Vandal men earn No. 4 seed to WAC tourney, GU women in WCC final
Idaho's non-conference win over Seattle University on Saturday had no bearing on the Western Athletic Conference race, but four other league games cleared up the final standings in the WAC.
The Vandals finish the season 18-12 overall and 9-7 in WAC play to tie for third place with New Mexico State. Idaho earns the No. 4 seed to the WAC tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, while NMSU takes the No. 3 by virtue of its regular-season sweep of the Vandals. Both teams earn a first-round bye in the WAC tournament (see schedule in Scoreboard).
Hawaii lost at Fresno State in its regular-season finale, but the Warriors finish league play at 8-8 and tie for fifth with Nevada. Hawaii claims the No. 5 seed and will play No. 8 San Jose State, which went 5-11 in WAC play and lost at Boise State on Saturday, 66-51.
The WAC tourney begins Wednesday. Idaho opens Thursday in the quarterfinals against the Hawaii/San Jose State winner, in a game to be televised on ESPNU at noon PST. The winner of that game will move on to face top-seeded Utah State on Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
This year marks the second time in three seasons under head coach Don Verlin that Idaho has finished third in the WAC. Idaho also went 9-7 in the conference in 2008-09, when the team also advanced to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
The championship game will be shown on ESPN2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. PST.
• The Idaho women (14-14) are the No. 5 seed and will face No. 8 Boise State in the opening round of the WAC tournament on Wednesday at 6 p.m. PST in Las Vegas. The winner plays No. 4 Nevada in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
• All-WAC: Idaho senior Jeff Ledbetter was a second-team selection on the men's team, and sophomore center Kyle Barone earned honorable mention.
All-Western Athletic Conference
First Team
La'Shard Anderson, Boise State, G, 6-1, 170, Sr.
Troy Gillenwater, New Mexico State, F, 6-8, 238, Jr.
Adrian Oliver, San Jose State, G, 6-4, 210, Sr.
Brockeith Pane, Utah State, G, 6-1, 195, Jr.
Tai Wesley, Utah State, F, 6-7, 240, Sr.
Second Team
Bill Amis, Hawaii, F, 6-9, 235, Sr.
Brian Green, Utah State, G, 6-1, 200, Sr.
Dario Hunt, Nevada, F, 6-8, 230, Jr.
Jeff Ledbetter, Idaho, G, 6-3, 195, Sr.
Greg Smith, Fresno State, C, 6-10, 250, So.
Honorable Mention
Olu Ashaolu, Louisiana Tech, F, 6-7, 220, Jr.
Kyle Barone, Idaho, C, 6-10, 220, So.
Deonte Burton, Nevada, G, 6-1, 185, Fr.
Justin Graham, San Jose State, G, 6-4, 195, Sr.
Zane Johnson, Hawai'i, G, 6-6, 210, Jr.
Player of the Year: Tai Wesley, Utah State
Freshman of the Year: Deonte Burton, Nevada
Don Haskins Coach of the Year: Stew Morrill, Utah State
All-Defensive Team
La'Shard Anderson, Boise State, G, 6-1, 170, Sr.
Olu Ashaolu, Louisiana Tech, F, 6-7, 220, Jr.
Justin Graham, San Jose State, G, 6-4, 195, Sr.
Dario Hunt, Nevada, F, 6-8, 230, Jr.
Tyler Newbold, Utah State, G, 6-5, 210, Sr.
All-Newcomer Team
Deonte Burton, Nevada, G, 6-1, 185, Fr.
Olek Czyz, Nevada, 6-7, 240, Jr.
Zane Johnson, Hawai'i, G, 6-6, 210, Jr.
Brockeith Pane, Utah State, G, 6-1, 195, Jr.
Tim Steed, Fresno State, G, 6-4, 215, Jr.
Gonzaga women romp into title game
Zags play Saint Mary's today for WCC crown
By LYNN DeBRUIN
AP sports writer
LAS VEGAS - Janelle Bekkering scored 17 points and became the 16th player in Gonzaga history to reach 1,000 in her career as the top-seeded Bulldogs cruised to a 96-71 victory Sunday over Portland in the West Coast Conference semifinals.
The win was the 17th straight for 22nd-ranked Gonzaga (27-4), which advances to the WCC tournament finals for the fifth consecutive season.
"We want to choose our own destiny," Bekkering said of gaining an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
Gonzaga will face Saint Mary's today (noon, ESPNU) in the WCC final after the Gaels beat San Diego 71-68 in Sunday's other semifinal.
"Both are transition teams, and like to push the ball. Hopefully, they can't keep up with us," Bekkering said.
Portland tried early, especially with Gonzaga a bit out of sync having last played on Feb. 26. But it didn't take look to shake off the rust. After Amy Pupa gave Portland a 7-6 lead with 15:55 left in the first half, it was all Gonzaga.
Bekkering started a 13-0 run with a jumper, steal and 3-pointer, then WCC player of the year Courtney Vandersloot hit three of the next four shots for a 19-7 Gonzaga lead.
Natalie Day halted the run with a jumper, before Gonzaga went on another, this time an 11-0 streak that put the Bulldogs ahead 30-9.
"We started off a little slow then realized we needed to start running," Bekkering said. "We fed off that."
Gonzaga's Kayla Standish led all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while Vandersloot added 16 points and 14 assists.
ReZina TecleMariam led Portland (16-15) with 14 points and Natalie Day added 13.
Bekkering reached her milestone on a 3-pointer with 5:28 left in the first half.
"I didn't even realize it during the game," said Bekkering, who made 6 of 11 shots in the first half.
The Bulldogs came in leading the nation with an 86.2 scoring average, looking for their third straight WCC tournament title and fourth in five years.
Last year Gonzaga cruised through the conference tourney, beating Santa Clara by 40 in the semis and defeating Pepperdine 76-48 in the championship.
"We're rested, we're healthy," Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves said of this year's group.
The Bulldogs also are deep.
Gonzaga had five players score in double figures Sunday, with Katelan Redmon adding 12 and reserve Claire Raap chipping in 10 in 12 minutes.
"I thought Claire Raap stepped up for us. She gave us good effort offensively," Graves said.
Bekkering had 15 points in the first half, while Vandersloot had nine assists.
Gonzaga outscored Portland 26-8 in the paint in the first half and forced 12 turnovers.
Portland played Gonzaga nearly even in the second half, but it was too late.
"They really worked on our post," TecleMariam said. "They knew our biggest player (Lauren Angel) was out. They just worked on us on the inside because we're a smaller team."
Gonzaga led by as many as 25 points in the first half, and held a 44-21 halftime advantage.
The Pilots didn't score consecutive baskets until Tara Cronin and Sarah Kliewer scored inside on back-to-back shots nearly 7 minutes into the second half.
Portland committed 17 turnovers and was outrebounded 42-26. Gonzaga also had a 50-28 advantage in the paint, and 16-4 edge in fast break points.
"They're a good team. They're well-coached," Portland coach Jim Sollars said. "I'll leave it at that."