, on November 23. UCLA has also picked up wins this season against Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine and CS Northridge.
Dorrena Campbell leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.0 ppg while Chinyere Ibekwe is second, averaging 10.0 ppg. Ibekwe leads the team in rebounding, averaging 10.3 rpg while Tierra Henderson is second, averaging 5.7 rpg.
As a team, the Bruins are averaging 77.7 ppg while holding its opponents to 60.5 ppg. UCLA shoots 42 percent from the floor while its opponents shoot 39 percent. The Bruins average 48 rebounds per game compared to 30 rebounds for its opponents.
UCLA is coached by Nikki Caldwell who is in her first season as head coach. Caldwell spent the previous five years as an assistant coach under Pat Summitt at the University of Tennessee.
Brandi Jones to Have High School Jersey Retired
Senior guard Brandi Jones will have her #23 high school jersey retired Friday afternoon along with former teammate and current Vanderbilt player Jennifer Risper. Jones attended Canyon Springs high school and graduated in 2005. During her high school career, Jones helped lead Canyon Springs to a 31-4 overall record during their senior year, including a school record 25-game winning streak. As a senior she averaged 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks per game. Jones also helped lead Canyon Springs to four consecutive Ivy League titles.
News and Notes
- The 37 points Nevada scored in its loss at UC Santa Barbara marked the fewest number of points Nevada has scored since a 57-37 loss to Iowa State during the 1995-96 season.
- Brandi Jones, who scored a team-leading 11 points against UC Santa Barbara, has either led or been tied for the team lead in scoring in three of Nevada’s eight games this year.
- Shavon Moore, who grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, has led Nevada in rebounding this season in two of Nevada’s eight games this season.
- Jane Albright recorded her 400th career win against Northern Iowa on November 28.
Of her 400 career wins, Albright earned three at Nevada, 48 at Wichita State, 161 at Wisconsin and 188 at Northern Illinois. Albright earned career victory number 401 with an upset victory over #7 Louisville on November 29.
- Nevada recorded its biggest victory in program history, upsetting #7 Louisville on November 29 in the championship game of the Nugget Classic.
- The seventh-ranked Louisville Cardinals were the highest ranked team the Pack had ever faced. Other nationally-ranked teams Nevada has faced are: #8 La Tech in 2003-04, #9 Cal in 2008-09 and #11 La Tech in 2002-03.
- Nevada won the Nugget Classic for the second straight year and the third time in the last four years.
- Dellena Criner was named the Nugget Classic MVP for the second straight year. Cherlanda Franklin was named to this season’s all-tournament team.
- Freshman Kayla Williams scored a career-high 15 points against #7 Louisville.
- Freshman Brittany Woodard recorded her first career start against #7 Louisville.
- Dellena Criner was named WAC Player of the Week on December 1 after averaging 22.0 ppg, 6.5 apg, 5.5 rpg and 3.0 spg. It was the fourth career honor for Criner.
- Two players are nearing the 500 career rebound mark - Brandi Jones has recorded 461 career boards while Cherlanda Franklin has recorded 447. Jones is also closing in on 1,000 career points with 886 career points to date.
- Dellena Criner is on track to become Nevada’s all-time leader in steals. She has 229 steals to date in her career and trails only Traci Graham (2003-06) who is the career leader in steals with 237.
- The Pack shot a season-high 47.5 (28-of-59) percent from the floor versus #7 Louisville.
- The Pack has out-rebounded or tied its opponents in rebounding in six of its eight games this season, Eastern Washington, BYU, UNLV, St. Mary’s, Northern Iowa and #7 Louisville. Nevada holds a 325-218 advantage over its opponents on the boards.
- Nevada has had three games this year in which the Pack has made more free throws than its opponents have taken. In Nevada’s win over Eastern Washington, the Pack made more free throws (21-of-29) than Eastern Washington attempted (7-of-11) while in Nevada’s win over St. Mary’s the Pack went 25-of-33 from the free throw line while the Gaels went 12-of-20. Nevada also attempted more free throws (23-of-28) than #7 Louisville took (14 of-16).
- Nevada is 16-4 at Lawlor Events Center dating back to the beginning of the 2007-08 season.
- Dellena Criner recorded a double-double against St. Mary’s (14 points and 13 assists) and was two rebounds short of a triple double.
- Dellena Criner’s 13 assists were a career high passing her previous career high of eight. Her 13 assists is fifth on Nevada’s single-game list. Laura Ingham (2001-03) holds the single-game record for assists with 17 set in 2002 against UTEP.
- Dellena Criner has made the most free throws of any player in the conference (41) and has attempted the most free throws in the WAC (47).
- The 99 points the Pack scored in the 99-91 win against St. Mary’s were the most points Nevada has scored since the 1985-86 season when Nevada beat U.S. International 104-97.
- The program record for most points in a game is 109 as the Pack beat Cal State Hayward 109-74 on November 26, 1982.
- The 91 points allowed by Nevada is the most points the Pack has allowed since the Pack allowed 108 in a 108-72 loss to nationally-ranked La Tech on February 5, 2005.
- Cherlanda Franklin recorded a career-high 13 rebounds against UNLV passing her previous career best of 12 set in January of 2007 at Utah Valley University.
- The Pack’s loss to BYU on November 18 marked the first time Nevada has dropped below .500 since the 2006-07 season when Nevada was 7-8 on January 8, 2007.
- Nevada never led in the game versus BYU marking the first time Nevada hasn’t led in a game since January 2, 2008 when Nevada played at Utah Valley State. The Pack also never led against UC Santa Barbara this season.
- Nevada opened the season with five games in 10 days which started with Nevada’s home opener against Eastern Washington on November 14 and ended November 23 versus St. Mary’s. During that span the Pack went 2-3.
- Dellena Criner has recorded three 20-point games this season against Eastern Washington, BYU and #7 Louisville.
- Johnna Ward made a season-high four three-point shots against Cal and finished the game with a team-leading 14 points.
- Nevada’s game against #9/9 Cal marked Nevada’s first game against a ranked opponent since the 2003-04 season when the Pack played #11 La Tech.
- Shavon Moore recorded her second career double-double against Eastern Washington scoring 10 points and adding 10 rebounds. She recorded her first career double-double last year at UC Riverside.
- Moore tied her career high in rebounds recording 10 versus Eastern Washington.
- Junior Megan Cherry recorded a career-high five points against Eastern Washington, passing her previous personal best of four points. She also played a career-high 13 minutes twice this year at UNLV and at UC Santa Barbara.
Collect all 15 University of Nevada Basketball Player Trading Cards
At each home game this season, fans will have the opportunity to collect trading cards featuring each member of the 2008-09 team. Each player will have a trading card night and after the game that player will be available at the marketing table in front of the band to sign their cards. A game-by-game list is below:
Date Game Player(s)
11-28 Northern Iowa Kayla Williams Brittany Woodard
11-29 #7 Louisville Megan Cherry
12-21 UC Riverside Amanda Johnson
1-8 La Tech Marissa Hammond
1-10 New Mexico State Marianne Lombardi
1-30 Boise St. Ashley D'Andrade
2-1 San Jose State Johnna Ward
2-6 Fresno State Shavon Moore
2-8 Utah State Nicole Williams
2-20 Idaho Jennifer Gross
3-7 Hawai`i Dellena Criner, Brandi Jones, Bre'Anna Henry, Cherlanda Franklin
Albright Records Career Victory Number 400
Nevada head coach Jane Albright recorded her 400th career victory on November 28 as Nevada beat Northern Iowa. Albright, who is entering her 25th year as a Division I college coach, has the most overall career victories of any coach in the WAC and is currently ranked 39th in the NCAA record book for most career Division I wins. To date, Albright has recorded 401 career wins. She has earned four at Nevada, 48 at Wichita State, 161 at Wisconsin and 188 at Northern Illinois.
TV Games
KAME will televise two Nevada home basketball games on a tape-delay basis this season. The Pack’s games versus Boise State on January 30 and against Fresno State on February 6 will be televised on KAME.
Nevada Versus Ranked Opponents
Since joining the WAC in 2000, Nevada has played six games versus top-25 opponents, with four games coming against WAC opponent La Tech and two games coming in non-conference play this season at Cal and versus Louisville. Nevada played La Tech twice during the 2002-03 season when the Lady Techsters were ranked 11th and the Pack played La Tech twice during the 2003-04 season when the Lady Techsters were ranked 8th in the country. Nevada is 1-4 all-time against top-25 opponents since joining the WAC.
The Pack fell at #9/9 Cal on November 16, 2008. In addition to facing #9/9 Cal this season, Nevada beat #7/8 Louisville in the Nugget Classic on November 29.
Team Captains
Senior point guard Dellena Criner and senior forward Cherlanda Franklin have been named team captains as voted on by their teammates.
Criner is a four-year starter for Nevada and has earned several all-conference honors during her career including being named WAC Defensive Player of the Year last season and being named the WAC Preseason Player of the Year this season. She has led the team in scoring the past two seasons and last season became just the eighth player in program history to score at least 1,000 career points.
Franklin is a three-year starter for the Pack and was named to the WAC All-Defensive team last season. She led the team in rebounding last season, averaging 5.2 rebounds per game. She also set the program single-game record for steals in a game with 11 in Nevada’s win over Hawai`i on January 12.
Nevada Newcomers
Nevada’s roster features four newcomers, three high school players and one transfer. Amanda Johnson (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino HS) earned four varsity letters in basketball, two in track and field and one in cross country and won three Avocado League Basketball Championships from 2005-07. Kayla Williams (Sparks, Nev./Reed HS) lettered four years in basketball and won three High Desert League Championships. She also won a Zone Championship in 2007. Brittany Woodard (Sacramento, Calif./Christian Brothers HS) lettered four years in basketball and four years in volleyball. She won a section championship in basketball in 2008 and won three section championships in volleyball (2006-08). Sophomore Ashley D`Andrade attended Hope International University in Fullerton, Calif. from 2006-07 where she played basketball for the Royals.
2008-09 Schedule to Feature Post Season Opponents
Nevada will face five teams that advanced to postseason play last season and depending on tournament results could face six. The Pack will face four teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, Cal, Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara and Montana. Nevada will also take on conference foe Boise State, who advanced to the WNIT in 2008. Depending on the results of the Nugget Classic, Nevada could also face Louisville, who advanced to the Sweet 16 last season.
Ticket Information
Individual Tickets:
$7 per adult
$4 per Youth (12 and under) and Senior (65 and older)
$4 groups of 10 or more
Season Tickets:
Enjoy prime seats on the floor for all home women’s basketball games for $50 for the entire season (limited availability). General Admission for all other seats is $35. Pack Parties of 10 or more fans are only $4 each ticket.
Tickets can be purchased at the door starting 1 hour prior to the game at Lawlor Events Center. Group tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling 775-682-6905.
Nevada to Host 2009 and 2010 WAC Basketball Tournaments
The University and the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA) will play host to the tournaments at the 11,536-seat Lawlor Events Center, located on the university campus in Reno. The 2009 tournament will be played March 10-14, and the 2010 tournament will run from March 9-13. This will mark the third and fourth times that Nevada will serve as host to the WAC’s basketball tournaments with the event being held in Reno in 2005 and 2006. The University of Nevada has played host to a total of 14 WAC Championships since joining the conference in 2001, including the volleyball tournament five times from 2002-06, basketball in 2005 and 2006, indoor track and field in 2001 and 2002, baseball in 2007, men’s golf in 2007, soccer in 2006 and 2008 and women’s golf in 2001.
Bicycle Giveaways
Beginning with the Nevada/Eastern Washington game on Friday, there will be a bicycle given away at each Nevada home game this season. Fans in middle school and under can sign up each home game by the Nevada band for a chance to ride away on a new bike. For more information contact Holly Aycock at 682-6961.
Criner, Jones Earn Preseason All-WAC Honors
Senior point guard Dellena Criner was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year in the Coaches Poll and was also named to the First Team. Senior guard Brandi Jones was named to the second team in the Coaches Poll. Criner was also named to the First Team in the Media Poll. As a team, the Pack was picked fourth in both polls.
Upcoming Schedule
Nevada will closeout its three-game road trip at Santa Clara on Thursday, December 18 at 7 p.m. The Pack will return to Lawlor Events Center on Sunday, December 21 hosting UC Riverside at 2 p.m.
Upcoming Schedule
Nevada will closeout its three-game road trip at Santa Clara on Thursday, December 18 at 7 p.m. The Pack will return to Lawlor Events Center on Sunday, December 21 hosting UC Riverside at 2 p.m.
