Washington State University Athletics
Cougars to Host LCSC in Exhibition Game
November 04, 2015 | Women's Basketball
THIS WEEK
Fans will get their first chance to see the 2015-16 women's basketball team in action as it hosts Lewis-Clark State in an exhibition game Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m. in Beasley Coliseum…the Cougars return nine letterwinners from the 2014-15 team that earned a second-consecutive postseason berth, a first for the program…WSU also welcomes three incoming freshmen, Borislava Hristova (Varna, Bulgaria), Maria Kostourkova (Lisbon, Portugal), and Alexys Swedlund (Rapid City, S.D.)…following the game, fans entering eighth grade or younger can participate in a 30-minute free kids clinic.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS
Lewis-Clark State is led by 15th-year head coach Brian Orr…in his time with the Warriors, Orr has amassed 343 wins and guided LCSC to 12 trips to the NAIA national tournament…this season the team welcomed five new faces and returned seven players after losing four seniors last season…the Warriors finished the 2014-15 season with a 21-11 record and are currently 4-0 this year with wins over Northwest Indian College and Multnomah University.
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.
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.
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.
WSU TO HOST FREE KIDS CLINIC
The Cougars will host a free youth clinic following its exhibition game this Sunday…the clinic is free for boys and girls in eighth grade and younger and will feature instruction from the WSU basketball coaching staff and student-athletes…following the clinic, participants can stay for autographs from the WSU student-athletes…for more information or to register, please visit wsucougars.com.
NEXT WEEK
The Cougars will being their 2015-16 campaign at home against UC Santa Barbara…the game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. in Beasley Coliseum, following the conclusion of the WSU men's basketball game, which begins at 5:30 p.m.
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.
