Weber State University Athletics
'Cats Head to NAU Saturday
1/25/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Wildcats head to NAU after big road win
Weber State will play at Northern Arizona Saturday night, following a big road win Thursday night at Sacramento State. The Wildcats (8-10, 2-4) won 77-46 over the Hornets in their biggest win of the season, snapping a two-game losing streak. The Lumberjacks are 6-13 overall and also 2-4 in league play, tied with Weber State for sixth in the league standings.
Saturday's game available live on TV
WSU's game at NAU Saturday will be broadcast live on University House TV, channel 9411 on Dish Network. The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. from Flagstaff, Arizona. It will also be taped delayed on Fox College Sports on Tuesday, January 29 at 9:00 a.m. The game can also be seen on bigskytv.org and will be broadcast on KWCR 88.1 FM.
Big Sky standings update
There remains a three-way tie for first place in the Big Sky standings after the games Thursday night. Portland State and Montana are both 4-1 and were both idle Thursday. Northern Colorado improved to 4-1 after a 75-65 win at Montana State. Idaho State dropped to 3-2 after a 82-67 loss at Northern Arizona. Currently, Weber State is tied with NAU and Sacramento State at 2-4 and in sixth place in the league standings.Many season-highs in win at Sacramento State
Weber State's 77-46 win at Sacramento State Thursday was one of the best performances by the ?Cats all season. WSU had a season-high of points, and a season-best for fewest points allowed. They also had season-highs of three-pointers made (14), assists (20), and field goal percentage defense (.245).
Three-point barrage for Wildcats
Weber State was 14-34 from three-point land in the win over the Hornets. The 14 three-pointers is the second most threes in a game in WSU school history. The 34 three-point attempts is a school record for most attempts. The 14 threes is the most by a team in the Big Sky this season.Sara Tuomi posts another double-double
WSU senior Sara Tuomi tied her season-high and posted her third straight double-double in Thursday night's win. The Billings, Montana native scored 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. She also knocked down a career-high five three-pointers. Tuomi is now averaging 16.1 points per game, fourth in the league, and also ranks sixth in rebounding. In Big Sky games only she is third in the Big Sky in rebounding at 9.5 per game. Tuomi has scored in double figures in all 18 games this season and 65 games in her career.
Caitlin Anderson continues hot streak
WSU freshman Caitlin Anderson continued her hot streak with another great game for the Wildcats Thursday. Anderson scored 15 points, all coming on a career-high five three-pointers. It was the fourth straight game she has scored in double figures. Over the last four games she is averaging 15.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 50 percent from the field. Anderson earned her second-straight start in Thursday's win. She now ranks first in the Big Sky in three-point field goal percentage at 54.3 percent.Ali Thorderson ties career-high in win
WSU sophomore Ali Thorderson also came up big in Thursday's win as she tied her career-high with 16 points. Thorderson was 6-11 from the field and tied her career-high with four three-pointers. She also pulled down a career best ten rebounds for her first career double-double. Thorderson is third on the WSU team in scoring at 6.7 points per game.
Road sweet road
Weber State has played six conference games this season, three at home and three on the road. The Wildcats are 0-3 in those home games but are 2-1 in road games. In the three road games they are averaging 64.7 points and giving up 53 points a game. In the home wins they are scoring 59 and giving up nearly 70 points a game. The ?Cats are also shooting 38 percent on the road and 35 percent at home.
5:00 mark important for Wildcats
Weber State never trailed in the win Thursday night and improved to 8-0 this season when leading the game with 5:00 to play. They are 0-10 when trailing with 5:00 left. WSU still hasn't had a game decided by less than seven points this season.
Wildcats head to Flagstaff Saturday
Weber State will stay on the road and play at Northern Arizona this Saturday in Flagstaff, Arizona. The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. 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 be broadcast live at bigskytv.org.
About Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona enters Saturday's game following a 82-67 win over Idaho State Thursday night that snapped a four game losing streak. Before the win over the Bengals, NAU had lost nine of their last ten. In Thursday's win the Lumberjacks trailed by 21 points late in the first half against Idaho State. They scored a school record 58 points in the second half and rallied for the win. NAU is 6-13 overall and 2-4 in Big Sky action.
The Lumberjacks are seventh in the Big Sky in scoring offense and fifth in defense. The ?Jacks rank last in the conference in three-point field goal percentage, three-pointers made, and are also last in rebounding defense, allowing their opponents 42.1 rebounds per game. They do lead the league in blocked shots at 4.89 per game and are fourth in steals.
This season the ?Jacks are led by senior Laura Dinkins who is sixth in the conference in scoring at 14.0 points per game and is fourth in steals at 1.72 per game. Junior Ashley Ingle is eighth in scoring and second in rebounding at 9.4 per game. She also leads the Big Sky in blocks at 3.79 per game.
Head coach Laurie Kelly
The Lumberjacks are coached by Laurie Kelly who is in her fifth season with NAU and ninth season as a head coach. Kelly has a career record of 79-63 at NAU. She has led the ?Jacks to the Big Sky Championship game in each of the last two years, and to the NCAA Tournament in 2006. Kelly has a record of 4-6 against Weber State. WSU head coach Carla Taylor is 26-17 in her career against Northern Arizona.
All-time seriesWeber State leads the all-time series 38-22 over Northern Arizona but the Lumberjacks have won four of the last five games played. The two teams split the series last season. WSU leads 14-12 all-time in games in Flagstaff but the ?Jacks have won the last two games played. WSU's last win at NAU was in 2005.
Looking ahead
After Saturday's game Weber State will return home for one game next week as the ?Cats close out the first half of the Big Sky season with a game against Idaho State. WSU will host the Bengals Friday, February 1 at 7:00 p.m. at the Dee Events Center in the only game of the week.
