Washington State University Athletics
Cougars Open 2015-16 Season Against Gauchos
November 12, 2015 | Women's Basketball
COUGARS OPEN 2015-16 SEASON AGAINST GAUCHOS
Washington State will begin its 2015-16 campaign Friday, Nov. 13, hosting UC Santa Barbara at Beasley Coliseum. Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the WSU men's basketball season opener against Northern Arizona.
ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
UCSB is led by Bonnie Henrickson in her first season. Henrickson arrived in Santa Barbara after spending the past 11 seasons at the helm of the Kansas women's basketball program. The Gauchos have seven fresh faces this season, including three transfer students and four freshmen. UCSB faced Cal State Dominguez Hills in its exhibition, Nov. 8, falling to the Toros, 70-67. UCSB freshman Kali Jones led the Gauchos with 22 points. Last season, WSU traveled to Santa Barbara, defeating the Gauchos, 81-55, Dec. 4.
COUGS WELCOME TALENTED NEWCOMERS
Washington State welcomed one of its most talented recruiting classes in June Daugherty's tenure with the signing of its three 2015-16 freshmen. Borislava Hristova (Varna, Bulgaria) was regarded as the No. 1 international recruit in the world for her class by NetScouts Basketball International and was named MVP of the 2014 FIBA U18 European Championship. Alexys Swedlund (Rapid City, S.D.) was named Miss Basketball South Dakota, awarded to the state's best girls' basketball player, regardless of classification. Maria Kostourkova (Lisbon, Portugal) was listed as the third-best international collegiate basketball prospect by Peach State Basketball and averaged a double-double at the FIBA U18 European Championships this summer.
YOUNG WSU TEAM LED BY FOUR SENIORS
With nine underclassmen, WSU is young this season. The Cougars have eight student-athletes that have played less than 300 minutes in their careers, but are led by a senior class that has played more than 6,000 minutes in Cougar uniform. Washington State returns two starters from last year after losing Shalie Dheensaw, Tia Presley, and Lia Galdeira (foregone senior year).
THE “UNITED NATIONS OF BASKETBALL”
The 2015-16 Cougar basketball team is represented by student-athletes from seven different countries and five different states. Head coach June Daugherty regards the team as the “United Nations of Basketball.” The Cougars have five student-athletes from Europe compared to six for the rest of the Pac-12 Conference combined. Of the conference's six Australian student-athletes, two of them don WSU uniforms.
LAST TIME ON THE HARDWOOD
The Cougars faced LCSC in an exhibition match, Sunday, Nov. 8, at Beasley Coliseum. WSU walked away with a 79-37 victory as all 14 Cougars on the 2015-16 roster scored. Freshmen Borislava Hristova and Alexys Swedlund led all scorers with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Sophomore Louise Brown pulled in a team-high nine rebounds, and senior Dawnyelle Awa snagged four steals.
COMING UP
The Cougars will host Hampton after traveling to Virginia last year. WSU faces the Lady Pirates Monday, Nov. 16 at Beasley Coliseum with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. The game will also stream online at wsucougars.com.
COUGAR BASKETBALL ON THE RADIO AND WEB
Follow the Cougars on Pullman's KHTR (104.3 FM), KQQQ 1150 AM or go to wsucougars.com and listen online to Steve Grubbs call the play-by-play for the Cougs. Connect with Washington State University Athletics on the web at wsucougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics.
WSU PICKED TO FINISH 10TH
The Pac-12 Conference released the 2015-16 Preseason Coaches' Poll, Oct. 14, with the Cougars picked to finish 10th in the conference, receiving 30 points. The 2015-16 Preseason Media Poll also tabbed Washington State for 10th place, with 75 points, the conference announced Nov. 4.
FOUR PLAYERS TABBED TEAM CAPTAINS
Redshirt-freshman Nike McClure, sophomore Pinelopi Pavlopoulou, and seniors Mariah Cooks and Alexas Williamson were named this year's team captains for the Cougars.
DAUGHERTY INKS FOUR FOR 2016-17
Chanelle Molina, Cameron Fernandez, Katie Campbell, and Kayla Washington have each signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Washington State University beginning next fall, WSU Head Coach June Daugherty announced Wednesday. Molina (Kailua Kona, Hawaii) is listed as a five-star recruit by ESPN.com, and is the third WSU recruit from Konawaena High School (Dawnyelle Awa and Lia Galdeira). Fernandez (Makawao, Hawaii) led Lahainaluna High School to a 20-2 last season and the state championship game, while averaging 17 points, six assists, four steals, and five rebounds per game. Campbell (Oxnard, Calif.) is a three-time captain at Oaks Christian High School, she is a 3-point threat for the Lions, and made 77 shots from beyond the arc during her junior season. Washington (San Bernardino, Calif.) is a four-year captain at Cajon High School, Washington has led the Cowgirls to three-straight Citrus Belt League Championships.
COUGARS SEEK RETURN TO POSTSEASON
Washington State has made two-straight appearances in the postseason for the first time in school history. Last year the Cougars were listed as the “First Team Out” of the NCAA Tournament and went on to compete in the WNIT, falling in the opening round to Eastern Washington. WSU also competed in the WNIT in 2014, snapping a postseason drought that dated back to 1991.
WASHINGTON STATE HEAD COACH JUNE DAUGHERTY
Cougar Head Coach June Daugherty begins her ninth season at the helm of the Washington State women's basketball program. Daugherty has guided the Cougars to back-to-back postseason berths for the first time in school history after reaching the opening round of the WNIT in 2014 and 2015. The Cougars are 90-161 in Daugherty's time in Pullman and are coming off of a seventh place finish in the Pac-12 Conference.
2014-15 SEASON IN REVIEW
Washington State earned its second-straight postseason berth after being selected to the WNIT for the second-straight season. Eighth-year head coach June Daugherty led the Cougars to back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time in program history, finishing with a 17-14 overall record and 7-11 in Pac-12 Conference play, good for seventh place for the second-straight season. The Cougars posted four wins over NCAA RPI top-50 teams Dayton (13), Maryland (6), at Gonzaga (39) and at Washington (33). WSU came close to knocking off three of the top-4 teams in the Pac-12 this season, falling to Stanford in Pullman in overtime, dropping a 73-70 decision to Oregon State in Corvallis, a 57-54 heartbreaker in Berkeley and a 61-56 contest to Oregon State. WSU went 9-2 in nonconference play, recording one of the biggest wins in program history with a 70-64 victory over No. 10/8 Maryland, an eventual No. 1 seed and Final Four participant, at the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico…WSU's win at Utah Feb. 15 gave June Daugherty career win No. 400…according to Jeff Sagarin's Rankings (RPIratings.com), WSU played the 33rd-toughest schedule in the country…WSU played nine NCAA Tournament teams last season and three WNIT teams.
