PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State University women's basketball team returns to action this Sunday after a seven-day break, when they play host UC Irvine in the second game of a Cougar basketball doubleheader at Beasley Coliseum. Tip-off against the Anteaters will follow the WSU men's basketball and is tentatively set for 4:30 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.

WASHINGTON STATE (5-4)
vs UC Irvine (3-6) | Sunday, Dec. 15 | 4:30 p.m. | Beasley Coliseum
  Live Stats | WSUCougars.com
  Watch | Pac-12 Network Washington
  Tickets | WSUCougars.com
  Game Notes | WSUCougars.com (PDF)

THE STARTING FIVE
-> Washington State looks to continue its winning ways on Friel Court on Sunday, as the Cougars currently stand at 4-1 in home games this season. Through five home contests, WSU has averaged 72.2 points per game, while they've shot the ball with a 43.3% success rate at home. WSU average margin of victory insdie Beasley this season is 23.3 points.

-> The Cougars will close out a three-game homestand on Sunday. The game against UC Irvine will serve as the rubber-match for the homestand, as WSU is currently 1-1 after a win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (85-56) and a loss to then-No. 17/18 Gonzaga (76-53).

-> Sunday's matchup will be the first meeting between Washington State and UC Irvine. The Anteaters, who play in the Big West Conference, are 3-6 on the year after collecting 20 wins a season ago. All-time, the Cougars are just 13-17 against teams from the Big West.

-> All four of Washington State's losses this season have come to teams ranked inside the top-20 of both the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top-25. The intense non-conference scheduling has helped the Cougars post an RPI of 85 entering play this weekend.

-> Sunday's game will be the final home contest of the non-conference season for the Cougars. Washington State will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule at the Miami Holiday Classic on Dec. 20 and 21 in Miami, Florida. WSU will open Pac-12 play at home on Dec. 29 with a Boeing Apple Cup Series matchup against the Huskies.

LAST TIME OUT
The Cougars four-game winning streak at Beasley came to a halt last Sunday (Dec. 8), as WSU dropped a 76-53 decision to then-No. 17/18 Gonzaga.

Washington State got double-digit scoring efforts from seniors Borislava Hristova (15 points) and Chanelle Molina (12 points), while redshirt junior Jovana Subasic collected 11 points off the bench in the loss.

HITTING THE GLASS
Washington State has seen a significant growth on the boards this season, as they are averaging 38.1 rebounds per game this season. The Cougars have only been outrebounded in two of their nine contests this season, which came against No. 2 Baylor and No. 5/6 South Carolina.

KNOCKING THEM DOWN
The Cougars have displayed the ability to shoot with consistency this season, as they connect on 42.5% of their shots from the floor. Washington State has shot over 50% from the field in three contests this season, which has helped them post the 98th-best team field goal percentage in NCAA Division I.

Individually, Borislava Hristova and Chanelle Molina both rank inside the top-300 in field goal percentage in NCAA Division I. Hristova enters play this week hitting 47.9% of her shots, which is the 144th-best percentage in the country, while Molina's 44% puts her at 291st in the nation.

BEING ELITE
Senior Chanelle Molina has elevated her game in her final season with WSU. The guard has recorded double-digit points and pulled down five-or-more rebounds in all but one game this season. Currently, the Kailua Kona, Hawaii native is second on the team in scoring and rebounds at 15.2 points and 6.2 caroms per game.

DYNAMIC DUO
Borislava Hristova and Chanelle Molina have the Cougar offense clicking this season, as the pair of seniors both currently rank inside the top 10 in the Pac-12 in scoring. Hristova's 19.3 points per game leads the Cougars, and is third-best in the Pac-12, while Molina's 15.2 points per games is the sixth-highest average in the league.

Washington State is one of two teams in the Pac-12 (Oregon State) to have two players represented inside the top-10 of the conference's scoring leaders.

#BobiBuckets
Senior Borislava Hristova is once again living up to her moniker #BobiBuckets this season. The Varna, Bulgaria native is currently second in the Pac-12 in field goals made with 70, the 14th-best output this season in all of NCAA Division I, while the senior's 19.3 points per game is the 24th-best scoring average in the country.

IRON WOMAN
Chanelle Molina has once again been racking up the minutes for the Cougars this season, as the program's single-season leader in minutes played looks to tops last season's mark of 37.7. The senior currently leads the Pac-12 in minutes play at 313:32, which averages out to a league-high 34.7 minutes per game.

The point guard is coming off her second 40-minute effort of the season in her last time out. Molina has played no fewer than 30 minutes in eight of the nine contests this season.

BOBI BUCKETS CHASING HISTORY
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 19.3 points per contest. #BobiBuckets has opened the season by scoring double figures in eight of the nine games played.

The Varna, Bulgarian native is less than 100 points away from breaking the WSU all-time scoring record. she currently has 1,873 points, just 94 points away from Jeanne Eggart's (1977-82) program record 1,967 points.

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