PULLMAN, Wash. – After a week of playing against some of the nation's best in the United States Virgin Islands, the Washington State University women's basketball team returns to Beasley Coliseum for an extended stay, as they open a three-game homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 4 with the University Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Tip-off from Friel Court at 7 p.m. PT.
WASHINGTON STATE (4-3)
vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-5) | Wednesday, Dec. 4 | 7 p.m. | Beasley Colesium
Live Stats | WSUCougars.com
Watch | WSU Live Stream
Tickets | WSUCougars.com
THE STARTING FIVE
-> Wednesday's contest against Arkansas-Pine Bluff kicks off a three-game stretch at home for Washington State. The Cougars also take on Gonzaga on Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. and UC Irvine on Dec. 15 at 4:30 p.m. to close out the non-conference home portion of their schedule.
-> The Cougars have held home court in all three games play at Beasley Coliseum this season. WSU has averaged 74.3 points per game during the three-game home court winning streak, while they've been holding the opposition to 53 points per contest.
-> Wednesday will be the first-ever meeting between Washington State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, who plays in the Southwest Athletic Conference. WSU is 2-0 all-time against teams from the SWAC. The Cougs will also play the defending SWAC champions, Southern, on December 20 in Miami, Florida.
-> Senior Chanelle Molina caught the attention of the nation last week by averaging 16.3 points against three-straight ranked opponents at the 2019 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The point guard opened the week with a season-high 25-point performance against the defending national champions, and previously second-ranked Baylor, then followed that effort up with 17 points against then-No. 5/6 South Carolina.
-> Senior Borislava Hristova recently became just the second player in program history to score over 1,800 points in their career. She accomplished the feat at last week's the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands amoungest the nation's elite. Entering Wednesday's game, Hristova has scored 1,832 points in her WSU career and needs just 136 points to break Jeanne Eggart's all-time record of 1,967 points.
LAST TIME OUT
Senior Borislava Hristova scored a game-high 16 points and pulled down a game-best eight rebounds in Washington State's 78-44 loss to then-No. 17/23 Indiana to close out the 2019 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
The Cougars challenged three of the nation's best in a three-day stretch down in the United States Virgin Islands, and despite several strong performances, Washington State ultimately went 0-3 on the trip.
NATIONAL COOKIE DAY
In honor of National Cookie Day on Wednesday, the first 200 Cougar fans in attendance will receive a free cookie from Insomnia Cookies. Doors open at Beasley Coliseum at 6 p.m. PT on Wednesday night.
COMING INTO HER OWN
Sophomore Cherilyn Molina set a new career high in points in back-to-back games the first two nights at the 2019 Paradise Jam. The youngest of the three Molina sisters scored a then career-best eight points against No. 2/2 Baylor off the bench, then followed that up with a nine-point performance against No. 5/6 South Carolina. The sophomore has also seen an uptick recently in minutes played, as she has played at least 18 minutes in three of her last four games.
PLAYING THE BEST
The Cougars are in the midst of a five-game stretch where they are playing four ranked opponents. WSU recently went 0-3 against three ranked opponents at the 2019 Paradise Jam, where they played then-second-ranked Baylor, then-No.5/6 South Carolina and then-No. 17/23 Indiana.
Washington State will close out the stretch on Sunday, when they host No. 17/18 Gonzaga inside Beasley Coliseum.
ECLISPING 1,000 POINTS
Senior Chanelle Molina recently became the 20th player in program history to score over 1,000 points in her WSU career. The Kailua Kona, Hawaii native entered the 1,000-point club after a 25-point effort against No. 2 Baylor on the first day of the Paradise Jam.
Currently, Molina sits at No. 17 on the WSU all-time scoring list with 1,034 points. She is just 34 points away from moving into No. 16, which is currently held by Katie Appleton (2005-09).
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN LIONS
Arkansas-Pine Bluff comes to Pullman still seeking its first win of the 2019-20 season, as they currently sit at 0-5. In fact, the Golden Lions have dropped 10-consecutive contests dating back to last season. UAPB is in the midst of a nine-game road trip to open it season, and they've already taken on Illinois, Tennessee and Iowa State during the odyssey.
As a team, UAPB is averaging 53.0 points per game on a 31.5 field goal percentage. Aiya El Hassan leads the Golden Lions in scoring at 9.8 points per game. Defensively, Arkansas-Pine Bluff is allowing teams to score 78.4 points a contest, while teams are hitting 47 percent from the floor against them.
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