BOISE, Idaho – The Washington State University women's basketball team jumps back into action this Wednesday after a 10-day break, as the Cougars head over to the City of Trees for their first road contest of the season to take on Boise State. Tip-off against the Broncos is set for 4 p.m. PT at the ExtraMile Arena.
WASHINGTON STATE (2-0)
at Boise State (3-1) | Wed., Nov. 20 | 4 p.m. PT | ExtraMile Arena
Live Stats | WSUCougars.com
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The Starting Five
-> Washington State is off to a 2-0 start after collecting victories over Pepperdine (85-48) and BYU (67-50) inside Beasley Coliseum. The Cougars come into Wednesday's game looking for their fourth 3-0 start to a campaign over the last 20 seasons. Previously, WSU opened the 2003-04, 2015-16 & 2016-17 seasons at 3-0, with the 2015-16 team starting the year at 5-0.
-> Senior Chanelle Molina is closing in on becoming the 20th player in program history to score 1,000 points in her career. The guard, who was Washington State's first five-star recruit in women's basketball, needs only 48 points to eclipse the mark. Currently, she is second on the team in scoring with 13.0 points per game.
-> Scoring isn't the only thing Chanelle Molina brings to the table, as she recently moved into 10th-place on the WSU all-time assists list with 310, surpassing Penny Bowden's (1986-88) career mark of 307 helpers. She is 138 assists away from Darla Williamson's Washington State record of 448.
-> Senior Borislava Hristova has gotten her 2019-20 season off to a fantastic start, as the 2020 Cheryl Miller Award watch list recipient is third in the Pac-12 in scoring at 23.0 points per contest. #BobiBuckets has opened the season with back-to-back 23-point performances, to bring her career point total to 1,745. She needs just 223 points to break Jeanne Eggart's (1977-82) program record of 1,967 points.
-> Wednesday's matchup will mark the 40th all-time meeting between Washington State and Boise State, with WSU holding the slimmest of edges at 20-19. The two have recently renewed the rivalry, as they've played at least once every year since 2015 after a four-year hiatus in the series. The Cougars have claimed victory in three of those four matchups, including a 95-71 win in Beasley Coliseum last season.
GAME INFORMATION – at BOISE STATE
For the first time this season, the Cougars will take to the road for a game. Washington State will be looking to end an eight-game losing streak in true road contests, as the last time the Cougs brought home a victory away from Beasley was on Dec. 30, 2018 at Washington.
Boise State is coming off a 2018-19 season that saw the Broncos capture their third Mountain West Tournament Championship over the last four seasons. The 28-win team fell to Oregon State, 80-75, in overtime in the First Round of last year's NCAA Tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt junior Jovana Subasic's first career double-double paced the Cougars to a 67-50 win over BYU back on Nov. 9. Subasic came off the bench and recorded career highs in points (15) and rebounds (11) to give Washington State its first 2-0 start since the 2016-17 campaign.
Seniors Borislava Hristova and Chanelle Molina paced a balanced offensive attack for WSU, as Hristova posted her second-consecutive 23-point performance to open the year, while Molina also recorded her second-straight 13-point effort.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
The Broncos are currently 3-1 and are coming of an 83-81 victory at UAB to conclude a run in the Preseason WNIT. Boise State has already captured a pair of victories at home over Lewis-Clark State (88-34) and Portland State (82-57), but fell to Missouri State, 72-69, in their last contest at ExtraMile Arena.
Boise State features six players averaging at least 8.0 points per game, led by senior Riley Lupfer's 16.0 ppg. Redshirt junior, and Oregon transfer, Mallory McGwire's 8.0 rebounds per game paces the Broncos, while her 15.0 points per contest is second-best on the team. Last season's leading scorer Braydey Hodgins is back into the fold for Boise State and she currently chipping in 9.8 points per game.
As a team, the Broncos are shooting 47.2 percent from the floor, while limiting their opponents to a 37.4 percent success rate from the field. Boise State has been bringing the defensive pressure to the opposition this season, as they are forcing 21 turnovers per game.
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