Washington State University Athletics
Cougars Back on the Road to Face Gaels
December 10, 2015 | Women's Basketball
COUGARS BACK ON THE ROAD TO FACE GAELS
The Washington State women's basketball team (8-1) will play its sixth game away from Pullman, facing the Saint Mary's Gaels (7-2) at McKeon Pavilion Saturday, Dec. 12. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. with coverage on TheW.tv. The matinee matchup will also be available on the Washington State IMG Sports Network with Steve Grubbs on the call. Fans can follow live updates on Twitter with @WSUWomensHoops, and catch live stats online at wsucougars.com.
ABOUT THE GAELS
Saint Mary's rebounded from its first two losses of the season by claiming the Cal Classic championship trophy last weekend, with victories over Pac-12 opponent California and Villanova. The Gaels trailed by double-digits in both games, and utilized impactful fourth-quarter rallies to earn victories. Senior Lauren Nicholson, the Gaels leading scorer at 18.6 points per game, found freshman Sydney Raggio the team's second-leading scorer (14.0 ppg) for the game-winning bucket. Under the direction of head coach Paul Thomas in his 10th season, the Gaels are currently 7-2.
LAST TIME ON THE HARDWOOD
Sophomore Louise Brown scored a career-high 14 points to go along with 17 points from freshman Borislava Hristova, as the Cougars knocked off visiting Gonzaga, 55-48. In a highly defensive battle, the Cougars held the Bulldogs to 18-of64 (.281) shooting and just one field goal in the second quarter. WSU improved to 8-1 for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
COMING UP
Washington State will conclude its nonconference schedule in Lawrence, Kan. The Cougars will face the Kansas Jayhawks Sunday, Dec. 20, with a scheduled tipoff of 5 p.m. PT.
DAUGHERTY APPROACHES 100 WSU WINS
Head coach June Daugherty has led the Washington State women's basketball program to a 98-162 record over nine seasons in Pullman, just two wins shy of 100 WSU-career victories. Daugherty will become the third coach in Cougar history to reach 100 WSU wins. Sue Durant boasted a 134-99 record in nine seasons (1974-82) and Harold Rhodes guided the Cougars to 194 wins over 17 years at WSU (1983-99). Daugherty is no stranger to success, having reached 400-career wins last season, and currently owns a 411-376 record over her 27-year coaching career.
RACKING UP THE AIRLINE MILES
Washington State has done its fair share of traveling this nonconference season. The Cougars traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii for the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic, Nov. 20-22, flying 5,860 miles. After returning home for Thanksgiving and a single home game, the team turned around and began a nine-day trip to Oklahoma State, Boise State and San Diego, accruing 4,722 miles. In total, WSU has traveled 10,582 miles with trips still scheduled to Moraga, Calif., and Lawrence, Kan.
OFF TO A HOT START
After beginning the season 5-0 for the first time since 1998, the Cougars dropped a game at Oklahoma State. WSU responded with three-straight victories, and is now off to its best start since the 1989-90 season, which also started 8-1. The honor for the best start in school history goes to the Cougars' 1978-79 squad that started the season 10-0 before falling to Oregon.
BORISLAVA 'BOBI BUCKETS' HRISTOVA
True freshman Borislava Hristova has turned heads in her first season with the Cougars. The Varna, Bulgaria native is averaging 20.2 points per game, best in the conference by a freshman and third-best overall. Her scoring average is the second-best by a freshman in the entire country. Hristova dropped 30 points on San Jose State, becoming just the second freshman in WSU history to reach the 30-point plateau. She is a dead-eye from the field, shooting an impressive .537 (73-of-136) as a forward. Hristova was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, the conference released Nov. 23, and was also named the Rainbow Wahine Classic MVP after pouring on 39 points in two games in Honolulu, Hawaii.
RECORD WATCH
Senior Taylor Edmondson has made 76.7 percent (69-of-90) of her free throws during her WSU career. The mark is currently ninth-best in school history, after the New Mexico native began the season tied for seventh with a .769 clip. Fellow senior Dawnyelle Awa recorded three assists in WSU's win over Gonzaga, Dec. 8, moving into 10th place on WSU's all-time top-10 list with 287 career assists. Awa, along with senior Mariah Cooks, have each played in 106 games during their time on the Palouse. If both seniors play in the 20 remaining regular season games, they will sit in a tie for third on WSU's all-time games-played list (126 games), and just three games shy of the school record held by former teammate Sage Romberg (129).
COUGAR FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTING EARLY
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 currently leads the team with 20.2 points per game. The Varna, Bulgaria native dropped 30 points on San Jose State, becoming just the second freshman in WSU history to reach the 30-point plateau. Maria Kostourkova has proved an inside threat, averaging 5.0 rebounds per game and 4.8 points per game. Alexys Swedlund dropped four 3-pointers against San Jose State to aid the Cougars in victory, finishing with a career-high 16 points, and is currently averaging 5.9 points per game.
YOUNG WSU TEAM LED BY FOUR SENIORS
With nine underclassmen, WSU is young this season. The Cougars entered the season with eight student-athletes that had 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.
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.
LATE PRESIDENT FLOYD HONORED
Washington State University's late president Elson S. Floyd, who passed away in June after complications from colon cancer, is being honored this season by WSU student-athletes with a black 'ESF' patch on team uniforms. The Cougars' basketball uniforms don the patch on the right side of the chest.
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. 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.
WSU BASKETBALL ON THE RADIO AND WEB
Follow the Cougars on Pullman's 104.7 FM, 1150 AM, or go to wsucougars.com and listen online. Connect with Washington State University Athletics on the web at wsucougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics.
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.
