WBB: Storylines to Watch
Half the season is gone and WAC play starts in a week...let's take a look at some storylines fans should be watching for as this year's chase for the title begins
With Christmas presents handed out and leftovers finished it’s time to focus on conference play and the two-month road towards a regular season championship. Let’s take a look at some of the storylines with conference play opening a week from Saturday.
Note: Any statistical rankings are as of Sunday morning December 29.
Lopes Red Hot Again in Non-Conference; Can They Finish the Job?
For a second straight year, GCU’s women’s basketball team was voted first in the WAC’s preseason coaches poll. Last year, GCU had control of the title chase before coming up two games short and then losing in the WAC tournament semis to SFA for a second time in ten days despite having a double-digit lead at intermission.
They have two of three wins over Power Conference teams in Arizona and Arizona State from the Big 12 along with defeating Liberty, CUSA’s runner-up a season ago.
Alyssa Durazo-Frescas has made more than three 3-pointers in seven straight games to pull into second place nationally in made 3-pointers per game and take the lead in total shots made from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, Laura Erikstrup has scored in double-digits in 12 straight games and Trinity San Antonio is 17th nationally in assists per game as of Sunday.
GCU starts conference play with a trip to 2023 regular season and tournament champion Southern Utah and will play three of their first four away from Global Credit Union Arena.
Who Are the Contenders?
Warren Nolan’s metrics predict that the Lopes will roll to an undefeated WAC regular season title. Who are the teams that can spoil that quest this year?
Let’s start with the WAC’s second hottest team in Abilene Christian, receiving votes in this week’s collegeinsider.com mid-major women’s basketball poll.
Payton Hull has not run into the sophomore slump so far, garnering two Player of the Week selections and finding herself ranked inside the top 40 in scoring nationally. Hull and Bella Earle are perhaps the conference’s most dynamic guard tandem, averaging 33.6 points per game and shooting a combined 33.8 percent from beyond the arc. This Wildcat defense is one of the country’s most improved year over year, forcing 24.07 per game which is 15th nationally and holding teams to 58.1 points per game…just inside the top 75. That’s an improvement of eight points per game and eight turnovers per contest over a year ago.
UT Arlington certainly should be on that list with the WAC’s third Power Conference win over Houston.
Koi Love and Avery Brittingham are combining to average 29 points and nearly 15 rebounds per game. However, the Lady Mavs will need to shore up a -3.7 rebounding margin and a perimeter offense shooting 18.6 percent from 3-point range, averaging only 2.7 makes per game thus far. Taliyah Clark is the only UT Arlington player to have made double-digit 3-pointers on the year as of Christmas Break at 13.
Let’s not count out defending champion CBU, yet. The Lancers finished non-conference play with three wins in their final five games after Khloe Lemon and Filipa Barros announced they’d use medical redshirts while recovering from foot injuries.
Grace Schmidt has picked up where she left off at Christmas last year in averaging 14.6 points and eight rebounds a game. Anaiyah Tu’ua is in the top 30 nationally for assists per game and has picked up some of the scoring in Lemon and Barros’ absence. And Claudia Fiel is arguably one of the conference’s most improved guards, recording four or more assists five times in non-conference play while playing 30 or more minutes in eight out of nine games.
Jarrod Olson is also one of three WAC coaches to have multiple victories against Miller, the others being Utah Valley’s Dan Nielson and Southern Utah’s Tracy Mason.
Player of the Year Race:
At the end of non-conference play, there is no clear-cut favorite for WAC Player of the Year. Let’s take a look at some of the players to watch in terms of that award. Six different players have earned Player of the Week honors as selected by the WAC office so far with Hull first to earn multiple selections.
Trinity San Antonio, GCU
-Averaging 14 points and nearly six assists per contest for the Lopes coming off a summer in which she represented Puerto Rico on the Olympic stage. Crossed the 1,000 career point milestone last month during the Oregon game.
Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, GCU
-Currently, the national leader in total made 3-pointers. Crossed the 1,000 career point milestone in Sunday’s win over NAU.
Grace Schmidt, CBU
-After missing the second half of last year’s regular season and tournament championship season is leading the Lancers in both scoring (14.6 points) and rebounds (8.0) per game.
Koi Love, UT Arlington
-Has won two Newcomer of the Week awards in a three-week stretch. Currently leading the Lady Mavs in minutes played and scoring, along with being second in rebounding.
Payton Hull, ACU
-The first this year to earn two Player of the Week selections. Currently leading the Wildcats in minutes played, scoring, along with both total and 3-point field goal percentage.
Opening Day:
WAC play begins Saturday, January 4 with this slate…all games on ESPN+
Utah Valley at Abilene Christian 1 P.M. CT
CBU at Seattle U 1 P.M. PT
GCU at Southern Utah 2 P.M. MT
Tarleton at UT Arlington 2 P.M. CT
Idle: Utah Tech
The biggest matchup to watch is the Utah Valley at Abilene Christian game which pits the WAC’s 2nd and 3rd-ranked scoring defenses against each other.