UC DAVIS (25-7) vs. WASHINGTON STATE (14-19)
7:00 p.m. | Thursday | March 23, 2017 | WNIT 3rd Round
Pullman, Wash. | Beasley, Coliseum (11,671)

WSU ADVANCES TO THE THIRD ROUND - DEEPEST RUN IN POSTSEASON HISTORY
After making the postseason for just the fourth time in the modern NCAA era, the Cougs have proven to be a tough out as WSU has won a pair of games on the road to begin the WNIT. The wins for the Cougs in the first two rounds marked WSU's first-ever post season victories (in the modern NCAA era). Three times prior the Cougs played in the opening round of the NCAA (1991) and the WNIT (2014, 2015) only to fall short. Round 3 is slated for March 22-24; Round 4 is March 25-27, and the WNIT semifinals are set for March 29-30. The Cougars earned the conference's automatic bid into the postseason tournament thanks to their seventh place finish in the standings. With the Pac-12 earning a record seven bids to the Big Dance, the Cougars became the conference's first team out making them the first team into the WNIT. The bid into the WNIT marks the third time in the last four seasons the Cougars advanced to the postseason tournament.

LAST TIME OUT 
The cardiac cats survived and advanced for the second time in three days as the Washington State women's basketball team earned a 68-67, overtime, win on the road at Wyoming Saturday afternoon. The win sent the Cougars (14-19) into the round of 16 in the Women's National Invitational Tournament as WSU picked up just its second postseason victory in program history. Junior Pinelopi Pavlopoulou led WSU with a career-high 20 points, while adding 4 assists. Her classmate, Caila Hailey, added 12 points and 6 assists, while sophomore Alexys Swedlund and senior Ivana Kmetovska each added 10 points. Hailey and Swedlund each chipped in 8 rebounds.

WASHINGTON STATE IN THE REGULAR SEASON
The Cougars finished the regular season with a 11-18 overall record, including a 6-12 mark in Pac-12 Conference play earning a tie for 7th after being picked to finish 10th in the preseason. Most recently, WSU split its final regular-season series, falling to Utah, 74-57, Thursday before defeating Colorado, 67-56, Saturday on senior day. The Cougars lost six games this season that were decided by two possessions (six points) or less or in overtime. Washington State defeated one nationally-ranked opponent this season, upsetting #9/7 UCLA, 82-73, on Jan. 6 in the program's biggest upset ever. WSU earned a spot in the WNIT thanks to their 7th place finish in the Pac-12.

ABOUT THE AGGIES
The 2016-17 season marks the Aggies' fifth foray into the postseason in its 10 seasons at the Division I level and the program's first since making the WNIT field in 2012. Sunday's win at Colorado State improved the Aggies to 2-3 in WNIT games with both wins coming this season.  UC Davis was a mainstay in the NCAA Division II Tournament before making the jump to Division I, advancing to the NCAA West Regionals 12 times in 14 years from 1986-99, including a third-place national finish in 1997. The Aggies are led by a trio of double-digit scorers with Morgan Bertsch pacing the team at 16.1 ppg on an impressive 51.4% shooting. She is a presence inside as she also averages 5.3 rpg and 1.7 bpg.  As a team, the Aggies 69.1 ppg while shooting at a 43.9% clip.