NEVADA (13-11, 7-4 WAC)
vs. IDAHO (11-11, 8-3 WAC)
GAME 25 ~ Western Athletic Conference Play
Thursday, February 19, 2009 ~ 7 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 (www.nevadawolfpack.com)
SERIES HISTORY: Idaho leads the all-time series, 14-11
LAST MEETING: Nevada won both meeting against Idaho last year, winning 76-53 in Moscow, Idaho and posting a 68-48 win in Reno.
“Pack it With Pink” Night Thursday, February 19, vs. Idaho
Nevada’s game on February 19 versus Idaho at 7 p.m. is “Pack it with Pink” night and fans that wear pink to the game will get in free. Head men’s and women’s basketball coaches Mark Fox and Jane Albright will each donate $1 for each fan in attendance to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. Cheerleaders will be selling raffle tickets with all proceeds going to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. Raffle prizes include Southwest Airline tickets, autographed basketballs, Pup Club memberships and more. In addition, Nevada is asking fans for donations to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
The fund is a charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women's cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause. Kay Yow is former head women's basketball coach at NC State and was a founding member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). She was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time in 1987 and passed away on January 24, 2009.
About This Game
The Pack will try to snap a four-game losing streak Thursday night at 7 p.m. when Nevada hosts Idaho. Nevada has won the last five meetings against Idaho and nine of the last 11 meetings dating back to the 1997-98 season.
The game versus Idaho is Nevada’s “Pack it With Pink” game in support of the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. All fans who wear pink to the game get in free and Jane Albright and Mark Fox will each donate $1 per fan in attendance to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
Nevada, who is tied for third place in the WAC with a 7-4 record, is 9-3 at home this season and Nevada is 21-6 at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2007-08 season.
About the Nevada Wolf Pack
As a team Nevada is averaging 61.5 points per game while its opponents are averaging 60.7 points per game. The Pack is shooting 37.5 percent from the floor, 29.1 percent from three-point range and 66.7 percent from the free throw line.
The Pack averages 11.9 assists per game, 39.7 rebounds per game, 10.3 steals per game and 14.5 made free throws per game.
Nevada dropped its fourth straight game as the Pack fell at La Tech 77-59. Johnna Ward led the Pack with 12 points while Brandi Jones added 10. Jones and Marissa Hammond each grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
The Pack led by as many as 17 against New Mexico State but the Aggies rallied to post a 54-51 win over Nevada in Las Cruces. Johnna Ward led Nevada with 12 points while Kayla Williams added 10. Brandi Jones ended the game with eight points and nine rebounds.
Nevada is coached by first-year head coach Jane Albright who has a 13-11 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 Idaho Vandals
Idaho is 11-11 overall and is in second place in the WAC with an 8-3 record. Idaho has won its last three conference games including wins last week over league-leading Fresno State, 59-47, and San Jose State, 64-41.
Derisa Taleni leads the team in scoring averaging 14.0 points per game while Yinka Olorunnife averages 13.2 and Shaena Keuhu averages 10.4 points per game. Olorunnife also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 11.0 rebounds per game.
As a team the Vandals average 59.7 points per game while its opponents average 58.8. Idaho shoots 38.2 percent from the floor, 30.0 percent from three-point range and 68.4 percent from the free throw line. The Vandals average 38.1 rebounds per game, 9.0 assists per game, 8.0 steals per game, 16.2 turnovers per game and 11.6 made free throws per game.
Idaho is coached by Jon Newlee who is in his first season with the Vandals. Newlee has a career record of 104-93 in seven seasons.
Last Time Versus Idaho
RENO, Nev. -- Dellena Criner and Cherlanda Franklin each scored 15 points for Nevada as the University of Nevada women’s basketball team beat Idaho 68-48 Saturday night. Sabrina Keys (11 points) and Mikail Price (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Pack.
Nevada led by as many as 16 on two occasions in the first half. Idaho pulled to within eight at halftime, 25-17.
Nevada opened the second half on a 6-0 run to take a 31-17 lead with 18:30 remaining in the game. Idaho pulled to within six, 31-25.
The Pack extended its lead to 18 points on a pair free throws by Bre'Anna Henry and Nevada took its largest lead of the game, 20 points, with 39 seconds remaining on a layup by Jessica Cox.
Brandi Fitzgerald and Franklin each pulled down a team-high five rebounds for Nevada. The Pack recorded 19 steals in the game and scored 34 points off turnovers.
News and Notes
- Nevada is looking to break a four-game losing streak when the team hosts Idaho on Thursday at 7 p.m. Nevada is looking to avoid losing three straight at home for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
- Johnna Ward led the Pack in scoring both games this weekend, scoring 12 points in each game at New Mexico State and at La Tech. Ward has recorded six double-digit scoring games this season and has 12 career double-digit scoring games.
- Freshman Kayla Williams recorded her second-career double digit scoring game with 10 points at New Mexico State. Williams scored a career-high 15 points against Louisville on November 28, 2008.
- Kayla Williams has scored the most points by a Nevada freshman (15 versus Louisville) since Johnna Ward scored 19 as a freshman in 2007-08.
- In Nevada’s seven WAC wins the team went 114-179 (.636) from the free throw line while the team is only shooting .584 percent (45-77) in the team’s four conference losses.
- Nevada is averaging 68.6 points per game in its 13 wins while only averaging 53.2 points per game in the team’s 11 losses.
- With four regular season conference games remaining, Nevada is three wins away from tying the program record for most WAC wins. The Pack won 10 conference games during the 2006-07 season as Nevada finished WAC play 10-6.
- The program record for most conference wins in a season is 10 set as both a member of the WAC (10-6 in 2006-07) as a a member of the Big Sky Conference (10-4 in 1997-98).
- Cherlanda Franklin has recorded 33 blocks this season and has moved into fourth all-time with 93 career blocks. April Bankston (2001-05) is third all-time with 102 and Katie Golomb (1998-02) is first all-time with 121.
- Forward Cherlanda Franklin has recorded 194 career steals and is on pace to become the fourth player in history to record at least 200 career steals. She would be the first forward to record at least 200 career steals.
- Nevada is 9-3 at home this season and Nevada is 21-6 at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2007-08 season.
- Dellena Criner, who recorded 22 points versus Fresno State, has recorded seven 20-point games this season. For her career, she has recorded 22 20-point games and two 30-point games including a career-high 33 at Boise State in 2008.
- Dellena Criner has recorded 1,513 career points and is fourth on Nevada’s all-time list. She became just the fourth player in history to record at least 1,500 career points.
- The third largest crowd in program history, 2,661 fans, watched first-place Nevada host second-place Fresno State. The second largest crowd in program history is 2,685 set in 2005 while the program record is 3,160 set in 2000.
- Nevada has held five opponents this season to 50 points or under this season. The Pack has held four of its five opponents to 50 points or under during a span from January 14 - February 1, 2009.
- Cherlanda Franklin, who recorded a career-high seven blocks against Fresno State, is tied for second in the single-game record for blocks in a game. The record for blocks in a game is eight set by Katie Golomb in 2001.
- Nevada went undefeated (6-0) during the month of January marking the first time in program history a team went through a month undefeated.
- The Pack has outrebounded or tied its opponents in rebounding in 16 games this season including the last eight straight from January 8 - February 6. The Pack has outrebounded its opponents in the following games: Eastern Washington, BYU, UNLV, St. Mary’s, Northern Iowa, #7 Louisville, Santa Clara, vs. La Tech, vs. New Mexico State at Utah State, at Hawai`i, at SJSU, vs. Boise State, vs. SJSU, vs. Fresno State at NMSU.)
- Brandi Jones, who recorded one steal against Utah State, has recorded 209 career steals. Jones became just the third player in program history to record at least 200 career steals. She joined teammate Dellena Criner, the all-time leader in steals (253) and Traci Graham (237 steals, 2003-05).
- The Pack shot a season-high 48.2 percent from the floor (27-of-56) against Boise State.
- First-year head coach Jane Albright became the all-time winningist first-year head coach with the Pack’s win over San Jose State on February 1. Albright, who is 13-11 this season, passed Julie Hickey who recorded 12 wins (12-15 overall) during her first season as head coach during the 1982-83 season.
- Nevada’s recorded its biggest margin of victory this year posting a 32-point win (77-45) win over Boise State on January 31, 2009.
- Dellena Criner has made the most free throws of any player in the conference (126) and has attempted the most free throws in the WAC (155). She also leads the league in assists (4.33 apg) and is second in steals (2.29 spg).
- Brandi Jones, who recorded her 1,000th career point at Hawai`i, became the ninth player in program history to record at least 1,000 career points. It also marked just the second time in history the Pack had two active 1,000 career points scorers on the same roster as she joined 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 (554 career rebounds) and Cherlanda Franklin (558 career rebounds) became the 11th and 12th players in program history to record at least 500 career rebounds in Nevada’s win over New Mexico State. Jones is the seventh player in history to record 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.
- Both Brandi Jones and Cherlanda Franklin both cracked the top-10 in career rebounding. Franklin (558 career rebounds) is eighth all-time while Jones (554 career rebounds) is ninth all-time.
- Nevada’s game against New Mexico State, where Cherlanda Franklin recorded 15 rebounds and Brandi Jones grabbed 11, marked the first time since March 8, 2005 that the Pack had two players finish the game with double-digits in rebounds (Amber Young 11 rebounds and Jessica Preslar 10 rebounds).
- Five players have led for been tied for the team lead in rebounds this season. Cherlanda Franklin has led Nevada in rebounding 11 times, Shavon Moore nine times, Brandi Jones seven times, Dellena Criner once and Marissa Hammond 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 16 times, Brandi Jones five times, Johnna Ward two times and Cherlanda Franklin once.
- 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).
- Nevada has had six 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. The Pack made 22 free throws at Hawaii while the Rainbow Wahine only attempted 21 free throws. Nevada made 26 free throws on 41 attempts versus San Jose State while the Spatrans made 2-of-6.
Criner Named a Candidate 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 24 games this year and leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 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 14 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. Kayla Williams, Brittany Woodard
2/1/09 San Jose State Johnna Ward
2/6/09 Fresno State Shavon Moore
2/8/09 Utah State Nicole Williams
2/19/09 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 410 career wins. She has earned 13 at Nevada, 48 at Wichita State, 161 at Wisconsin and 188 at Northern Illinois.
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.
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 05 and 06, indoor track and field in 01 and 02, baseball in 07, men’s golf in 07, soccer in 06 and 08 and women’s golf in 01.
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 play three of its final four regular-season games on the road when the Pack travels to Boise State on Sunday to take on the Broncos at 1 p.m. PT. Nevada will play at Fresno State on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. and will play at Idaho on March 4 at 7 p.m. Nevada will closeout the regular season at home hosting Hawai`i on March 7 at 7 p.m. on Senior Day.
