Weber State University Athletics
Wildcats Head to Sacramento State Thursday
1/22/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Wildcats hit the road for two games this week
Weber State will hit the Big Sky road this week for two games beginning Thursday, January 24 when they play at Sacramento State. The ?Cats will also play at Northern Arizona on Saturday. WSU is 7-10 overall and 1-4 in Big Sky action following a 62-53 loss to Montana last Saturday. WSU has lost seven of its last eight games heading into this week.
Big Sky standings update
There is a three-way tie at the top of the Big Sky standings after Portland State lost for the first time all season when they fell at Northern Colorado last Saturday. The Vikings are 4-1 and are joined by Montana and Idaho State on top of the conference. After the win over the Vikings the Bears of Northern Colorado are next at 3-1 followed by Montana State at 3-2. Weber State is currently tied with Northern Arizona for seventh at 1-4 in league play.?Cats off to slow Big Sky start
The 1-4 start in Big Sky action is Weber State's worst conference start in 11 years. The last time the ?Cats started 1-4 in Big Sky games was in the 1997 season when they finished the year 9-7 in league play. WSU has not 1-5 since 1993.
In addition the Wildcats have lost their first three conference games at home for the first time since 1993 when they lost their first five home conference games.
Caitlin Anderson breaks career-highs in first career start
WSU freshman Caitlin Anderson started for the first time in her career Saturday and made the most of her start by posting two career-highs and posting her first career double-double. Anderson scored 19 points in Saturday's loss to Montana and also pulled down ten rebounds. She was 6-16 from the field, including 4-9 from three-point land. She also had two assists and two steals in the game. In WSU's last three games Anderson is averaging 15.7 points and shooting 52 percent from the field.Sara Tuomi posts second-straight double-double
For the second straight game Weber State senior Sara Tuomi posted a double-double for the Wildcats. In Saturday's loss to the Lady Griz, Tuomi scored 11 points and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds for her third double-double of the season and the ninth of her career. In the two games last week she averaged 10.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. Tuomi has scored in double figures in all 17 games this season and in 64 games of her career. This season she ranks fourth in the Big Sky in scoring, sixth in rebounding, and third in free throw percentage.
60 still the magic number
60 points seems to be the barometer for the Wildcats this season. WSU is 6-3 when scoring 60 ore more points in a game and they are 1-7 when scoring less than 60 points.In addition, the ?Cats are 0-9 this year when giving up 60 or more points in a game and they are 7-1 when holding their opponents under 60 points. WSU ranks last in the Big Sky in scoring offense at 57.3 points per game.
Turnovers still indicative
Weber State turned the ball over 15 times in Saturday's loss to Montana and dropped to 0-9 this season when posting more turnovers than their opponents. The Wildcats are 7-1 when they have less turnovers.
Wildcats invade Hornets Nest Thursday
Weber State will hit the road at Sacramento State this Thursday, January 24 to take on the Hornets. The game will begin at 8:00 p.m. Mountain time from the Hornets Nest and will be broadcast live on KWCR 88.1 FM with Eric Knighton calling the action. Audio is available at weberstatesports.com and the game will also be broadcast live at bigskytv.org.
Quoting Weber State head coach Carla Taylor
"Despite the loss I was encouraged by some of the things we did in our last game against Montana. I liked our production and the way we played as a team. Now we have two stay focused on getting better and build off the things we are doing well."
About Sacramento State
Sacramento State enters this week with a 4-13 overall record and a 2-3 record in Big Sky play. They are coming off a 62-53 win at Northern Arizona last Saturday, their first ever win in Flagstaff. The game was also Sacramento State's first road win of the season. They are 1-9 on the road and 3-4 at home this season. The Hornets also have a home win over Eastern Washington in Big Sky play.
The Hornets rank eighth in the Big Sky in scoring offense at 58.8 points per game and they are last in the league in scoring defense, giving up 76.6 points per game. In fact the Hornets rank 324th in the nation in scoring defense out of 326 teams. They also rank last in the conference in scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, rebounding offense, blocks, and steals and they are eighth in three-point percentage and seventh in field goal percentage. The Hornets are fourth in the league in three-pointers per game at 6.18.
Individually, the Hornets are led by junior Atty Boyer who is 13th in the league in scoring at 11.5 points per game. Sophomore Erika Edwards is eighth in rebounding at 7.2 per game.
Head coach Dan Muscatell
The Hornets are coached by Dan Muscatell who is in his fifth season with Sacramento State. Muscatell has an all-time record of 25-103 with the team. He is 12-51 in Big Sky games. Muscatell has never defeated the Wildcats, going 0-8 all-time. WSU head coach Carla Taylor is 21-1 in her career against Sacramento State.
All-time seriesWeber State is 21-1 all-time against Sacramento State and the ?Cats have won 15 straight games in the series. The 15 straight wins is the longest winning streak WSU has ever had against an opponent. The one and only Sacramento State win came in January 2000 when the Hornets won 66-44 in Sacramento. The Wildcats are 10-1 all-time in games in the Hornets Nest.
Looking ahead
After Thursday night the Wildcats will make their way to Flagstaff, Arizona where they will take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m.
