Stephen Madison — men’s basketball
Senior Stephen Madison was Idaho’s most impressive player over the Thanksgiving break. He earned his second WAC Player of the Week honor this season after averaging 20.5 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and 1.5 blocks during the week.
In Saturday’s game at Sacramento, Calif., against the UC Davis Aggies, Idaho trailed by 15 points at halftime before coming out on a 16-2 run in the second half to help take the lead in the game. One of the big contributors for the Vandals was forward Madison. He had 15 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists. That came after his 26-point, eight-rebound game against Boise State on Wednesday. The team returns to the Cowan Spectrum this week to take on Washington State at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Rachel Millet and Erica Anderson — swimming and diving
Two Vandal swimmers stood out at the Houston Invitational over the break. Rachel Millet’s efforts at the invite helped her earn the WAC Swimmer of the Week while Erica Anderson, a junior from Moscow, broke the school record in the 100-yard breaststroke. Millet, a junior from Spokane, earned the honor after winning the 50 freestyle and 200 freestyle at the Houston Invitational. She also finished second in the 200 individual medley and third in the 100 backstroke and 100 free. Anderson also had a great weekend, after breaking a school record that had been set in the prelims of the 100 breast stroke. Junior Laura Griffing and Anderson both swam in the 100 breast and both broke the school record in the same day. Griffing broke the record in the prelims with a time of 1:03.14. Then Anderson broke that record in the finals of the event with a time of 1:02.65. Anderson took second and Griffing took fifth in the finals. The swim and dive team travels to Seattle on Thursday to participate in the Husky Invitational.
Alyssa Schultz — volleyball
Although the Idaho volleyball team lost in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament to eventual WAC champion New Mexico State, one Vandal was selected to the WAC All-Tournament team. Alyssa Schultz, a junior middle blocker from Issaquah, Wash., took home the honor for her efforts in the tournament. Schultz averaged 2.25 kills and 1.5 blocks per set while hitting .349 during the tournament. In Idaho’s semifinal match against New Mexico State, she tallied 11 kills and eight blocks while hitting .310. She finished with seven kills and hit .429 with four blocks in Idaho’s quarterfinal win over Kansas City. Schultz was also named to the All WAC first-team for 2013.
Alyssa Charlston and Stacey Barr — women’s basketball
The women’s basketball team stayed busy over Thanksgiving break with three games during the week. One of the games stood out because two players were able to take over the game. The Vandals were able to take down Nevada 88-77, but what was more significant was that Alyssa Charlston and Stacey Barr combined for 51 of Idaho’s 88 points in the game. Charlston posted her fourth double-double of the season finishing the night with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Barr recorded her third 20-point game of the season. She finished with a new season-high of 23 points. The Vandals take on Carroll College at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Memorial Gym.