Tournament Brackets | Tournament Blog | WAC Commissioner Karl Benson Press Conference Video

All photos by Tyler Keck

Men's Championship Game
No. 1 Utah State led the entire game en route to a 72-62 win over second-seeded Nevada. Tournament MVP Gary Wilkinson led the Aggies with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds.

All-Tournament Team

Luke Babbitt, Nevada
Armon Jones, Nevada
Jared Quayle, Utah State
Tai Wesley, Utah State
Gary Wilkinson, Utah State (MVP)

Women's Championship Game

Top-seeded Fresno State repeated as tournament champion after a 56-49 win over third-seeded Nevada. Tournament MVP Jaleesa Ross led the Bulldogs with 22 points and nine rebounds in the championship game, becoming the only player in WAC history to earn the award in back-to-back years.

All-Tournament Team
Dellena Criner, Nevada

Shanavia Dowdell, Louisiana Tech
Joh-Teena Filipe, Fresno State
Shavon Moore, Nevada
Jaleesa Ross, Fresno State (MVP)

Men's Semifinal Games
No. 1 Utah State edged No. 5 New Mexico State, 71-70, in the first men's semifinal. WAC Player of the Year Gary Wilkinson registered 19 points and five rebounds to lead the Aggies. In the nightcap, No. 2 Nevada defeated sixth-seeded Louisiana Tech, 77-68. Armon Johnson led the Wolf Pack with 24 points, while Luke Babbitt added 23.

Women's Semifinal Games
No. 1 Fresno State defeated fifth-seeded Utah State 57-54 in Friday's first women's semifinal game. Jaleesa Ross led Fresno State with a game-high 21 points, while LaShay Fears added 18. Danyelle Snelgro fronted Utah State with 11 points, while Ana Pares and Amber White each had 10. No. 3 Nevada defeated No. 2 Louisiana Tech 91-88 in overtime in the day's second women's semifinal. Dellena Criner finished with 30 points and 10 assists.

Men's Quarterfinal Games
No. 5 New Mexico State defeated fourth-seeded Boise State 80-70 in the first quarterfinal game. Jonathan Gibson led the Aggies with 22 points, including five three-pointers. Wendell McKines added a double-double of 12 points and 13 boards. No. 1 Utah State beat No. 9 Fresno State, 85-68, in the second game of the day. The Aggies connected on 13-of-21 from beyond the arc. Stavon Williams paced Utah State with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor, including six three-pointers. Gary Wilkinson and Jared Quayle each registered 18 points for the top-seeded Aggies. No. 2 and host Nevada beat seventh-seeded San Jose State 78-69. WAC Freshman of the Year Luke Babbitt had a career-high 30 points to lead all players. In the final game of the day, No. 6 Louisiana Tech upset No. 3 Idaho, 70-62. The Bulldogs' Kyle Gibson led all players with 23 points.

Women's Quarterfinal Games

No. 5 Utah State defeated No. 4 Idaho 59-58 in overtime on Wednesday to open quarterfinal play. Utah State advances to Friday's semifinals where it will face No. 1 Fresno State. Danyelle Snelgro led Utah State with 15 points while Ana Pares helped with 12. Derisa Taleni led Idaho with 24 points. No. 1 Fresno State defeated No. 8 Hawai‘i 65-50 in the day's second quarterfinal game. The Bulldogs move on to face No. 5 Utah State on Friday at noon. No. 3 Nevada knocked off sixth-seeded Boise State, 73-65, in the third quarterfinal game of the day. The Wolf Pack will face the winner of the No. 2 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 7 New Mexico State game, which tips off at 8:30 p.m. PT. Johnna Ward led Nevada with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Dellena Criner had 17 and Brandi Jones scored 15, while Shavon Moore had 11. Melissa Rima scored 12 points for Boise State. No. 2 Louisiana Tech defeated No. 7 New Mexico State 81-68 in the nightcap. Louisiana Tech advances to play No. 3 Nevada on Friday at 2:30 p.m.

First Round Games

The 2009 WAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament first rounds are complete, with the Hawai'i women and Fresno State men moving on to quarterfinal  action. The day began with the eighth-seeded Hawai‘i women beating ninth-seeded San Jose State, 70-57. Hawai'i's Keisha Kanekoa led all scorers with 18 points to propel the Rainbow Wahine to the quarterfinals. Wednesday's schedule starts at 12:00 p.m. PT as No. 4 Idaho takes on No. 5 Utah State, followed by No. 8 Hawai‘i facing top-seeded Fresno State at 2:30 p.m. In the second game of the day, ninth-seeded Fresno State advanced to the quarterfinals with a 62-58 win over eighth-seeded Hawai`i. The Bulldogs will take on top-seeded Utah State on Thursday, March 12 a 2:30 p.m. PT. Fresno State was led by second-team all-WAC honoree Sylvester Seay who scored a team-high 16 points. Senior Dwight O'Neil added 14 points and four rebounds in the win. The Warriors were led by junior Roderick Flemings who scored a game-high 18 points as Hawai`i ends its season with  a 13-17 overall record. Fresno State improves to 13-20 with the win. Hawai`i held a five-point lead with 3:17 left in the second half before Fresno State made one last push. A three pointer from Mychal Ladd tied the score for the fifth time, 57-57. A free throw from Bill Amis gave the Warriors a 58-57 lead with 0:57 seconds left. The Bulldogs would score the final five points of the game led by a jumper by O'Neil to take the four-point lead, 62-58.

The 2009 WAC Men and Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Verizon Wireless will be played in the 11,536-seat Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada. 

Below are ticket information, tournament schedules and website links for fan use.

Ticket Information
Beginning December 5, all-session tickets may be purchased from the University of Nevada ticket office at (775) 348-PACK.  Fans of traveling institutions may purchase all-session tickets through their institution’s ticket office by January 23 to guarantee seating in that school’s guaranteed block.   After January 23, tickets must be purchased from the University of Nevada’s ticket office.

Single session tickets will not go on sale until March 3, the week before the tournament, and must be purchased through the Lawlor Events Center Ticket Office at (775) 784-4444.  

The University of Nevada ticket office hours are 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time Monday through Friday.

Ticket pricing for the WAC Tournament is as follows:

Team Hotel Accommodations and Pairings:

ELDORADO
Hawai’i
Idaho
Louisiana Tech
 
PEPPERMILL 
Boise State
New Mexico State
San Jose State

SILVER LEGACY 
Fresno State
Nevada
Utah State

FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE TO LAWLOR
Take the Sierra Spirit shuttle to the Lawlor Events Center free of charge. Fans can meet the shuttle at the Peppermill and Silver Legacy valets as well as the Lawlor Events Center.

Website Links 
Reno-Tahoe Convention and Visitors Bureau
Directions