Washington State University Athletics
Cougars Host Washington to Open Pac-12 Play
December 28, 2015 | Women's Basketball
COUGARS HOST WASHINGTON TO OPEN PAC-12 PLAY
The Washington State women's basketball team (9-2) welcomes the Washington Huskies (9-2) to Beasley Coliseum, Tuesday, Dec. 29, to open Pac-12 Conference play. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. with coverage on the Pac-12 Networks. Greg Heister and Elise Woodward will have the television call, while Steve Grubbs will provide audio coverage on the Washington State IMG Sports Network. Fans can follow live updates on Twitter with @WSUWomensHoops, and catch live stats online at wsucougars.com.
ABOUT THE HUSKIES
Washington is led by head coach Mike Neighbors in his third season at the helm of the women's basketball program. Neighbors guided the team to a 9-2 nonconference record, led by junior Kelsey Plum, the country's leading scorer. Plum currently averages 27.6 points per game, and is assisted by redshirt-senior Talia Walton averaging 18.3 ppg.
THE WSU-UW SERIES HISTORY
The Huskies own a 68-20 record all-time record against the Cougars, including a 33-4 record in Pullman. Head Coach June Daugherty has found significant success on both sides of the series. As the coach at Washington from 1996-2007, Daugherty guided the Huskies to a 22-game unbeaten streak against the Cougars. After jumping to the other side of the state to lead WSU, Daugherty snapped UW's streak against the Cougars, handing the Huskies an 82-80 loss in 2014. Daugherty has guided WSU to victories in three of the last four meetings between the schools for the first time since 1979-81.
DAUGHERTY APPROACHES 100 WSU WINS
Head coach June Daugherty has led the Washington State women's basketball program to a 99-163 record over nine seasons in Pullman, just one win 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 412-377 record over her 27-year coaching career.
DAUGHERTY DOMINATES FOR DECADES
Head coach June Daugherty has proven to be successful across the Pac-12 Conference and beyond. When she earns her 100th win at WSU, she will become the first coach in conference history to win 100+ games at multiple Pac-12 schools. Daugherty boasted a 191-139 record while at Washington. She also recorded 122 wins in her time at Boise State.
LAST TIME ON THE HARDWOOD
The Cougars closed their nonconference season with a win at Kansas. WSU defeated the Jayhawks at historic Allen Fieldhouse, 66-52, Dec. 20, led by a career-high performance from senior Dawnyelle Awa. The Hawaiian native scored 19 points to lead all scorers. The Cougars shot 9-of-16 (.563) from beyond the arc, including a perfect 3-for-3 from Awa.
COMING UP
Washington State will hit the road for its first two-game swing of the conference season. WSU opens the New Year with a Jan. 2 matchup in Salt Lake City against the Utah Utes. The Cougars will then travel to Boulder, Colo., to face Colorado, Jan. 4.
RACKING UP THE AIRLINE MILES
Washington State has done its fair share of traveling this season. The Cougars traveled a total of 15,728 miles during their 9-2 nonconference season, averaging 1,430 miles per game. WSU 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. WSU continued its travels with a trip to Moraga, Calif., to face Saint Mary's, adding an additional 1,758 miles. The Cougars closed the nonconference season accruing 3,308 miles with a trip to Lawrence, Kan., and a victory over the Jayhawks.
OFF TO A HOT START
After beginning the season 5-0 for the first time since 1998, the Cougars recorded their first loss of the season at Oklahoma State. WSU responded with three-straight victories, improving to 8-1 for the first time since 1989-90, before falling at Saint Mary's, Dec. 12. 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 18.2 points per game, second-best in the conference by a freshman and sixth-best overall. Her scoring average is currently the fourth-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 .516 (81-of-157) 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.
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.
RECORD WATCH
Senior Taylor Edmondson has made 76.8 percent (73-of-95) 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 four assists in WSU's game at Kansas, Dec. 20, and currently sits 10th all-time in school history with 297 career assists. Awa, along with senior Mariah Cooks, have each played in 108 games during their time on the Palouse. If both seniors play in the 18 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 18.2 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 proven an inside threat, averaging 4.6 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).
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.
