Home Stand Closes Wednesday as the Cougs Renew Their Rivalry with Gonzaga

Wednesday, December 6

Pullman, WA

7:00 PM

Washington State University

Gonzaga

Home Stand Closes Wednesday as the Cougs Renew Their Rivalry with Gonzaga

December 05, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Cougs take on the Zags for the 29th time in program history.

By: Athletic Communications

GONZAGA (4-3) vs WASHINGTON STATE (5-4)
7 p.m. | Wednesday | Dec. 6, 2017
Pullman, Wash. | Beasley Coliseum (11,671)
Pac-12 Network

MATCHUP NOTES
The Cougars renew their rivalry with Gonzaga Wednesday night to close out their three-game home stand. Last season, WSU went to Spokane and fell to the Bulldogs 79-61. In the game, the Cougs lost Borislava Hristova to injury as the second-year Coug left in the first quarter with a broken foot that would end her season. The loss for the Cougs was just their 8th all-time against the Bulldogs as WSU is 20-8 against Gonzaga including a 10-2 record in Pullman. The last time the two-teams met at Beasley the Cougs won 55-48 in Dec. of 2015.

LAST TIME OUT
A swarming defense that created chaos and a fast-paced offensive attack became the recipe to a decisive victory as Washington State (5-4) ran past Saint Louis (4-6), 85-63, Monday night at Beasley Coliseum. Leading wire-to-wire, the Cougs played their most complete game of the young season, crushing a Billikens team that held off a late rally by the Cougs last season in Saint Louis. The Cougs opened the game on a 9-1 run and never looked back as WSU steadily increased its advantage throughout the 40-minutes of fury, pushing their lead to as much as 28-points midway through the fourth quarter before settling for the 22-point victory. The big run that finally put the game in the books came over a four-minute span late in the third quarter when the Cougs used a 15-4 run to turn a comfortable 13-point lead into a 24-point advantage. During the run, the Cougs got a balanced effort out of their effort with Alexys Swedlund scoring five of the 15 while Borislava Hristova added three of her quarter-high nine. The Billikens would get the lead under 20 just once with a small spurt to end the quarter before a 7-0 start for the Cougs to the fourth, including another five-point burst from Swedlund, shattered any Saint Louis dreams of a miracle comeback.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Gonzaga enters the day 4-3 on the year. The Zags were picked to win the West Coast Conference and have taken home the regular season crown in 12 of the last 13 seasons. Leading the way is Jill Barta, who was named to the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List prior to the start of the year. Barta enters the week as the reigning WCC Player of the Week after averaging a near-double-double with 24.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in Gonzaga's two wins over Eastern Washington and Portland State. She is averaging 21.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per game on the year.

IN THE TWITTERVERSE

The Cougs are on a sweet run with four-straight wins. Come out to Beasley tomorrow and celebrate with your own sweet treat as it's National Cotton Candy Day Wednesday. First 200 students get free cotton candy #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/5VYRMajYPx
— WSU Women's Hoops (@WSUWomensHoops) December 5, 2017

?? Cougar Women Take Down Billikens (KXLY)@SaintLouisWBB @WSUWomensHoops https://t.co/a9Ui0OoP8Y
— NSC Women's BB ?? (@NatStatWBB) December 5, 2017

So fun to watch @WSUWomensHoops as a fan & see @chanelle_molina show flashes of her 2x @pac12 FR of the week form 10 mos post ACL surgery. #GoCougs
— Cindy Brunson (@CindyBrunsonAZ) December 5, 2017

FOLLOW THE COUGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA ALL SEASON LONG Get all the info, photos, and videos a true Coug Fan could want by following the team on Facebook (facebook.com/wsuwomenshoops), Twitter (@WSUWomensHoops) and Instagram (WSUWomensHoops).