Washington State sees historic season come to an end with 2-1 loss to North Carolina in NCAA women’s soccer ‘College Cup’
UPDATED:
Fri., Dec. 6, 2019
By Theo
Lawson S-R of Spokane
SAN JOSE,
Calif. – Washington State’s historic and prideful run through the NCAA women’s
soccer championship finally ended Friday night, at the hands of a North
Carolina team with more success and pageantry than any in the sport.
The
Cougars scored first and led the 21-time national champion Tar Heels for almost
20 minutes, but North Carolina responded with two goals in the first half and
overpowered Washington State with strength and depth to close out a 2-1 win the
NCAA Women’s College Cup Friday night at Avaya Stadium.
North
Carolina (23-1-1) will advance to Sunday’s national championship (5:30 p.m.,
ESPNU) against the winner of Friday’s second semifinal between UCLA and
Stanford. Washington State (16-7-1) notched upset wins over the teams ranked
No. 1 and 2 in its region, but the Cougars saw the most successful season in
program history come to an end with Friday’s result in San Jose.
The
Cougars pressed early and were rewarded just seven minutes into their first
College Cup appearance.
Elyse
Bennett and Averie Collins each flicked on a long drop kick from Ella Dederick
and the ball fell to Morgan Weaver after deflecting off two UNC players. Weaver
wound up and powered the ball into the lower left corner of the net, past a
diving Claudia Dickey, to make it 1-0.
WSU’s lead
lasted for 17 minutes, but UNC eventually surged, evening the score at 1-1 on
Alessia Russo’s goal in the 24th minute. The Tar Heels’ Taylor Otto poked the
ball ahead to Russo, who gathered near the top of the goal box and slipped a
shot past Dederick, who’d allowed only two goals in the Cougars’ other three
postseason matches.
A team
heralded for its deep, talented bench, UNC made a wave of changes two-thirds of
the way through the first half, bringing on its next goal-scorer, Alexis
Strickland, and four other players in the 32nd minute.
When
another UNC sub, Ru Mucherera, raced past her defender with the ball, the Tar
Heels senior sent a cross to the back post, connecting with a charging
Strickland, who drove it into the back of the net.
The
Cougars created a bevy of goal-scoring opportunities in the second half, but
after pushing headers right of the post and drilling shots left of it, they
finally ran out of time and the Tar Heels ran out the clock in the final minute
to secure their 26th berth in the title game.
WSU lost
for the first time since Nov. 8, but it wasn’t for a lack of chances. The
Cougars had 10 shots to the Tar Heels’ eight and created five more
opportunities on corner kicks.
:::
WSY Women’s
Basketball Takes on No. 17/18 Gonzaga in Pullman Sunday
12/6/2019 from WSU Sports Info
The run
through the preseason gauntlet continues for the Washington State women's
basketball team this Sunday, as the Cougars challenge their fourth ranked
opponent in 11 days, when No. 17/18 Gonzaga ventures into Beasley Coliseum.
Tip-off against the Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m.
WASHINGTON
STATE (5-3) vs No. 17/18 Gonzaga (7-1)
unday,
Dec. 8 | 2 o’clock in the afternoon
On Friel
Court in Beasley Coliseum on WSU campus in Pullman
Live Stats | WSUCougars.com
Watch | WSU Live Stream
Tickets | WSUCougars.com
THE
STARTING FIVE
->
Sunday marks the second of a three-straight games on Friel Court for the Cougs.
Washington State currently stands at a perfect 4-0 at home this season after
collecting an 85-56 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday. It was the
second 25-plus-point win inside Beasley for WSU this season.
-> When
the Cougars tip-off against No. 17/18 Gonzaga, it will mark the fourth time in
a little less than two weeks that Washington State has played a Top-20
opponent. WSU is currently 0-3 against ranked teams in 2019-20, after falling
to No. 2/2 Baylor, No. 5/6 South Carolina and No. 17/18 Indiana in
three-consecutive days at the 2019 Paradise Jam Tournament in the U.S. Virgin
Islands from Nov. 28-30.
-> The
longtime Evergreen State rivalry between Washington State and Gonzaga continues
on Sunday with the 31st meeting on the hardwood between the two eastern
Washington schools. WSU holds the advantage in the all-time series at 20-10,
but GU has won eight of the last 11 matchups and comes into this weekend's game
having won three straight over the Cougars.
->
Senior Chanelle Molina will be honored on Friel Court prior to Sunday's game
for scoring her 1,000th career point. The point guard scored her 1,000th-point
last Thursday in the Virgin Islands against No. 2 Baylor in a season-best
25-point performance. She currently has 1,051 points, which places her at No.
17 on Washington State's all-time scoring list.
-> Head
coach Kamie Ethridge is closing in on 100 career victories as a head coach. She
enters Sunday's game with an overall record of 97-68, needing just three more
miles to capture the milestone.
HOLIDAY
LONGSLEEVE GIVEAWAY & CHALK TALK
Come out
to Beasley Coliseum early on Sunday and get a WSU holiday longsleeved t-shirt,
while supplies last. Doors open at Beasley at 1 p.m.
Head coach
Kamie Ethridge will also be hosting her Chalk Talk to 2019-20 season ticket
holders on Sunday at 12:45 p.m. in the Cougar Lounge. Season ticket holders
should be on the lookout for an e-mail with more information.
LAST TIME
OUT
Washington
State found itself back on the winning side of the scoreboard with an 85-56
victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing
streak. Redshirt senior Borislava Hristova recorded her second double-double of
the season with a season-high 27 points and 10 rebounds to pace a trio of
double-digit scores for the Cougars.
#BobiBoards
Borislava
Hristova has earned the nickname #BobiBuckets for her offensive prowess on the
court over the years, but with how frequently the senior has been crashing the
board this season, she may have herself a new moniker.
Hristova
currently leads the Cougars in rebounding at 6.6 caroms per game, while she is
coming off her second double-double of the season with a season-best 27 points
and 10 boards against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The forward has pulled down at least
eight rebounds in five of WSU's eight games this season.
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 19.9 points per game leads the Cougars, and is second-best
in the Pac-12, while Molina's 15.6 points per games is the sixth-highest
average in the league.
BEING
ELITE
Senior
Chanelle Molina has elevated her play of late, as the guard has averaged 17.4
points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists over her last five contests. The run has
been highlighted by a pair of 20-point performances in back-to-back games
against CSUN (21 pts) and No. 2 Baylor (25 pts).
PROVIDING
A SPARK OFF THE BENCH
Redshirt
junior Jovana Subasic returned to double-digits in the scoring column for the
Cougars against Arkansas-Pine Bluff with a 13-point performance. The 6-4
forward is averaging a team-best 8.3 points off the bench this season, and has
scored double figures three times this season.
FOLLOW THE
COUGS
Get all
the info, photos, and videos a true Coug Fan could want by following the team
on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
:::
Cougars
set to go in tournament
WSU
volleyball gains some momentum after UW win; will face San Diego in first round
By Donn Walden Lewiston Trib
It clearly
was a bit of the unknown as the Washington State volleyball team embarked on
the 2019 season. With just five players who were sophomores or older, and a
group of 10 redshirt freshmen or freshmen when the season began in August, it
was enough to give ninth-year coach Jen Greeny cause for some trepidation.
But as the
season wore on, the group came together, bonded and formed a cohesive unit and
became one of the Pac-12 Conference’s strongest teams, going down to the final
two weeks with a chance to finish second overall before eventually placing
fifth with a 12-8 league mark and a 23-9 overall record.
The fruits
of their labor were borne out Sunday, when they were selected to play in the
64-team NCAA tournament field. The Cougars (23-9), ranked No. 23 in the latest
American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, will take on No. 20 San Diego
(24-5) in the first round at 6:30 p.m. Pacific today at the Stan Sheriff Center
on the campus of the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.
“When you
have so many new people that haven’t competed at this level, it’s hard to know
how the season is going to go, for sure,” Greeny said. “So I’m just really
proud of the team as a whole.”
The winner
will face the winner of the Northern Colorado-Hawaii matchup, which will take
place later today, at 10 p.m. Pacific on Saturday.
As the
team prepares for its contest with the Toreros, the conference released its
all-league selections Tuesday, and it showed how much respect the Pac-12
coaches had for the WSU players and the way they competed this season.
Freshman
middle blocker Magda Jehlárová earned first-team all-conference and
all-freshman honors, and was named the league’s Freshman of the Year. Jehlárová
led the conference in total blocks with 172, and in blocks per set at 1.45
overall. She finished seventh all-time in school history for total blocks in a
season, seventh for block assists (143), eighth all-time in blocks per set and
third all-time in hitting percentage at .363.
Senior libero
Alexis Dirige and redshirt freshman setter Hannah Pukis each earned All-Pac-12
honorable mention picks, while Pia Timmer also made the league’s all-freshman
team.
Dirige is
the school’s all-time leader with 2,142 career digs, ranking eighth in conference
history in that category, while Pukis finished the regular season with 1,073
assists, good enough for sixth overall in the conference. She also was fifth in
assists per set at 9.84. Timmer currently leads WSU with 343 kills, averaging
2.93 per set, and in total attacks with 1,035 overall.
“Every
time there is an individual award, especially in the sport of volleyball, it’s
really because of a team effort,” Greeny said. “But I’m really, really proud of
the (players) specifically who have received the awards. That’s voted on by the
coaches in the conference. And there’s some really fabulous coaches in this
conference that know what they’re doing. So that’s some great praise for those
players, especially Magda, to come in and not only get Freshman of the Year but
first-team All-Pac 12. That’s saying a lot and the coaches really respect her.”
After
enduring a three-game losing streak, the Cougars needed a momentum boost
heading into the tournament. They got that Saturday when they took down No. 9
Washington 25-23, 21-25, 25-20, 15-25, 25-23 in the regular-season finale in
Seattle.
Jehlárová
led the Cougs with 12 total kills, a hitting percentage of .333, and 10 total
blocks for her first career double-double. Timmer added 11 kills in 42 attacks.
“Washington
is a fantastic team,” Greeny said. “Just the way that our team fought and
perservered and we were able to come away with the win in a really, really
tough environment was great.”
Now WSU
sets its sights on San Diego, a team that won the West Coast Conference and
hasn’t lost since Oct. 24 at Pepperdine. The Toreros, who finished the regular
season on a nine-match winning streak and are led by WCC coach of the year
Jennifer Petrie, feature league setter of the year Anna Newsome and freshman of
the year Grace Frohling. Newsome and Frohling nailed down All-WCC first-team
selections, along with senior outside hitter Thana Fayad and senior middle
blocker Megan Jacobsen.
Newsome
led San Diego to a team hitting percentage of .286, ranking seventh in the
nation. She averaged 9.33 assists per set overall and 10.13 in WCC play.
Newsome also added 240 digs. Frohling had 237 kills and a team-best 26 aces
this season.
“San Diego
is a really good team,” Greeny said. “They’re well-coached and they don’t make
a lot of mistakes. You can see that. They won the WCC, they beat BYU twice,
they had some great (nonconference) wins. So ... we’re going to have to play
really well, of course.
“They have
a great setter, they run a pretty fast offense, a slide. Their middles are
really active. So we’re going to have to do a nice job defensively, digs some
balls and get our block going as well.”
::::
More than
800 WSU students to walk in Pullman during 2019 Fall Commencement
December 5, 2019 from WSU News
Students
celebrating at a commencement ceremony.
A record
number of WSU graduates are planning to participate in commencement exercises
this spring.
Some 860
students from across the Washington State University system will be celebrated
as new graduates Saturday during Fall Commencement.
The event
is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 at Beasley Coliseum. The
ceremony – expected to take two hours – is free and open to the public. A
shuttle will transport visitors from the Alumni Centre parking lot to and from
Beasley.
#
Those
attending are invited to ring the victory bell, so long as it isn’t below
freezing. Saturday’s high temperature is expected to near 45 degrees, with a 30
percent chance of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
The annual
ceremony has grown tremendously since its debut in 2001, when fewer than 400
students attended. Among those graduating Saturday are 721 undergraduates, 67
masters’ students, 19 MBAs and 54 doctoral candidates. Six ROTC members will
also be commissioned as military officers during the ceremony.
Nearly 200
soon-to-be graduates who take classes outside of Pullman will be in attendance,
including 93 from WSU Global Campus. Pullman is the only WSU campus to host
fall commencement ceremonies.
Former
PACCAR CEO and current chairman Mark Pigott will receive an Honorary Doctor of
Education Degree during the ceremony. Quinton Berkompas, ASWSU president,
Morgan Atwood, the ASWSU president of Global Campus, Matthew Sutherland, the
GPSA vice president of legislative affairs and Jane Yung will all speak briefly
to the class.
A live
stream of the ceremony will be available and users of social media are
encouraged to use #CougGrad in social posts.
