Washington State University Athletics
Cougars Welcome Bulldogs for Regional Battle
December 08, 2015 | Women's Basketball
COUGARS WELCOME BULLDOGS FOR REGIONAL BATTLE
The Washington State women's basketball team (7-1) hosts the Gonzaga Bulldogs (6-3) at Beasley Coliseum Tuesday, Dec. 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:02 p.m. with coverage on the Pac-12 Networks. Cindy Brunson and Mary Murphy will have the call. The evening matchup will also be available on the Washington State IMG Sports Network with Steve Grubbs on the call. Fans can also follow live updates on Twitter with @WSUWomensHoops, and catch live stats online at wsucougars.com.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Lisa Fortier is in her second season at the helm of the Gonzaga program. In her first year with the Bulldogs, Fortier guided GU to a 26-8 record, a WCC title, and run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This season, the Bulldogs are 6-3, including losses to Pac-12 foes Stanford and USC. Gonzaga is led by senior Elle Tinkle, averaging 11.4 points per game, and redshirt-senior Shelby Cheslek, averaging 10.7 points per game.
LAST TIME ON THE HARDWOOD
Washington State concluded a nine-day road trip with a 78-72 win at San Diego. True freshman led Borislava Hristova led WSU with 21 points and five rebounds, and was assisted by sophomore Caila Hailey with a career-high 11 points. The Cougars shot an impressive .542 (32-of-59) from the floor and committed only 12 turnovers.
COMING UP
The Cougars will hit the road once more, traveling to Moraga, Calif., to face the Gaels of Saint Mary's College. WSU and SMC will tip off at 1 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12 with coverage on TheW.tv. Fans can also follow on the Washington State IMG Sports Network.
DAUGHERTY APPROACHES 100 WSU WINS
Head coach June Daugherty has led the Washington State women's basketball program to a 97-162 record over nine seasons in Pullman, just three 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 410-376 record over her 27-year coaching career.
THREE OPPONENTS – THREE TIME ZONES
The Cougars concluded a nine-day road trip Sunday that spanned three time zones and three states last week. WSU traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma and the Central Time Zone, falling to the Cowgirls, 70-60, Nov. 30. The team jumped back one hour into the Mountain Time Zone to defeat Boise State, 57-52, Dec. 3. The extended road trip concluded Sunday at San Diego in the Pacific Time Zone, where the Cougars beat the Toreros 78-72. In total, WSU traveled 4,722 miles over the nine days.
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 home game, the team turned around and began its nine day trip, 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
The Cougars (7-1) started their season 5-0 for the first time since 1998-99 when WSU also started the year 5-0. WSU is now 7-1 for the first time since the 1994-95 season. The last time WSU was 7-1 sophomore Bianca Blanaru was just 131 days old. 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 20.6 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 .550 (66-of-120) 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 77.9 percent (67-of-86) of her free throws during her WSU career. The mark is currently fourth-best in school history, after the New Mexico native began the season tied for seventh with a .769 clip. Fellow senior Dawnyelle Awa enters Sunday's game with 284 career assists, one shy of a place on the school's all-time top-10 list. Awa, along with senior Mariah Cooks, have each played in 105 games during their time on the Palouse. If both seniors play in the 21 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 20.6 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 4.8 rebounds per game and 5.1 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 6.3 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.
COUGAR 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.
