COUGARS WELCOME DUCKS FRIDAY NIGHT
The Washington State women's basketball team (12-9, 3-7 Pac-12) returns to the comforts of Beasley Coliseum, Friday, hosting the University of Oregon (15-6, 4-6 Pac-12) at 8 p.m. The matchup will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks with commentary from Greg Heister and Chiney Ogwumike. Fans can tune in to the Washington State IMG Sports Network with Steve Grubbs on the call, or follow live updates on Twitter with @WSUWomensHoops, and catch live stats online at wsucougars.com.
ABOUT THE DUCKS
Under second-year head coach Kelly Graves, Oregon enters Friday's bout with a 15-6 record and a 4-6 record in Pac-12 play. After going undefeated in nonconference action, the Ducks struggled to find a rhythm early against Pac-12 foes, but have since won four of their last five conference games. Oregon currently sits in a three-way tie for sixth place. The Ducks boast one of the most prolific players in Oregon history, 6-3 forward Jillian Alleyne. Alleyne is averaging a double-double with 18.0 points per game and 13.7 rebounds per game. She owns Oregon's school record for career rebounds, is the Pac-12's all-time leading rebounder, and the NCAA's active rebound leader. In the series history between WSU and Oregon, the Ducks own a 62-18 advantage. However, the Cougars have won four out of the last five matchups, including a 66-64 thriller in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament last March. The last four meetings between the schools have been decided by a total of 13 points and an average of 3.3 points per game.
TWO MINUTE DRILL
Washington State has played nine games this season in which the game was within two possessions (six points) in the final two minutes. In six of those games the Cougars were leading, and in three games they were trailing, but WSU has just a 4-5 record in such games. The Cougars are 4-2 when leading in the final 120 seconds and 0-3 when trailing down the stretch.
BORISLAVA 'BOBI BUCKETS' HRISTOVA
True freshman and three-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Borislava Hristova has turned heads in her first season with the Cougars. The Varna, Bulgaria native is averaging 16.6 points per game, second-best in the conference by a freshman and sixth-best overall. Hristova was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the second-straight week the conference announced, Jan. 25. Hristova has reached double-digit scoring figures 18 times this season and already holds the WSU freshman record with seven 20-point performances. She is on pace to set the program's freshman records in total points, points per game, free throw percentage, and field goals made.
JENSEN IMPLEMENTS STINGY DEFENSE
With the introduction of first-year assistant coach Rod Jensen to the staff, the Cougars have seen their defensive rankings soar. The Cougars currently average 4.3 blocks per game and are on pace to break the school record for total season blocks by over 15. Redshirt-freshman Nike McClure has already found her way into the freshman record book, with 19 blocks this season. The Tenino, Wash., native averages 1.1 blocks per game, 13th in the Pac-12, and is on pace to finish fourth in WSU freshman history for total season blocks. The Cougars are also averaging 10.4 steals per game and forcing 19.3 turnovers per game.
DAUGHERTY REACHES 100 WSU WINS
Head coach June Daugherty earned her 100th-career win at Washington State with the Cougars' 74-66 victory at Colorado, Jan. 4. Daugherty has guided the WSU program to a 102-170 record over nine seasons in Pullman, becoming 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 415-383 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 earned her 100th win Jan. 4, she became the first coach in conference history to win 100+ games at multiple Pac-12 schools (Washington). Daugherty also became one of three active coaches at a Power-5 conference school to have guided three different Division-I programs to 100+ wins. Daugherty boasted a 191-139 record while at Washington and registered 122 wins in her time at Boise State.
LAST TIME ON THE HARDWOOD
The Cougars were unable to keep their first-half momentum going at No. 16 Stanford, falling to the Cardinal, 52-69. After leading by two at halftime and holding SU to one field goal in the opening quarter, WSU went cold from the field in the fourth quarter. Stanford's Lili Thompson dropped a career-high 30 points to guide the Cardinal to victory. WSU senior Mariah Cooks led the Cougars with 15 points and seven rebounds.
COMING UP
Washington State welcomes Oregon State to Beasley Coliseum for a showdown on Super Bowl Sunday. The Cougars and Beavers will tip off at 11 a.m. at Friel Court. A free livestream of the game will be available at wsucougars.com.
RECORD WATCH
Senior Taylor Edmondson has made 76.5 percent (78-of-102) 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 one assist in WSU's game at Stanford, Jan. 31, moving her career total to 330 assists, which is currently eighth-most in WSU history. Awa, along with senior Mariah Cooks, have each played in 118 games during their time on the Palouse. The mark pushes the duo into a tie for seventh place in career games played at WSU. If both seniors play in the eight remaining regular-season games and opening Pac-12 Tournament game, they will sit in a tie for third on WSU's all-time games-played list (127 games), and just two games shy of the school record held by former teammate Sage Romberg (129). Awa made her 100th career start against Stanford, becoming the seventh player in WSU history to reach the century mark. If Awa remains in the starting lineup for the duration of the season, she will finish third all-time in school history for career starts.
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 16.6 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 proven an inside threat, averaging 4.5 rebounds per game and 5.7 points per game. Kostourkova led the team with a career-high 17 points against Colorado, Jan. 4. Alexys Swedlund dropped four 3-pointers against California to aid the Cougars in victory, finishing with a career-high 16 points, and is currently averaging 5.4 points per game.
COUGARS' DEPTH SHINES
The Washington State women's basketball team is the deepest it has been in nine years, according to head coach June Daugherty. Ten Cougar players have played in all 20 games, and nine players are averaging over 10 minutes per game. WSU's bench players have outscored the opponent's bench 17 times this season and the Cougar reserves are currently outscore opponent reserves by an average of 15.2 points per game.
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.
SIGNEES NOMINATED AS ALL-AMERICANS
Katie Campbell, Kayla Washington, and Chanelle Molina, incoming freshmen on the 2016-17 Washington State women's basketball team, were nominated as McDonald's All-Americans, the organization announced this month. The trio are a part of the Cougar class that is expected to be one of Coach Daugherty's most talented in her tenure at Washington State.
AWA TO PARTICIPATE IN WBCA PROGRAM
Senior guard Dawnyelle Awa was selected this month to participate in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's “So You Want To Be A Coach Program” program. The highly-competitive program is a collaborative effort between the WBCA and the NCAA to provide female student-athletes with an experience that becomes the foundation of a successful coaching career. The program assists female collegiate basketball players who are interested in pursuing a career in coaching women's basketball with professional development and career advancement through education, skills enhancement, networking, and exposure opportunities, while increasing awareness regarding the availability of talented female basketball players who want to coach.
RACKING UP THE AIRLINE MILES
Washington State did its fair share of traveling during the nonconference season. The Cougars traveled a total of 15,728 miles during the 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.
STARTING OFF STRONG
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.
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.