WBB: Mid-Year Review, Part Two

In this mid-year review, we look at the WAC/CUSA results, mid-year awards and more.

Molly Miller’s GCU Lopes have been really good in December including a big win over Middle Tennessee to wrap up 2023. Courtesy GCU Athletics.

Conference play resumes on Thursday.

But before we pick up there, it’s time to share our mid-year All-WAC Hoops Nation teams and award winners.

We’ll also take a look at the final results of the WAC/CUSA Scheduling Initiative along with the updated WAC Resume Seeding rankings coming out of the holiday break.

WAC/CUSA Scheduling Initiative Recap

Sadly, our women’s basketball teams were unable to overcome an early deficit in these matchups and fell 11-7, splitting the final day’s matchups, 3-3.

Of note in the battle of preseason favorites to win conference championships, 17th-ranked Grand Canyon (10-3, 2-0) defeated 8th-ranked Middle Tennessee State, 68-59, in Phoenix.

Expect the Lopes to gain a couple of spots in this week’s collegeinsider.com mid-major poll when it comes out on Wednesday.

Naudia Evans had 20 points and four assists to lead the Lopes while hitting five shots from beyond the arc, including her third buzzer beater of the year to end the first quarter.

There were only two ties and the Lopes were in control for much of the game, leading for 37 minutes against a perennial NCAA tournament qualifier.

It was also a big day for Tiarra Brown, who crossed the 1,000-point career scoring plateau, all in a Lopes uniform, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Olivia Lane (12 points, six rebounds) and Trinity San Antonio (11 points, six rebounds) also finished in double-figure scoring as the Lopes shot 45.3 percent from the floor and 41.2 percent from 3-point range.

UT Arlington finished the calendar year on a three-game winning streak, defeating New Mexico State 61-60 at the College Park Center on Ugly Sweater Day.

Taliyah Clark had 18 points, including a pair of key free throws with 10 seconds left, along with three steals to lead the Lady Mavs.

Avery Brittingham had 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds while Adela Valkova chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds for UT Arlington (4-8, 0-2).

Avery Brittingham and the Lady Mavs have played better as they get ready to jump into WAC play on Thursday. Courtesy UT Arlington Athletics.

UTRGV (1-10) also broke through for their first win of the year, defeating Sam Houston 66-58 in Huntsville.

Kade Hackerott had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Vaqueros. Charlotte O’Keefe (11 points and four rebounds) along with Iyana Dorsey (10 points and six assists) and Ashton McCorry (10 points and five rebounds) also finished in double-digit scoring.

The average margin of victory was 10.4 points in these inaugural matchups.

Tarleton Sweeps Weekly Awards…Again

For a second straight week, a Tarleton women’s basketball player sweeps the weekly awards.

After Jakoriah Long swept the awards from December 18, Faith Acker sweeps this week’s awards after a 23-point, 12-rebound performance against Texas Southern on Saturday.

Seven different players have earned Player of the Week honors while six different players earned Newcomer of the Year selections.

Mid-Year Awards

Conference play resumes Thursday but before that happens let’s take a look at our WAC Hoops Nation award winners at midseason.

Player of the Year: Chloe Webb, CBU

Despite missing eight games last year, Webb finished third on the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game while shooting 38 percent from the floor and 28 percent from 3-point range.

At the halfway point in 2023-24, Webb has taken her scoring up to 19.5 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the floor and 34.3 percent from 3-point distance.

Webb is 32nd in scoring nationally as of New Year’s Day and has scored in double-digits nine times with seven games of 20 or more points.

Coach of the Year: Jarrod Olson, CBU

When you look at the numbers of the four starters Jarrod Olson lost last year after winning the WBI, one would’ve easily made the assumption it’s a rebuilding year in Riverside.

That’s not the case, however, as the Lancers are 10-1 overall and 2-0 in WAC play, ranked 22nd in the current collegeinsider.com poll.

This despite losing 3,471 minutes, 128 games played, and 99 starts with the departures of Trinity San Antonio, Dorcas Wu, Brittany Klaman, and Sila Finau from last year’s squad.

*First Team All-WAC:

• Naudia Evans (GCU)

• Breaunna Gillen (UT)

• Kurstyn Harden (SFA)

• Chloe Webb (CBU)

• Trinity San Antonio (GCU)

*GCU gets two first team picks as the highest ranked team in the collegeinsider.com mid-major poll through December 26th.

All-WAC Newcomer Team:

• Khloe Lemon (CBU)

• Ava Uhrich (SUU)

• Faith Acker (Tarleton)

• Payton Hull (ACU)

• Trinity San Antonio (GCU)

Khloe Lemon has been one of the best newcomers to the WAC for a CBU team that is 10-1 overall. Courtesy CBU Athletics.

WAC Resume Seeding System Standings

Here are the WAC Resume Seeding System standings with games completed through December 31.

1. CBU 3.33

2. GCU 2.33

3. SFA 0.61

4. Utah Tech -1.36

5. UT Arlington -1.49

6. Utah Valley -2.06

7. Abilene Christian -2.60

8. Southern Utah -3.00

9. Tarleton -3.04

10. UTRGV -4.35

11. Seattle -4.50

Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Poll Update

After defeating then-8th ranked Middle Tennessee on Sunday afternoon, GCU moved to 13th in the collegeinsider.com Mid-Major poll.

CBU lost two spots and is 24th in this week’s poll after being off last week.

Meanwhile, SFA fell out of the poll.