BAKERSRFIELD, Calif.—CSU Bakersfield heads to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas this week in search of a Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship.
The road to a possible NCAA berth begins Wednesday when the Roadrunners (11-18, 8-6 WAC), the No. 3 seed, take on No. 6 Seattle U (9-20, 3-11 WAC) at 7 p.m. The winner of CSUB-SU game will face the winner of Wednesday's 4:30 p.m. game between No. 2 UTRGV (17-12, 9-5 WAC) and No. 7 Chicago State (4-24, 2-12 WAC) on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
The other side of the bracket sees No. 4 Utah Valley (15-14, 8-6 WAC) face No. 5 Missouri-Kansas City (10-17, 5-9 WAC) on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The UVU-UMKC winner takes on the No. 1 seed, NM State (24-4, 13-1 WAC) on Friday at 12 p.m. All of the first round games and the semifinals are available on the WAC Digital Network.
The WAC Tournament championship game is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN U and is available on both the Watch ESPN and ESPN apps.
CSU Bakersfield's Addi Walters was named WAC Freshman of the Year Mar. 7. Walters was named WAC Freshman of the Year after leading the WAC in three pointers during conference play at 3.0 per game, ranking second in three-point percentage at .483. Her 10.7 ppg in conference play ranked 17th overall. Her 33 points against Seattle U on Jan. 16 was a high for conference play and tied for the top mark this season among all games played.
She reset the CSU Bakersfield school record for most three-pointers made in a game with nine against Seattle U Jan. 16. Walters was 9-of-14 from beyond the arc, breaking the old mark of eight which was original set by Amber Williams against CSUN Jan. 11, 2010. Walters, who scored 16 in the first half against the Redhawks, was 11-of-18 from the field. She is the first CSUB player to score over 30 points in a game since Feb. 20, 2014 when Tyonna Outland charted 36 against Missouri-Kansas City.
For her efforts, Walters was named WAC Player of the Week and was also selected College Spots Madness WAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week Jan. 18, 2016. Walters is 34th in Division I in three-point field goal percentage (40.7). She is 48th in Division I in made three-pointers with 68, which is the second most in a season in school history. Walters is 49th in three-point field goals per game (2.52) and is 104th in three-point field goals attempted (167). She is third on the team in scoring and 19th in the WAC in the category.
Batabe Zempare was chosen first team All-Conference on Mar. 7. Zempare became the seventh active Division I player with 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds against Grand Canyon Feb. 27. Zempare led the conference in rebounding (9.7) and was seventh in the league in scoring (12.0).
Zempare was also selected to the All-WAC Defensive Team. The 6-2 forward was third on the 'Runners in steals with 28. She also blocked five shots. The Accra, Ghana native enters the WAC Tournament with 1,021 points and 1,100 rebounds. Zempare is the school record holder in career rebounds and is eighth in career scoring. Zempare is 26th among active D-1 players in career double-doubles with 32.
Zempare has been named WAC Player of the Week on three occasions this season (five for her career), College Sports Madness WAC Player of the Week twice and was selected to the All-Tournament team at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Showdown.
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