GULF COAST SHOWCASE
Friday-Sunday | Nov. 24-26, 2017
Estero, Fla. | Germain Arena (8,284)

ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
The Cougs kick off the Gulf Coast Showcase with a matchup against No. 17 South Florida (4-0). The match up with the Bulls marks the second-straight top-25 opponent for the Cougs after falling to No. 25 Kentucky in their home opener last week. WSU and USF have never yet to meet on the court with Friday's contest being the first contest between the two institutions. The Gulf Coast Showcase, hosted by BD Global Sports LLC, takes place at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla.. The showcase features a stacked field including the defending national champion and No. 3 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. An eight team bracketed tournament, WSU will join South Carolina, Rutgers, St. John's, Western Michigan, South Florida, Notre Dame, and East Tennessee State. Broken into two brackets, the Cougs will look to push their way through South Florida, Notre Dame, and East Tennessee State in the bottom bracket

LAST TIME OUT
Washington State University had a couple late opportunities turned away as No. 25 University of Kentucky (4-0) earned a 73-68 victory at Beasley Coliseum Sunday. Cougar guard Borislava Hristova scored a game-high 25 points while sophomore guard Chanelle Molina added 13 points and sophomore forward Kayla Washington came off the bench to record 11 points and eight rebounds. Junior Nike McClure added seven points and two blocks off the bench. WSU was in command for most of the first half before UK scored the final seven points of the second quarter that cut the Cougar lead to 35-34 at the half. The Wildcats opened the third quarter with eight straight points and went on to hit four 3-pointers in the quarter to build a 10-point lead at one point. The Cougars clawed back with a 10-0 run for a 62-60 lead with 5:37 left and later held a two-point lead with under minutes to go but Kentucky scored the game's final seven points, forcing a pair of Cougar turnovers in the final minute to earn the win.

ABOUT THE BULLS
South Florida enters the bracketed tournament 4-0 on the year and ranked No. 17 in the country. The Bulls are coming off of a 24-9 campaign last year in which they made their third NCAA appearance in the last four year. Leading the way is Kitija Laksa who was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List. The junior guard is averaging 21.0 ppg through four games to lead a Bulls attack that is averaging 80.0 ppg early in the season. Additionally, Maria Jespersen (17.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and Laura Ferreria (12.0 ppg, 10 rpg) are both averaging double-doubles through the first four games of the season.

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