Weber State University Athletics
Wildcats Head to Washington Husky Classic
11/20/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Wildcats drop two games in Iowa
Weber State lost back-to-back road games in Iowa last weekend, dropping them to 1-2 on the early season. The ?Cats lost 62-52 at Northern Iowa on Friday and followed that up with a 78-64 loss at Drake on Sunday. WSU now prepares for the Washington Husky Classic this weekend in Seattle.
Ahkiah Hunter leads the way in first career start
WSU senior Ahkiah Hunter led the way for Weber State in Friday's win. The Huntington Beach, California native posted a career-high 15 points for the Wildcats and also had a career-high five rebounds. She tied her career-high with two assists and had a career-best of four steals. Hunter was 4-9 from the field and shot 7-8 from the free throw line. It was the first career start for Hunter who played in all 31 games as junior for the Wildcats last season.Sara Tuomi reaches 1,000 career points
Weber State senior Sara Tuomi scored in double-figures in each of the two games last week, averaging 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. She now has 1,021 career points making her the 15th Wildcat to score 1,000 career points. Tuomi also moved into the WSU all-time top ten in career three-pointers, now with 92 in her career. She has started all 93 games of her career at Weber State and has a career scoring average of 11 points per game.
Turnovers costly in road losses
Weber State averaged 18.5 turnovers per game in the two road losses last week. Their opponents averaged just 10.5 per game and scored 49 points off of WSU turnovers in the two games. Weber State posted 24 turnovers in the loss at Drake.
Wildcats back on the road at Washington Tournament
The Wildcats will spent the Thanksgiving weekend at the Washington Husky Classic in Seattle. The ?Cats will take on Arkansas State in the first game Friday at 1:00 p.m. Mountain time. Washington will play Idaho at 3:00 p.m. in the other game. The losers of the two games on Friday will meet at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday and the winners of the two games will play at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. All games will be played at the Bank of America Arena on the Washington campus.
About Arkansas State
The ?Cats will open the Husky Classic by taking on Arkansas State from the Sun Belt Conference. The Indians enter this week with a 2-1 record. They host Missouri State Tuesday night before heading to Seattle. The Indians opened the season losing at South Dakota State but rebounded by beating BYU at home 54-53 and then winning at Alabama 49-45.
Arkansas State returns seven player including two starters off last year's team that went 21-13 and finished 11-7 in the Sun Belt for fourth place in the league. The Indians are coached by Brian Boyer who is in his ninth season with the team.
All-time series
This will be the first ever meeting between Weber State and Arkansas State. All-time the Wildcats hold a 2-4 record against teams currently in the Sun Belt. WSU has played Denver, Florida Atlantic, New Orleans, and North Texas from the Sun Belt.
About Washington
The Washington Huskies enter this weekend as the host tournament and come in with a 1-4 record. They are returning from competing at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii last weekend. UW opened the season with road losses to Kansas State and Gonzaga. In Hawaii they lost to Hawaii and UC Davis and their only win came against Big Sky member Northern Arizona 83-70. So far this season they have four players averaging 11 points per game. Washington finished last season with an 18-13 overall record and were 11-7 in the Pac-10. The Huskies are coached by Tia Jackson who is in her first season as a head coach.
All-time series
Washington holds a 3-0 all-time series advantage over Weber State. The Huskies have wins over the Wildcats in 1983, 1985, and 1986 but the two teams have not meet in 21 years.
About Idaho
The Vandals of Idaho will take on Washington in the first round of the Husky Classic this weekend. They enter the week with an 0-3 record. They opened the season with a 77-49 loss to Big Sky member Montana State. They also lost 83-55 at home to Portland and lost 85-64 at North Dakota State last week. Idaho is coming off a 6-22 record last season where they finished 3-13 in the WAC. The Vandals are coached by Mike Divilbiss who is in his seventh season with the Vandals and his 21st season as a head coach.
All-time series
Idaho is a former member of the Big Sky Conference and Weber State and Idaho have met 35 times in their history. The Wildcats hold a 19-16 all-timer series advantage and the ?Cats have won five of the last six meetings. WSU beat Idaho 98-57 last season in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Looking ahead
After this weekend's tournament the Wildcats will return home and play their next three games at the Dee Events Center beginning next Thursday, November 29 when they host Eastern Michigan.