Coug
Morgan Weaver Takes Final Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week Award: Women’s
soccer
Next
action for her and Cougs Friday night vs. Montana at Lower Soccer Field on WSU
campus in Pullman. First kick 7 o’clock
11/6/2018
from WSU Sports Info
PULLMAN,
Wash. - For the second-straight week and the third time in 2018, junior Morgan
Weaver of University Place was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week as
announced by the conference office Tuesday afternoon in the final weekly award
vote of the season.
Weaver became the only three time weekly award winner of
the season in the Pac-12 and the first Cougar to ever pull off the feat. In
addition, Weaver's award was the ninth honor for WSU in 2018, the most of any
team in the conference on the season and the most since UCLA took home 11
awards in 2016.
In the
final week of the regular season, Weaver was the most dominant player on the
field during the Cougars' rivalry Apple Cup matchup with Washington, scoring
her second-career hat-trick to lead the Cougs to their 15th-straight result
over the Huskies. Weaver scored on nearly half of her touches on the night,
creating havoc with her speed and constant pressure, forcing UW into mistakes
that she was able to capitalize on. Weaver's final goal of the night proved to
be the most impressive of her strikes as she put the match away for good in the
88' with a 90-yard sprint off a perfect outlet pass by senior Maddy Haro.
With the
ball blasted down field, Weaver out ran the Huskies' center backs and
one-touched it by the keeper before tapping home her third and final goal of
the night. The three goals were the most for the junior since scoring three
times against North Dakota State in 2016. She finished the regular season tied
for second in scoring with 12 goals while posting seven goals in conference
play including five in the final three games.
The
Cougars begin postseason play Friday, Nov. 9 against Montana in the opening
round of the NCAA Tournament. WSU will host the first round game scheduled for
a 7 p.m. kickoff.
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Montana
Grizzly soccer team to face Washington State on Friday in NCAA Tournament
From UM
sports info
Montana
drew a familiar opponent when the bracket for the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s
Soccer Championship was announced on Monday afternoon.
The
Grizzlies (7-8-6), the automatic qualifier out of the Big Sky Conference, will
play Washington State (12-5-1), an at-large selection out of the Pac-12, on
Friday at 8 p.m. (MT) in Pullman.
The teams
have played each of the last five seasons, including September, when the Cougars,
then ranked 16th nationally and on their way to a 10-0-0 start, defeated the
Grizzlies 3-1 in Pullman.
The winner
will advance to face either Central Connecticut State (16-1-2) or unbeaten
Georgetown (17-0-3), the region’s No. 1 seed, on Friday, Nov. 16.
“I’m very
excited about the draw,” said first-year Griz coach Chris Citowicki. “I think
it’s a good one for us. They were clearly a better team (when we played them in
September), but that was early in the season for us.
“Now,
after finding our identity as a team and who we are as a program and beating
everybody in playoffs and not getting scored on and having all this energy,
it’s a lot of momentum for us to take into the game. I think it will be a great
game.”
Montana is
making its fourth NCAA tournament appearance, its first since 2011, when the
Grizzlies were sent to Stanford to face that year’s top overall seed. The
Cardinal, who defeated Montana 3-0, would go on to win the national
championship.
Friday
will be a repeat matchup of what is the top moment in Griz soccer history, when
Shannon Forslund scored in the 67th minute and Natalie Hiller made eight saves
to lead Montana to a 1-0 victory over Washington State in Pullman in the first
round of the 2000 NCAA tournament.
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WSU women’s
basketball starts season Tuesday night on Friel Court against Utah State
New Head
Coach Kamie Ethridge begins her first year with Cougars on Tuesday night in
Beasley Coliseum
By TAYLOR
DUNLAP, Evergreen Nov 6, 2018
WSU
women’s basketball will tip off its season Tuesday when it faces Utah State
University at Beasley Coliseum. Coming off a blowout win against Warner Pacific
University in their exhibition game on Oct. 29, the Cougars are ready to get
back on the court.
In the
exhibition game, the Cougars claimed a 106-41 win over Warner Pacific. Redshirt
junior Borislava Hristova led the team with 26 points and a .769 field goal
percentage, followed by senior center Maria Kostourkova who added 17 points and
had a .429 field goal percentage.
Although
WSU won by 65 points, Hristova felt the team still needs to focus and improve
for the upcoming season.
“I think
that we have a lot of things to improve,” Hristova said. “We had like 19
turnovers. Even though we were up by 60 in the end, I don’t think that should
happen. That’s a thing we will have to emphasize going forward into the
Pac-12.”
Last
season, the team had an overall record of 10-20 and a conference record of
3-14. The Cougars lost three seniors from last season, but this year WSU has
managed to pick up five freshman and new Head Coach Kamie Ethridge.
Ethridge
said she has been impressed with her new team’s work ethic and thinks the
Cougars are ready for the upcoming season.
“What has
been most impressive to me is the fact that you know we’ve worked with this
group for six or seven months now and they’ve been unbelievably hardworking,”
Ethridge said. “They really committed this summer to working at the game and
working on their individual game, so we have a group that’s hungry to compete
at a really high level.”
Last
season, Utah State ended with a 7-23 record and had a 1-13 record on the road.
In their exhibition game against Westminster University on Friday, the Aggies
won 77-56.
With a new
team and new coach, the Cougars are ready for the upcoming season.
“This team
is highly motivated, very competitive,” Ethridge said. “They want to win, they
want to work at the game and do whatever it takes to improve their game and
help us have a chance to win.”
The
Cougars will tip off against Utah State at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Beasley Coliseum
in hopes of picking up their first win of the season.
:::::
#19 Volleyball
Cougars travel to Los Angles: Face #21 UCLA, #13 USC
#19 WASHINGTON
STATE (18-6, 9-5 PAC-12)
At UCLA
(12-9, 7-7 PAC-12) Fri., Nov. 8 |
6:00 p.m. PT
At USC
(18-7, 10-4 PAC-12) Sun., Nov. 11 | 1:30
p.m. PT
> Watch
(at No. 21 UCLA) | Pac-12 Networks
> Watch
(at No. 13 USC) | USC Live Stream
> Live
Statistics
| WSUCougars.com
QUICK
NOTES
>>
The Cougars enter this week after splitting a pair of home matches inside Bohler Gym. WSU suffered the first
home loss of the season against No. 21 Arizona, but bounced back to sweep
through Arizona State Sunday afternoon. Cougs currently hold an 8-1 home record
on the year heading into the final road trip of the season.
>>
WSU prepares to head to Los Angeles, California to take on a pair of ranked
Pac-12 opponents in No. 21 UCLA, and No. 13 USC this week. The Cougars defeated
both the Bruins and the Trojans at home earlier this year, and will look to
make the final road trip of the regular season a success.
WSU CHECKS
IN AT NO. 19 IN LATEST AVCA COACHES POLL
Washington
State comes in at number 19 overall in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll in th week
11 rankings. Fellow Pac-12 members that earned top 25 spots as well include;
No. 2 Stanford (12 first place votes), No. 13 USC, No. 17 Oregon, No. 20
Arizona, No. 21 UCLA, and No. 25 Washington.
COUGARS
REMAIN AT NO. 10 OVERALL IN NCAA RPI RANKINGS
The
Cougars check in at number 10 once again in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, with
a 18-6 record, along with being 9-6 in the Pac-12 overall heading into the
final regular season road trip of the season. The Cougs currently have an
overall record of 7-4 when facing nationally ranked opponents, as they get
another two opportunities this week against No. 21 UCLA, and No. 13 USC in Los
Angeles.
WOODFORD
UP TO 9TH ALL-TIME IN CAREER KILLS
Senior
McKenna Woodford continues to climb the Washington State Volleyball career
kills list as she currently ranks ninth with 1,147. Woodford total 33 kills
over the weekend against No. 21 Arizona, and Arizona State, and has been a huge
offensive force during the previous month of October, totaling a team-high 129
kills and posting 4.30 kills per set.
WEEKEND
LEADERS
Jocelyn
Urias, and McKenna Woodford both posted solid overall numbers in the previous
two matches inside Bohler Gym last weekend as Urias complied an attack
percentage of .392 overall, and Woodford finished hitting .370 as well. McKenna
led the Cougars in total kills with 33, and Jocelyn was right behind her with
25 total kills of her own. Claire Martin anchored the defensive front with 15
total blocks in two matches, nine of which she totaled against Arizona State.
FOLLOW THE
COUGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA ALL SEASON LONG
Get all
the info, photos, and videos a true Coug Fan could want by following the team
on Facebook (facebook.com/WSUVolleyball), Twitter (@WSUVolleyball) and
Instagram (washingtonstatevolleyball).
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FOOTBALL
Leach: CU
'scrappy,' its mascot 'outstanding'
WSU coach
sings praises of Buffaloes' live mascot as first-place Cougs prep for road test
at Boulder
By DALE
GRUMMERT of the Lewiston Trib Nov 6, 2018
PULLMAN -
Compared to other coaches, Mike Leach doesn't lavish a lot of gratuitous praise
on forthcoming opponents.
But the
Washington State football boss is gushing about the Colorado Buffaloes - not
the team, but the beasts that over the years have served as Ralphie, the school
mascot.
"One
thing I will say, their mascot is just outstanding," Leach said Monday at
his weekly news conference. "They and Mike the Tiger (of Louisiana State)
are by far the best. Butch (of WSU) is a better ... symbol of the whole thing,
OK, I'll go with that. But that buffalo and Mike the Tiger, utterly
outstanding."
The coach
will presumably be focusing on the human Buffaloes when No. 10 Washington State
(8-1, 5-1), the first-place team in the Pac-12 North, aims for its sixth
straight win Saturday (12:30 p.m., ESPN) at Colorado (5-4, 2-4). The Cougars
are favored by six points.
"They're
good," Leach said of the Buffs. "They're like they always are.
They're mean and scrappy and they like to play defense. They like to run to the
ball. They're pretty good at throwing it, pretty good at rushing it."
Leach
weighed in on several topics, as usual, and lauded the WSU defense for its
performance in a 19-13 win at Pullman on Saturday over California.
"I
thought we played really well on defense, except ... we could have got them off
the field quicker," he said. "Offensively, we moved the ball pretty
well but we weren't as great in key situations. And, of course, statistically
they (the Bears) might be the best defense in the conference, and I think they
are a really good one."
Although
the Cougars outgained California 413-291 in offense, the Bears held a
possession-time edge of 31:19 to 28:41, largely because of WSU's seven
penalties for 80 yards.
But
Leach's most animated response was to the question about Colorado's live
mascot.
"And
then it's got the handlers," he said, referring to CU's pregame ritual of
having Ralphie and a group of student-athletes gallop around Folsom Field at
Boulder, Colo. "No, they're not pulling that buffalo. That buffalo is
pulling them.
"Heck,
I grew up in the West," said Leach, who spent most of his childhood in
Cody, Wyo. "What can I say? Buffalo is one that's hard to argue with,
unless you have a live grizzly bear out there or something."
He said it
"would be cool" if WSU went back to keeping a live mascot, as it did
until 1978, but added that he doesn't know how well cougars thrive in
captivity.
Asked
about junior-college transfer receiver Calvin Jackson Jr., Leach surprisingly
said he's "pretty dead-even" with starter Tay Martin at the Cougars'
X (far left) position.
Martin
leads WSU wide receivers with 52 catches (tailback James Williams is tops
overall on the team with 58) but was held to one reception for 1 yard against
Cal. He was frequently spelled by Jackson, a junior who made three catches to
bring his season total to 11.
"I
think he's done real well in practice," Leach said of Jackson. "He's
got a quick burst to him, which we like. Also there's no wasted steps. Calvin
Jackson doesn't have any wasted steps."
Of
Martin's recent dropoff in production, Leach said, "Some of it's luck and
opportunity, but the harder he plays probably the more balls he'll get."
Leach was
asked about the strikingly tight race in the Pac-12 South, where four teams are
tied in the loss column with three L's, and the two other clubs are just a game
back.
"Our
conference is loaded with quality teams," Leach said. "What's it
going to be - 10 bowl teams (from the Pac-12)? You guys are fabulous at math
... because everybody went into journalism because they love math."
Indeed,
four teams in the conference (WSU, Washington, Oregon and Utah) have already
reached the six-win minimum for bowl-eligibility, and six others are just one
win shy.
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WSU
FOOTBALL
Washington
State freshman receiver Drue Jackson announces plans to transfer
Tue., Nov.
6, 2018, 10:19 a.m.
Spokesman-Review
by Theo Lawson
PULLMAN –
Drue Jackson, a freshman outside wide receiver for the Washington State
football team and one of the Cougars’ top-rated recruiting prospects in the
class of 2018, has announced plans to transfer from the football program.
Jackson
broke the news in a Twitter post Tuesday morning, thanking Washington State and
its fans.
The
Dallas, Texas, native was a four-star prospect according to ESPN’s recruiting
services and chose WSU over offers from Louisville, Texas Tech, Illinois,
Colorado, UCF, Utah, Wisconsin, Iowa, Duke and others.
The 6-1,
184-pound Jackson joined the Cougars for fall camp and spent time mostly at the
“X” outside wide receiver position, where he was at least the third option
behind sophomore Tay Martin and true freshman Rodrick Fisher. WSU elected to
redshirt Fisher and move junior college transfer Calvin Jackson Jr. to “X,”
where he’s now Martin’s primary backup.
WSU’s
receiving corps is probably the deepest it’s been under seventh-year coach Mike
Leach, and eight players have caught 20 passes or more this season for the
10th-ranked Cougars. Additionally, eight players have caught touchdowns from
grad transfer quarterback Gardner Minshew.
The
receivers are not just talented, but young too. WSU will only lose one of them,
inside “Y” receiver Kyle Sweet, to graduation this year.
Jackson,
who graduated from Sachse High in Texas, was a standout track and field
performer in the Lone Star State and had planned to compete for the Cougars’
track and field program this spring.
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Washington
State Football completes recruiting haul for the ages, receiving four commits
in 24-hour span
UPDATED:
Mon., Nov. 5, 2018, 10:37 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson of Spokane S-R
PULLMAN –
The first one came in at 7:25 p.m. on Sunday and the last one at 7:16 p.m. on
Monday. Washington State did not just add a few defensive linemen to its 2019
recruiting class during a 24-hour span – the Cougars added an entire defensive
line.
A Rush
linebacker, too.
What WSU
accomplished on the recruiting trail between Sunday night and Monday night
could be monumental for Mike Leach’s program years down the road. For now, it
means the Cougars and defensive line coach Jeff Phelps have stocked up on
bodies at a vital position group for their 2019 recruiting class.
As of
Sunday, WSU hadn’t received a single commitment from a defensive linemen. But
that number grew from zero to three by Monday night, as the Cougars got verbal
pledges from defensive end Tyler Garay-Harris – as previously reported – and
defensive tackles Nassir Sims and Dejon Benton. Cosmas Kwete, an outside
linebacker who’ll likely play at the “Rush” position for WSU, also gave a
verbal commitment.
Garay-Harris,
a three-star prospect from Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High, tweeted his
announcement at 7:25 Sunday night. Monday’s haul began with Kwete, an unranked
recruit who plays at Phoenix Central in Arizona. Kwete posted on Twitter he’d
be committing to the Cougars at 2:58 p.m.
Simms,
another prospect from Arizona, who’s earned a three-star 247Sports rating while
playing at Goodyear’s Desert Edge High, followed up with a tweet at 5:12 p.m.
on Monday announcing his intentions.
Finally, a
24-hour period that began with a commitment from a defensive lineman from the
Bay Area ended with another one. Benton, a three-star tackle from Pittsburg
High School, typed out and delivered his tweet at 7:16 p.m.
The
Cougars, currently ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 8 in
the College Football Playoff rankings, pulled off this recruiting yield
approximately one day after winning their fifth consecutive Pac-12 game – a
19-13 victory over California at Martin Stadium.
It isn’t
unlikely that each of the four commits, or a couple of them, watched the
Cougars manufacture a fierce pass rush against Cal quarterbacks Chase Garbers
and Brandon McIlwain, who were sacked five times by WSU defenders. The Cougars’
defensive front has statistically been the best in the Pac-12 this season, with
a conference-leading 27 sacks.
Monday
night, Phelps tweeted a photo from an ice cream parlor with wife Tyla, son
Carsen and daughter Harlyn. His caption read: “Yes that just happened!!! In
celebration of a bright future for the DL I enjoy ice cream! When you have an
epic 24 hours the family gets in on the celebration! God is good. #Thankful.”
Kwete is a
6-3, 250-pound outside linebacker who’ll be coming to Pullman with a
fascinating story. He didn’t start playing football until his freshman season
at Phoenix Central and came to the United States after spending time at a
refugee camp in Zimbabwe with brother Eloi, another FBS prospect who committed
to Massachusetts hours before Cosmas committed to WSU.
Cosmas,
who posted 54 tackles, eight sacks and three forced fumbles as a senior, had
offers from Kansas, Idaho, a number of Mountain West Schools and Massachusetts,
which recruited both Kwete brothers.
“It’s
going to be tough not playing with him, but we’ll keep up with each other and
hope the other does well,” Cosmas told azcentral.com.
Simms, a
6-3, 280-pound D-tackle, chose WSU despite multiple offers from other Pac-12
schools, including Oregon State, Arizona and Colorado. His other Power Five
offer came from Syracuse. Simms visited Pullman during the Cougars’ bye week
and narrowed his list down to WSU, Wyoming, San Diego State, OSU and Arizona on
Nov. 3.
According
to MaxPreps, Sims had 70 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss and five sacks in 11
games for Desert Edge, which finished the year with an 8-3 record.
WSU
actually took two recruits out of Arizona’s hands Monday. Benton had the
Wildcats in his final four along with the Cougars, San Jose State and Fresno
State. The 6-2, 260-pound defensive tackle was also offered by Colorado State,
Hawaii and UNLV.
Benton
plays on both the offensive and defensive line for a 7-3 Pittsburg team that
has an important North Coast Section Championships playoff game coming up this
Friday against Northern California powerhouse De La Salle.
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