WBB: Preseason Favorites Showing Depth, Lady Mavs Big Win, and More
GCU, CBU win again, UT Arlington is red hot, and some power rankings.
This week in the WAC Hoops Nation women’s newsletter, a pair of conference favorites relied on depth for two wins, UT Arlington is riding a hot streak and more.
Lancers, Lopes Stay Atop Standings Despite Injuries
It was a tough week on the injury/illness front for both CBU and GCU.
However, both sides were able to get two wins on the week and stay undefeated in WAC play.
At CBU, the Lancers played with just seven players due to injury and illness on Thursday in an 80-61 win over Utah Valley.
The Lancers set a season high in made 3-pointers with 14 (shooting 56 percent) and used a 31-13 second quarter to take a comfortable lead to halftime.
Prior to tipoff All-WAC preseason selection Grace Schmidt announced via Instagram she will be undergoing season ending surgery as a result of a patellar tendon issue.
On Saturday, Anaiyah Tu’ua returned to the lineup and scored seven points with four assists in 22 minutes of play. Against Seattle U, the Lancers scored a season high 94 points in a win over the Redhawks.
Freshman Khloe Lemon started and continued her breakout start to the year, averaging 19.5 points on the week while shooting 72 percent from the floor in CBU’s two wins. That included a career-high 20 points on Saturday.
At GCU, Molly Miller was without the services of Tiarra Brown and Trinity San Antonio after the pair injured ankles during last week’s win over Middle Tennessee State.
However, the Lopes didn’t miss a beat…cruising to comfortable victories at Global Credit Union Arena over Southern Utah and Utah Tech.
The Erikstrup sisters, Sydney (16 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists) and Laura (24 points, seven rebounds and three assists), combined to score 40 of the 78 points in Thursday’s 78-60 win over the Thunderbirds.
Then, on Saturday, the Lopes led by as many as 33 points in a 73-48 win over Utah Tech.
Sydney Erikstrup broke into the starting lineup and scored 11 points with four assists while Jada Holland, making her fourth start in six games, added 13 points and eight assists.
Clark, Brittingham Lead Lady Mavs to Big Win Over Ladyjacks
After coming out of the gates slowly, UTA women’s basketball has found their groove in recent weeks, winning five straight games after a 81-62 win against Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at College Park Center.
Avery Brittingham had her second career triple-double and the 14th in WAC history (third this year) with 11 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds in the first of two matchups she’ll play against her former team.
Meanwhile, Taliyah Clark had a career-high 27 points, connecting on five of six shots from 3-point distance.
The Lady Mavs assisted on 25 of their 32 made field goals, a season-high, as they evened their WAC record at 2-2.
NCAA Notable Statistics
Chloe Webb averaged just 11.0 points a season ago with five starts in 27 games.
In 2023-24, Webb’s bumped that scoring average up to 19.8 points per game with eight games of 20 points or more. That puts her 25th in the nation in points per game as of Sunday morning.
Also CBU (36th) and Stephen F. Austin (40th) are both in the nation’s top-40 with regards to assists per contest at 17.2 and 17.0 assists per game, respectively.
Weekly Awards
Monday morning, the WAC office released their weekly awards and after their 2-0 week with wins over Utah Valley and Seattle, it was CBU with the sweep.
Chloe Webb (21.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 4.0 SPG) won her third Player of the Week award with six other players winning the award once.
Khloe Lemon (19.5 PPG, 72 percent total field goal shooting) won her second Newcomer of the Week award and is one behind ACU’s Payton Hull for the lead in that award. Four other players have won the award once.
Updated Conference Standings
CBU 12-1, 4-0
GCU 12-3, 4-0
SFA 9-6, 3-1
ACU 6-6, 2-1
Utah Tech 8-7, 2-2
UT Arlington 6-8, 2-2
Southern Utah 4-9, 2-2
Tarleton 4-8, 1-2
Seattle U 1-12, 1-3
Utah Valley 5-8, 0-4
UTRGV 1-12, 0-4
The top eight teams qualify for #WACVegas in March.
Weekly Power Rankings
GCU remains at number one over CBU in our power rankings based on their win over Middle Tennessee State from New Year’s weekend.
The two sides get to meet on February 17 in Riverside for the first of two matchups.
It’s a Texas trip for the top two with trips to Abilene Christian and Tarleton.
In two weeks, SFA will get their first shot at the top two teams in a back-to-back West Coast trip.
UT Arlington jumps all the way to third this week after a win against Stephen F. Austin in which they led for more than 90 percent of the game. The Lady Mavs are winners of five straight with a West Coast trip of Utah Valley and Seattle this week.
SFA drops to fourth after that loss at the College Park Center and getting a big scare from UTRGV, playing without Iyanna Dorsey. The Ladyjacks host Utah Tech and Southern Utah this week.
SUU and Utah Tech stay in front of ACU because their best wins (New Mexico and Oregon, respectively) are better than the Wildcats best win (Navy or UT Arlington).