PULLMAN, Wash. – With the 2019-20 school year about to begin, Washington State women's basketball's new schedule is taking shape as the Pac-12 Conference released the weekly matchups for conference play. In addition, the Cougars have posted their non-conference schedule highlighted by six home games and a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
 
Cougar fans will get a chance to see their team in action right away as WSU tips off the new year with a pair of home games against West Coast Conference opponents. The season begins November 5 in Beasley Coliseum with a weekday matchup against Pepperdine before a battle of the Cougars takes place Nov. 9 with BYU coming to town. The last time the Cougars' took on BYU was in the 2017 WNIT when WSU went to Provo and upset its host, 72-64, in the opening round on its way to a third place postseason finish.
 
Rematches from last season kick off an intense 10-day stretch to close out the month for the Cougars as WSU plays five times, four of which coming outside of the Palouse. The first road trip for WSU takes the Cougs to Boise State (Nov. 24) to take on the Broncos. The Cougs have won three of four against Boise State including the last two road games. After returning home to face CSUN (Nov. 24), the Cougars depart for the Virgin Islands to take part in the prestigious Paradise Jam. The Cougars will play three games over three days against top tier talent. In the Reef bracket of the tournament, the Cougars will take on 2019 National Champion Baylor (Nov. 28), 2017 National Champion South Carolina (Nov. 29), and Indiana (Nov. 30).
 
December sees the Cougars play three-straight home games with matchups against Arkansas Pine-Bluff (Dec. 4), Gonzaga (Dec .8) and UC Irvine (Dec. 15). The three-time defending WCC champion Bulldogs have controlled the series as of late winning the last three matchups against the Cougars, however, WSU still holds a 20-10 overall advantage in the all-time series.
 
WSU closes out non-conference play with another trip across the country to play in the Florida Sunshine Classic (Dec. 20-21) hosted by Miami. The matchups for the tournament have yet to be decided at the time of this release.
 
With non-conference finished the Cougars turn their focus to the Conference of Champions with Pac-12 play beginning just before the close of the calendar year. The conference office, working with television partners, will release a full schedule with official days and times at a later date. The pairings released denotes the games being played and the home/away designations each week of the Pac-12 regular season.
 
WSU opens the conference season with a rivalry game as the Cougars host Washington in the Boeing Apple Cup Series. The two teams will meet again two weeks later to finish off the series in Seattle. WSU dominated the series last season, sweeping the cup matchups for the first time since 2014.
 
In between contests with the Huskies the Cougars will hit the road to take Stanford and Cal in California. The Bay Area teams will make the return trip in week five of Pac-12 play, coming to the Palouse the weekend of Super Bowl Sunday (Jan. 30-Feb. 2). The Arizona schools come to Pullman in week three (Jan. 17-19) before the Cougars make the trip to the Copper State in week seven (Feb. 14-16).
 
A trip to Los Angeles to take on USC and UCLA send the Cougars on the road in week four (Jan.24-26) as WSU plays five of the first seven conference games away from home. The LA schools also will mark the final home games of the regular season for the Cougs when the two teams make the return trip to Pullman in week eight (Feb. 21-23).
 
With the unbalanced schedule of the Pac-12 the Cougars will only face Utah, Colorado, Oregon, and Oregon State once in 2020 with the mountain schools coming to WSU in week six (Feb. 7-9) while the Cougs go to Oregon to close out the regular season in week nine (Feb. 28-March 1). All 12 of the conference's schools will make their way to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament March 5-8 with the 2020 edition taking place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
 
Season tickets are still available for renewal or purchase today. Mini plans and single-game tickets will go on sale at a later date. For more information on tickets or to purchase, please visit www.wsucougars.com or email the ticket office at athletictickets@wsu.edu.