WASHINGTON STATE (15-19) at IOWA (20-13)
2:00 p.m. CT | Sunday | March 26, 2017 | WNIT Quarterfinals
Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500)

WSU ADVANCES TO THE QUARTERFINALS - 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 three in a row to advance to the quarterfinals of the WNIT. The wins for the Cougs in the first three 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 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 
Playing in front of their biggest crowd of the season, the Washington State women's basketball team did not disappoint the Beasley Faithful as the Cougs took care of UC Davis, 71-62, in the third round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament. Continuing their hot play together, the Cougs' trio of guards led the way to victory with sophomore Alexys Swedlund pacing the attack with her fifth 20-point game of the season. The sophomore sharp-shooter did a bulk of her damage from deep as she hit four from downtown to bring her season total to 68, one shy of the Cougs' single-season record put together by Tricia Lamb in the 1998-99 season. Not to be outdone, the Cougs' captains followed Swedlund's lead as Pinelopi Pavlopoulou went for 16 points while Caila Hailey chipped in 13. The two junior guards have been on a scoring binge as of late with Pavlopoulou going for double-figures in five of the last six contests while Hailey has hit the 10-point threshold in eight of her last 10 games.

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 HAWKEYES
Iowa has won three games in the WNIT without ever having been asked to leave the friendly confines of the Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Most recently, the Hawkeyes dispatched the Pac-12's Colorado, 80-61, to earn their spot in the Elite 8 of the WNIT. This season, Iowa has been nearly unbeatable at home having gone an impressive 17-3 in Iowa City. Overall, the Hawkeyes are led by the duo of Megan Gustafson and Ally Distterhoff. Gustafson has been a huge presence in the post for the Hawkeyes having scored a team best 18.5 ppg on 64.8% shooting while also grabbing 9.9 rpg. From the outside, Distterhoff has scored 16.5 ppg on 50.9% shooting.