WSU women
basketball
No. 18
Gonzaga women expect tough test from regional foe Washington State
UPDATED:
Sat., Dec. 7, 2019
By Ryan
Collingwood Spokane S-R
For as
much success as 18th-ranked Gonzaga has had against Pac-12 neighbor Washington
State, the Cougars have been a tough out in Pullman.
The
Bulldogs broke a fourth-quarter tie before pulling away from WSU 64-56 in 2017,
their previous meeting at Beasley Coliseum.
WSU
clipped Gonzaga 54-48 at the same venue in 2015, part of the Cougars’ best start
since 1989.
When the
programs meet again on Sunday in Pullman, Gonzaga (8-1), which has won nine of
its last 11 against WSU (5-3), expects another firm test.
Cougars
star Borislava Hristova – a versatile, 6-foot fifth-year senior expected to
hear her name in the the 2020 WNBA draft – is a major emphasis for the West
Coast Conference power.
This will
be Hristova’s fifth meeting with Gonzaga, averaging 16.3 points and five
rebounds against the Bulldogs in the three games she was healthy.
The
three-time All-Pac-12 selection and two-time Cheryl Miller Award candidate –
given to the best small forward in collegiate women’s basketball – broke her
foot 8 minutes into a 2016 game at Gonzaga, ending her sophomore season.
Hristova
was later granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA, giving her a fifth year at
WSU. She’s 110 points from breaking the school’s all-time scoring record (1,967
points).
“That
extra year really helped me develop as a player,” Hristova said.
Because of
Hristova’s injury at Gonzaga, second-year WSU coach Kamie Ethridge got an extra
year of the talented Bulgarian.
“(Hristova)
is a great offensive player, but we put the challenge to her this year to be a
better defensive player, and in so many ways, that entails rebounding,”
Ethridge said Wednesday after Hristova totaled 27 points and 10 rebounds in a
85-56 rout of Arkansas Pine Bluff.
“She made
a big commitment (in the offseason) and she is improving.”
Gonzaga
will also key on WSU guard Chanelle Molina (15.6 ppg), who is shooting 42.9%
from 3-point range.
Both
programs recently played in tropical Thanksgiving weekend tournaments and had
contrasting results.
The
Bulldogs, the WCC preseason favorite, beat Dayton, Middle Tennessee and Purdue,
all by double digits, to win the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida.
WSU,
picked 10th in Pac-12 preseason polls after winning nine games last season,
went 0-3 at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.
The
Cougars suffered double-digit losses to then second-ranked Baylor, fifth-ranked
South Carolina and 14th-ranked Indiana.
Gonzaga,
led by junior forward Jill Townsend (12.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg), is WSU’s fourth ranked
opponents in five games.
The
Bulldogs’ previous ranked foe was No. 3 Stanford on Nov. 17, a team the
Bulldogs pushed to overtime on the road before falling 76-70. The Cardinal have
since jumped to No. 1 in the Associated Press rankings.
:::::::::
WSU men basketball
CJ Elleby
shines as Washington State outlasts New Mexico State at Spokane Arena
UPDATED:
Sat., Dec. 7, 2019
By Jason
Shoot Spokesman-Review
NCAA
BASKETBALL
At
Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane
COUGARS 63
AGGIES 54
➤Sunday, Dec. 15: UC
Riverside Highlanders at Washington State Cougars, 1:30 p.m. PST TV: Pac-12
Networks
Sometimes
you take what the defense gives you. Other times you dictate the action
yourself.
CJ Elleby
is still developing a feel for what a particular moment demands on the
basketball court, but Washington State’s 19-year-old sophomore picked the right
time to make his presence known in a 63-54 victory over New Mexico State in a
men’s basketball game Saturday at the Arena.
Elleby
fired in a game-high 20 points after a slow start, and WSU (5-4) collected a
nonconference win against the Aggies (5-5) in its annual trip to Spokane.
“I have to
remind myself he’s 19 years old,” Cougars head coach Kyle Smith said. “He’s a
captain, he’s a leader, but he just turned 19 this summer.”
Averaging
a tick above 20 points a game, Elleby scored the Cougars’ first nine points of
the second half, helping extend their lead to 39-25 with 15 1/2 minutes left to
play. His scoring versatility was on display during that stretch, as he blew
past defenders for two layups, knocked down a couple of free throws and added a
3-pointer.
“I knew I
had to be a little more aggressive,” Elleby said.
NMSU
answered Elleby’s outburst with an 11-0 blitz that trimmed WSU’s lead to 39-36
with 13 minutes remaining. Tony Miller’s two free throws for the Cougars ended
the run, but Jabari Rice’s three-point play pulled the Aggies within 41-39 with
11:27 left.
NMSU’s
offense sputtered after that, though, and WSU scored 12 of the next 14 points,
building a lead it didn’t surrender. The Aggies got no closer than four points
(53-49) the rest of the way.
“This was
by far our best effort,” Smith said, “and our best win.”
Elleby was
held scoreless with one shot attempt in the first 7 minutes – Aljaz Kunc’s two
3-pointers sparked the Cougs to an early 8-2 lead – but he was much more
involved when he returned to the floor at the 10:13 mark.
He picked
off a pass in the post and immediately located Noah Williams racing down the
court for a transition bucket. Elleby shook free of a defender on WSU’s next
possession, and his 3-pointer gave the Cougs a 17-14 lead with 8:12 left in the
half.
Miller
converted a putback and a 3-pointer on consecutive trips down the floor to push
WSU’s lead to 22-14, capping an 11-0 spurt. Marvin Cannon and Jaylen Shead each
knocked down 3-pointers before halftime to send the Cougars into the break with
a 30-21 advantage.
WSU entered
the game leading the country in fewest turnovers with nine per game and
finished with 13 against NMSU. A plus-4 margin in that category helped offset
the Cougars’ struggles shooting from the field (17 for 48, 35%).
Jeff
Pollard secured a career-best 10 rebounds, and the 6-foot-9 senior chipped in
with nine points for WSU.
“Jeff is
vanilla,” Smith said. “He’s great, and he does everything well. He’s so
dependable and fundamentally sound. He hits all the clichés.”
The Aggies
were unable to get their top player, Trevelin Queen, into rhythm. Averaging 15
points a game, Queen was limited to four points before halftime, and he
finished the game with 14 points on 6-for-19 shooting.
The
Cougars return to Beasley Coliseum on Dec. 15 when they face UC Riverside at
1:30 p.m.
:::::::::::::::::::::
Cougars
fall to San Diego in the opening round of the tournament.
12/6/2019
from Spokane S-R
HONOLULU –
No. 23 Washington State volleyball was downed by the Toreros of San Diego in
the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, by a final score of 3-1.
Set scores
from the match were: 21-25, 25-22, 19-25, and 14-25, and in favor of San Diego
(25-5).
Washington
State (23-10) and the Toreros of San Diego battled early in this opening set,
as these two squads were locked up at 4-4 overall. A 6-1 scoring run from USD
propelled the Toreros out to the 10-5 advantage, seeing the Cougars take a
timeout to regroup. San Diego continued to hold down a lead over WSU through
the midway point of the opening period, leading 16-8 overall.
The
Cougars saw some offensive sparks from both Jocelyn Urias and Penny Tusa as the
USD lead stood at 21-14. Washington State continued to fight late in set number
one, with kills from Alexcis Lusby, and Pia Timmer forcing the USD timeout at
24-20. The Toreros closed out set number one over the Cougs however at 25-21 to
take the overall match lead.
Set number
two brought the same intensity as the first, as five overall ties occurred
leading to a 10-10 score. Washington State shot ahead of San Diego with a 4-1
scoring run, fueled by multiple USD errors, and kills from Lusby and Magda
Jehlářová for the 14-11 lead. WSU held down a late lead of 20-17 after Hannah
Pukis posted a kill of her own to see the Cougs with a bit of momentum. Timmer
and Pukis each continued to anchor the WSU attack, each posting kills to push
the lead out to 22-19, and see a timeout from the Toreros. The Cougars were
able to put away San Diego at 25-22 in set number two, seeing this contest all
tied up at 1-1 overall.
The
Cougars opened set three with a block party as Kalyah Williams, Lusby, and
Jehlářová all found themselves involved in blocks, leading to a 7-4 advantage.
San Diego countered back however with multiple small runs to surge out to a
15-11 lead, and have the Cougs take their first timeout of the set. The Toreros
continued to take control in set three, extending their lead out to 18-11
overall, and forcing a second Washington State timeout. The Cougars were able
to close the scoring gap a bit with help from kills by Lusby and Tusa, but San
Diego finished off the set three win at 25-19.
WSU posted
a 3-0 scoring run to begin the fourth set of play, as multiple USD errors and a
Pukis service ace saw the Cougs in control early. San Diego answered right back
however, posting a 6-1 scoring run to claim the lead at 6-4, and see Washington
State use timeout number one of the set. The USD lead continued to grow, as
several 3-0 scoring runs put the Toreros lead at 15-9 midway through the fourth
period. San Diego continued to pace the final set in this tournament match, as
the overall lead increased to 18-10. Washington State and the Toreros traded
points down the stretch of this contest, until USD claimed the victory at
25-14.
POST-MATCH
QUOTES
Head Coach
Jen Greeny
Opening
statement: "San Diego is a fantastic team, obviously winning the WCC they
showed that all season long. So, they're a team that frustrates other teams
definitely defensively and that's kind of what they did tonight. I don't think
it was our best match, but a lot of credit goes out to San Diego and just what
they did defensively and offensively as well."
On
season's expectations: "We were picked eighth I think in the PAC-12. We
have 11 both true freshmen and redshirt freshmen on this team and so to compete
in the Pac-12 and to do what we did I think is fantastic and it just shows the
leadership of Alexis and the other seniors as well. It's really tough to have
that many new, inexperienced people and just do what we did, even though the
expectations from the outside maybe weren't as high, we were able to fight and
get some really good wins this year."
Libero
Alexis Dirige
On
takeaways from match: "I just took tonight as a good learning experience
for the freshman next year. They haven't experienced this long season yet and
they've never been to the NCAA Tournament. So, a lot of learning experiences
for them and I hope they had a good experience and come back stronger next year
in the NCAA Tournament but I'm glad to be here in my senior year and really
thankful for my team making it to the NCAA Tournament."
On
takeaways from season: "I take away a lot of positives. No one expected
this team to make the tournament. No one expected us to do anything in the
Pac-12 and we did a lot of good things, especially in the beginning of the
year, so that was really exciting and I am just glad we were able to be
competitive this year because no one expected it the season could have gone a
completely different way and I'm glad that we fought hard enough to make it to
where we are here."
Middle
blocker Magda Jehlářová
On
freshman experience: "I really enjoyed playing by the side of all the
girls on my team, especially the seniors because they all gave me so much. Like
Alexis mentioned, no one expected us to make it so far with 11 freshmen on the
team. But I am just so thankful for our coaches, for our seniors, for everyone
because we wouldn't make it without them."
MATCH
NOTES
Magda
Jehlářová led WSU both offensively and defensively tonight, totaling eight
kills and eight total blocks.
Hannah
Pukis notched yet another double-double on the year with 31 assists, and 10
digs.
Alexis
Dirige posted 10 digs in the match, increasing her career total to 2,152 which
moves her up to sixth all-time in the Pac-12 in career digs.
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