PULLMAN, Wash. - With the 2019-20 season just around the corner the Cougars' women's basketball team officially began practices Tuesday morning. The Cougs hit the floor early, getting going at 6 a.m. inside their practice facility. 

The Cougars enter the year 13 deep on the roster including returning three starters from their 2018-19 campaign. Leading the way are senior captains Borislava Hristova and Chanelle Molina who finished last season as the top two scorers with Hristova finishing third in the Pac-12 at 19.9 points per game as a junior. Among the elite scorers in the nation, Hristova earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors after efficiently scorching opposing defenses, shooting a team best 47.5% from the floor for shooters who took over 100 shots on the year. Hristova enters her final season third all-time in scoring in program history with 1,699 points. She needs just 11 points to move into second place while the all-time record, held by Jeanne Eggart (1977-82), is set at 1,967 points. In Molina the Cougs have a floor general that has grown to be one of the most dynamic scorers and playmakers in the Pac-12 over her first three seasons. Fully recovered from a knee injury suffered during her freshman season, Molina dominated her junior year scoring 15.9 points per game while dishing out a 5.1 assists per game to earn All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention as well as All-Defensive Team honors.

While the Cougars have to replace two of their top four players from last season due to graduation, WSU is fully stocked with young veteran players ready to make an impact. Redshirt-junior Johanna Muzet, who missed last season due to injury, returns to lead the defensive efforts of the Cougs on the wing while providing an explosive scoring threat on the offensive end. In the post, redshirt-junior Jovana Subasic gives the Cougs a long 6-4 shooter that can stretch defenses while sophomore Ula Motuga, while undersized, provides a solid low post rebounder who can also step out an hit a three when asked. Also returning are a trio of guards/wings in sophomores Shir Levy, Celena Molina, and Cherilyn Molina. Levy, one of the three returning starters from last season showed flashes of brilliance throughout her freshman campaign as a defensive stopper who could also give the Cougs another slashing option offensively. The younger two Molina sisters provided depth in the backcourt in 2018-19 with Celena doing the dirty work for the Cougs while Cherilyn backed up her older sister at the point, using her speed and vision to break down defenses. Michaela Jones, a shooter in her second season, will look to build off a freshman year that saw her minutes grow as the year wore on.

While the the Cougs have an array of veterans to fall back on they also welcome in four new faces to the mix for the 2019-20 season. Helping the young players grow, senior Krystal Leger-Walker comes into the mix completely in tune with her new/old head coach Kamie Ethridge after transferring from Northern Colorado over the summer. Leger-Walker ran Ethridge's offense at UNC, leading the Bears to their most successful seasons in program history as a freshman and sophomore. Leger-Walker will sit the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer rules but can participate in practice throughout the year. Along with the transfer, the Cougs bring in three freshmen in Bella Murkatete, Emma Nankervis, and Grace Sarver. Murkatete and Nankervis, a pair of first year centers, give the Cougs a pair of big post players to grow their offense around in the low post while Sarver is a quick, athletic, shooting guard who will look to fill in the gaps wherever needed.

The Cougars' officially begin the 2019-20 campaign Tuesday, Nov. 5 at home against Pepperdine. WSU plays three of its first four at home inside Beasley Coliseum with games against Pepperdine, BYU, and CSUN with the lone roadtrip of the opening weeks sending the team to Boise State.