NEVADA (7-7, 1-0 WAC)
vs. NEW MEXICO STATE (4-11, 0-1 WAC)
GAME 15 ~ Western Athletic conference play
Saturday, January 10, 2009 ~ 2 p.m. (PT) ~ Lawlor Events Center ~ Reno, Nev.
RADIO: Fox Sports 1450 AM; Don Marchand, play-by-play; pregame 15 minutes before tip off
INTERNET: Live stats/streaming video (nevadawolfpack.com)
SERIES HISTORY: New Mexico leads the all-time series, 18-10.
LAST MEETING: Nevada went 1-1 against New Mexico State last season. Nevada won 83-76 (OT) in Reno while New Mexico State won 70-49 in Las Cruces.
About this Game
Coming off a season opening Western Athletic Conference win at home versus La Tech on Thursday, the Pack will host New Mexico State on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Pack will look to open WAC play with back-to-back wins for the third time in program history since Nevada joined the WAC in 2000-01. Nevada opened WAC play 3-0 last season for the best WAC start in program history.
Nevada is 6-1 at home this season and is 18-4 at home since the start of the 2007-08 season.
About the Nevada Wolf Pack
As a team Nevada is averaging 61.8 points per game while its opponents are averaging 64.1 points per game. The Pack is shooting 36.6 percent from the floor, 26.1 percent from three-point range and 70.1 percent from the free throw line.
The Pack averages 11.5 assists per game, 39.1 rebounds per game, 10.1 steals per game and 14.6 made free throws per game.
Nevada opened WAC play with a 64-57 victory over La Tech. Cherlanda Franklin tied her career high with 17 points while Brandi Jones added 15 and Dellena Criner scored 12. As a team the Pack tied its season high with 49 rebounds. Shavon Moore grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds while Jones added nine.
Nevada went 0-2 at the Lady Griz Holiday Classic on December 29 and 30 in Missoula, Mont. The Pack fell to Hampton, 62-59, on Monday. Criner led four Nevada players in double figures with 14 points while Shavon Moore added 12 and Marissa Hammond scored 10. Cherlanda Franklin recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
On Tuesday, Nevada fell to host Montana, 59-51. Dellena Criner scored 13 points for the Pack while Cherlanda Franklin added 10. Criner was named to the All-Tournament team.
Nevada is coached by first-year head coach Jane Albright who has a 6-7 record at Nevada.
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-five of Nevada’s games this season will be called by Don Marchand while four, the Nugget Classic and Lady Griz Holiday 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 New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State is 4-11 overall and 0-1 in WAC play. The Aggies fell at Utah State on Thursday night, 72-58. New Mexico State has lost its last seven games with its last win coming on December 7 versus UTEP.
Madison Spence leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game while Danisha Corbett is second, averaging 11.7 points per game. Tabytha Wampler leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.5 rebounds per game followed by Corbett who averages 4.4 rebounds per game.
As a team the Aggies are averaging 61.5 points per game while its opponents are averaging 69.9 points per game. New Mexico State shoots 38.1 percent from the floor, 31.9 percent from three-point range and 67.9 percent from the free throw line.
New Mexico State is coached by Darin Spence who is in his sixth season at New Mexico State. He has a 72-93 record at New Mexico State and a career record of 389-173 in 18 years.
Criner Nears All-Time Steals Record
Dellena Criner, who recorded six steals against La Tech, has recorded 234 career steals and trails only Traci Graham (237 career steals) for the all-time record. Criner was thought to be the career steals leader after Nevada’s game versus Hampton. But after a re-examination of her career steals, a miscalculation was found in her stats from her freshman year.
This season Criner has recorded a team-leading 36 steals. She recorded 41 as a freshman, 87 as a sophomore and 70 as a junior.
Criner is only one of two Nevada players, Graham is the other, to record at least 200 career steals. Senior Brandi Jones (190 career steals) is on pace to become the third player.
Washoe County Partners with the Pack
For Nevada’s game on January 30 against Boise State, the Pack has partnered with all elementary and middle schools in Washoe County. All elementary and middle school students and staff are invited to attend the game for free. All attendees are encourages to wear blue.
There will be approximately five bikes given away at halftime to five fans middle school age and under. Sign ups are at the marketing table in front of the band.
For more information and to RSVP, please contact Darron Pinkney at 682-6963.
News and Notes
- Cherlanda Franklin scored a team-high 17 points and tied her career high against La Tech. Including the game against La Tech Franklin has scored 17 points three times in her career with the last time at San Jose State on February 8, 2008.
- Shavon Moore recorded a career-high 11 rebounds against La Tech. Moore’s previous career high was 10 rebounds. For her career, she has recorded three double-digit rebound games, two this season and once last year as a freshman.
- Brandi Jones tied her career high in assists, recording six against La Tech. Jones also recorded six assists at Utah State in 2006.
- Nevada is 6-1 at home this season and has not dropped a home game since the Pack’s 81-63 lost to BYU on November 18. Nevada is 18-4 at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2007-08 season.
- Brandi Jones, who has recorded 983 career points, is averaging 10.1 ppg and would become the ninth player in program history to record at least 1,000 career points. It would also mark just the second time in history the Pack had two active 1,000 career points scorers on a roster as she would join teammate Dellena Criner. Chris Starr (1982-86; 2,356 career points) and Kit Larson (1981-85; 1,334 career points) were the other two 1,000 career point scorers who were on the same roster.
- Brandi Jones (492 career rebounds) and Cherlanda Franklin (489 career rebounds) would become the 11th and 12th players in program history to record at least 500 career rebounds. If Jones reaches 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds, she would become the seventh player in history to record at least 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.
- This season Cherlanda Franklin has recorded 95 rebounds. Franklin, who is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game, is on track to record at least 100 rebounds this season which would mark the thrid time in four years Franklin has recorded at least 100 rebounds per year.
- Shavon Moore leads the conference in offensive rebounds with 49.
- Nevada’s game against La Tech marked the first time Nevada scored 60 points in a game since Nevada’s win at Santa Clara on December 18 when Nevada won 67-53.
- Four players have led for been tied for the team lead in rebounds this season. Cherlanda Franklin has led Nevada in rebounding seven times, Shavon Moore six times, Brandi Jones three times and Dellena Criner once.
- Four players have also led or been tied for the team lead in scoring this season. Dellena Criner has led the team in scoring eight times, Brandi Jones five times, Johnna Ward once and Cherlanda Franklin once.
- Dellena Criner has made the most free throws of any player in the conference (74) and has attempted the most free throws in the WAC (88). She also leads the league in assists (63) and steals (36).
- Dellena Criner was named to the Lady Griz Holiday Classic All-Tournament team after averaging 13.5 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game and 35.5 minutes per game. She also shot 80.0 percent from the free throw line and recorded 11 assists and seven steals during the Pack’s two games.
- Nevada has had two games this season with five players scoring in double figures. Brandi Jones scored 14 points, Cherlanda Franklin added 13 points while Marissa Hammond scored 11 and Johnna Ward and Dellena Criner each scored 10 in Nevada’s win at Santa Clara. Nevada also had five players in double figures in Nevada’s win over St. Mary’s (Brandi Jones 17; Johnna Ward 17; Dellena Criner 14; Cherlanda Franklin 14 and Marissa Hammond 11).
- In the Pack’s six wins this season the team is averaging 71.7 points per game while only averaging 51.9 points per game in the team’s seven losses.
- 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.
- The Pack has out-rebounded or tied its opponents in rebounding in eight games this season (Eastern Washington, BYU, UNLV, St. Mary’s, Northern Iowa, #7 Louisville, Santa Clara and vs. La Tech).
- Jane Albright recorded her 400th career win against Northern Iowa on November 28.
Of her 403 career wins, Albright has earned seven 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.
- Nevada has had four 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) and the Pack made 16 free throws against Santa Clara while the Broncos only attempted 14.
- 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.
- 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’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.
Criner Named a Finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award
Senior point guard Dellena Criner has been selected as one of the 30 national candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
The award is presented annually to the presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports. The award is based on criteria focusing on the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition, the award winners will be selected by national balloting of head basketball coaches, national media and college basketball fans.
Criner is a four-year starter for the women’s basketball team. She is a team captain this season and has become one of the best players in program history. This season she was named WAC Preseason Player of the Year and is two steals away from becoming Nevada’s all-time leader. She has started all 10 games this year and leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.9 points per game.
During her career, Criner has participated in numerous community service events during her career including the Renown Pediatric unit, Race for the Cure and Habitat for Humanity.
Criner has maintained a 3.01 cumulative GPA in accounting and has been named to the WAC All-Academic Team all three years. Criner is the only nominee from the WAC.
Criner is the third student-athlete at Nevada to be named a Lowe’s Senior CLASS candidate in the past year. Women’s basketball player Andrea Sitton was a candidate last season while soccer player Patrice Godwin was named a candidate this fall.
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)
11/28/08 Northern Iowa Kayla Williams, Brittany Woodard
11/29/08 #7 Louisville Megan Cherry
12/21/08 UC Riverside Amanda Johnson
1/8/08 La Tech Marissa Hammond
1/10/08 New Mexico State Marianne Lombardi
1/30/09 Boise St. Ashley D'Andrade
2/1/09 San Jose State Johnna Ward
2/6/09 Fresno State Shavon Moore
2/8/09 Utah State Nicole Williams
2/20/09 Idaho Jennifer Gross
3/7/09 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 403 career wins. She has earned six at Nevada, 48 at Wichita State, 161 at Wisconsin and 188 at Northern Illinois.
TV Games
KAME will televise one Nevada home basketball games on a tape-delay basis this season. The Pack’s games versus 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 1-6 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.
WAC Play Up Tour to Stop in Reno on February 8
The Western Athletic Conference’s Play Up Tour will stop in Reno on February 8 for Nevada’s game against Utah State at 2 p.m. The Play Up Tour is designed improve perceptions of the WAC and its members through national, local and regional touch-points. WAC staff members will be on site to distribute WAC giveaway items. Fans will also have the opportunity to sign up to win a WAC prize pack that includes WAC apparel and other WAC related items. All fans that enter the drawing will be eligible for the grand prize of a WAC Basketball Tournament package. The package includes two tickets to the tournament, airfare and hotel accommodations. The winner will be announced at the end of February.
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
The Pack will play its next three games on the road starting with a game at Utah State on Wednesday, January 14 at 7 p.m. MT. The Pack will play Hawai`i in Honolulu on Saturday, January 17 at 4 p.m. HT. Nevada will play at San Jose State on Sunday, January 25 at 2 p.m.
Nevada will open a four-game home stand on January 30 hosting Boise State followed by a game with San Jose State on February 1 against San Jose State at 2 p.m.
The Pack will host Fresno State on February 6 at 7 p.m. and will closeout its four-game home stand versus Utah State on February 8 at 2 p.m.
