--Saturday night in Seattle, WSU men’s hoops at UW.
--Sunday afternoon in Eugene, WSU women’s hoops at UO.
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WSU's new coaching staff helps WSU’s Borislava Hristova
reach new heights in women’s college basketball
By Michelle Smith, Pac-12 Conference Jan 4, 2019
Borislava Hristova, also known around the Pac-12 as “Bobi,”
is on the same page as her new head coach, Kamie Ethridge.
The Washington State redshirt junior and Ethridge agree:
Ethridge has been hard on her most experienced player and leading scorer.
“I know it’s because she knows I can do what she expects,”
Hristova said. “She has challenged me a lot to be the best possible player I
can be. She is really hard on me, but that is making me a better player.”
There might be one exception to that. Following Hristova’s
career-best 38-point performance against Washington last weekend, a performance
that earned her Pac-12 Player of the Week honors, Hristova said it seemed like
Ethridge might have taken it a little easier on her in the postgame film
session.
“She knew I had a good game, and she didn’t get on me, and I
told her ‘Don’t do that. I like it. It makes me better. It’s good for the team
and it’s good for me.’”
Hristova, the Varna, Bulgaria native, currently ranks second
in the Pac-12 in scoring at 23.2 points a game (seventh in the nation). She has
always been a strong scorer for the Cougars, averaging 17.7 points a game in
her career. This season represents her highest scoring average, including seven
games of at least 20 points and three games of 30-plus points, the most by any
player in the Pac-12 so far this season. Against the Huskies in Seattle – where
WSU hadn’t won since 2015 – Hristova went 16-of-24 from the floor, including
four 3-pointers and added five rebounds.
“I have always known she is an unbelievable player and
someone who can help us be successful,” Ethridge said. “Going into the
Washington game, she was shooting 45 percent from the field and I told her I
thought she could shoot better. She was missing a lot of easy baskets and
things we have seen her make before. For her to put in the kind of effort she
did against Washington, with the ball in her hands … she had a better presence
on the floor, the ball didn’t stick in her hands like it has earlier in the
season. She was better on defense, better on the boards, better in transition.
That is what we have been preaching to her. For us to be better, she needs to
have those kind of nights.”
Ethridge said she has challenged Hristova to become a better
all-around player.
“She is always going to get her points, she is a very solid
offensive player, but I want to make her a more complete player. I want to see
her get eight assists in a game, eight or nine double-doubles for the year. She
does those things and that will consistently help us win more games.”
The Cougars win over the Huskies pushed their record to 6-6
heading into a difficult weekend against two ranked teams – Oregon State and
Oregon. The Cougars have won four of their last six games after a 1-4 start.
Hristova said that her team is starting to adjust to the new
staff and the new system.
“I think we are getting close to being the team that we
are,” Hristova said. “It’s hard to change your environment. But everyone has
had enough time to find their new role.”
Ethridge said that Hristova has been “a sponge,” that she
has “opened her arms” to the new staff and a new way of doing things.
“I need her to grow and mature as a player and I am starting
to see her grow into the player I know she can be,” Ethridge said.
Hristova will have one year of eligibility remaining after
this season, the result of a season-ending injury two years ago. She will
graduate in the spring and then make a decision about whether she wants to
return for a fifth season.
In the meantime, she feels her game has matured by the
nature of being a year older and the nurture of a coach with high expectations.
“I don’t want to be a one-way player,” Hristova said. “I
want to not only score, but get my teammates involved and help them find wide
open shots. We still have a lot of games to go.”
::::::::::::::::::
Women’s Basketball Cougars Upset Bid Falls Short at No. 11
Oregon State
From WSU Sports Info
WSU held a late lead but the Beavers came up with a
championship push late to avoid the upset.
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Down by 13 at halftime, Washington State
(6-7, 1-1) mounted a furious second half rally against No. 11 ranked Oregon
State (11-2, 1-0) only to come up just short in a 76-69 loss Friday night at
Gill Coliseum. Despite a rough go of it in the second quarter, the Cougars came
out blazing in right out of the locker room, scoring the first seven points of the
new period to cut the deficit in half just minutes in. With the shots falling
and the defense smothering the Beavers' shooters, the Cougars continued to chip
away at the Beavers' lead, finally overtaking OSU for the first time with just
under two minutes to play when redshirt-sophomore Jovana Subasic buried
back-to-back threes from the top of the arc, the last of which put WSU up
54-52. The Cougars would settle for just a two-point deficit at the end of
three as OSU hit a buzzer-beater from just inside the arc to cap a 4-0 finish
to the quarter. After OSU scored the first point of the fourth, the Cougars
would put together an 11-4 run to retake the lead, posting a four-point
advantage, capped by a Chanelle Molina jumper with 3:21 to play in the game. The
basket by the junior point guard would be the last field goal of the game for
the Cougars as the well went inexplicably dry over the final minutes of the
game, allowing the Beavers to rally and close the game on a 14-4 run to avoid
the upset. OSU would ice the game from the line by hitting 5-of-6 free-throws
in the final :32 seconds. The 14 points in the final 2:49 of the game would
nearly double the Beavers output for the half as the Cougs had held OSU to just
16 points in the first 17 minutes of the half.
Prior to the second half classic, the Cougars found
themselves trailing by double-digits at the break, 44-31, thanks in large part
to a barrage of threes, the Beavers, who shot 5-for-9 from behind the arc in
the second quarter. While the Beavers hit from deep the Cougars struggled in
the first half going 0-for-3 from distance. Reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week
Borislava Hristova did her best to keep the Cougars in the game, scoring 14 in
the opening half including eight of WSU's 14 first quarter points. Molina
started finding her rhythm in the second quarter with seven of the 16 coming in
the frame, but it was not until the rest of the team found their way that the
Cougars began to find their way in the game.
WSU Coach Kamie Ethridge Quotes
"I'm just really proud of how our kids played. It shows
you how far we've come to get down like that and come out at halftime and
really respond and really play a fantastic second half. All but six or eight
minutes we played a fantastic game. We let them kill us with threes in the
second quarter and break away which was probably the difference in the game,
but what a great response from our kids. I am disappointed that I didn't help
us better in the last two and a half minutes. I just didn't get the calls at
that point and I am going to kick myself over that, but we put ourselves in
place to steal a road win and just fell short. We made some real progress
tonight in how we competed.”
:::::::::::::::::
OSU women's basketball: Late 15-4 run helps Beavers avoid
upset in Friday night game in Corvallis versus Washington State
By STEVE GRESS Corvallis Gazette-Times Jan 4, 2019
Maddie Washington and her Oregon State teammates had had
enough of Washington State making big plays on offense that allowed the
upset-minded Cougars to take a four-point lead in the final three minutes
Friday night.
That’s when the No. 11 Beavers finally put their foot down
and focused more on both ends of the floor.
It was just in the nick of time.
Destiny Slocum scored seven of Oregon State’s final 15
points in the Beavers’ 15-4 closing run for a 76-69 Pac-12 women’s basketball
win over the Cougars in front of a Gill Coliseum crowd of 4,733.
“When we execute, we do things right and we usually get up a
pretty good shot so I think that was our main focus in that last little stretch
right there,” said sophomore Taya Corosdale, who hit a huge 3-pointer to give
the Beavers the lead for good at 67-65 with 2:04 to play.
Mikayla Pivec led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points
with Slocum chipping in with 12, Aleah Goodman 10, Katie McWilliams nine and
Corosdale and Joanna Grymek eight each.
Washington finished with seven points and 10 rebounds, including
six offensive boards. Corosdale added nine and Pivec seven as the Beavers won
the rebounding battle 49-35.
Borislava Hristova, the reigning Pac-12 player of the week,
led all scorers with 24 points while Chanelle Molina added 16 and Jovana
Subasic chipped in 13 and hit three 3-pointers.
“I thought we grew up a lot as a team and those are great
things as we move forward in Pac-12,” coach Scott Rueck said.
Oregon State (11-2, 1-0) will look to stay undefeated at
home when the Beavers host Washington at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The Cougars (6-7,
1-1) head to No. 5 Oregon on Sunday.
The Beavers led by as many as 15 in the first half but found
themselves down 65-61 with 3:21 left.
Slocum started the impressive closing run with a driving
layup and Washington sank a free throw before Corosdale drained a 3 to put the
Beavers up 67-65.
Hristova made one of two free throws before the Beavers drew
up a play out of a timeout and McWilliams hit the bucket inside to go up 69-66.
After a Molina missed 3, Slocum buried a 16-foot jumper to
put the Beavers up 71-66.
The Cougars misfired twice and Slocum hit a free throw for a
72-66 lead with 32 seconds left.
After Washington gave a foul with 26.4 to play, the Beavers
forced a five-second call on the inbounds.
Goodman then hit a pair of free throws and the Beavers had
the game in hand.
While it was a thrilling comeback for the Beavers, it was a
tough loss for the Cougars and first-year coach Kamie Ethridge, who took the
blame for calling some plays that the team obviously wasn’t as comfortable
with.
“So I know I’ll kick myself over the last two-and-a-half
minutes when I go back,” she said. “But I think we went back to taking a couple
of hard shots and didn’t get great looks and obviously they made plays.”
Oregon State had a 44-31 lead at the half, but allowed the
Cougars to get back in the game. The Beavers seemed to struggle a bit with
junior sharpshooter Kat Tudor not on the bench to start the third quarter.
Tudor was injured with 5:44 left in the second quarter when
she grabbed a rebound and fell to the floor. She clutched her left knee and had
to be helped off the floor and did not return to the game.
She did return to the bench with a sleeve on her left leg.
“We’re not going to know anything until after (Saturday),”
Rueck said of Tudor’s status. “She was out on the floor after the game, she was
up there with us in the second half so I think that’s a good sign. But there
haven’t been any tests done or anything.”
Washington State started the third on a 7-0 run and used a
17-6 edge to get within 50-48 with just over 3 minutes left in the period.
Subasic hit a 3 with a 1:28 left to give the Cougars their
first lead at 51-50. After a Pivec layup, Subasic hit another 3 for a 54-52
lead.
Grymek followed up her own miss to tie the game and
Corosdale canned a deep 2 at the third-quarter buzzer to give the Beavers a
56-54 edge.
“I feel like we talked a lot in the halftime that we’ve got
to come out and start playing the way we can play, and I think we did that against
a very good team,” Hristova said of the Cougars’ 23-12 edge in the period.
Pivec scored seven points in the first quarter as the
Beavers held a narrow 16-14 edge.
She hit all four of her shot attempts in the first half to
make it 13 in a row since missing a shot against Duke with 40 seconds left. She
made all nine of her attempts against Cal State Bakersfield. The streak ended
early in the third quarter.
Oregon State opened the second quarter with four 3s to take
a 28-18 lead. With the Cougars forced to defend the outside shot, the Beavers
then went to the basket to get easy looks.
Oregon State was 10 for 20 from the floor in the second
quarter and hit fives 3s as the Beavers outscored the Cougars 28-17 to take a
44-31 lead into the half.
The Beavers will also be without Janessa Thropay for an
extended period of time after she had surgery on a broken finger on her left
hand. She injured it against Cal State Bakersfield last Saturday.
::::::::::::::::::::
Jim Crawford
January 05, 2019 / Women's Basketball
Top-Five Test Awaits Washington State in Eugene
The Cougs take on No. 5 Oregon Sunday on the Pac-12 Network.
From WSU Sports Info
WASHINGTON STATE (6-7, 1-1) in Eugene at #5/ Oregon (12-1,
1-0) | Sun., Jan. 6 | 3 p.m.
Live Stats |
WSUCougars.com
Watch | Pac-12
Network (Ann Schatz & Tammy Blackburn)
Listen | WSU IMG
Radio Network
OPENING FIVE
> WSU takes on its second-straight top ranked team with a
trip to Eugene to face the 12-1 and #5 ranked Oregon Ducks.
> The Cougars enter the game 1-1 in conference play with
a road win at Washington last week and a tight loss at #11 Oregon State Friday
night in Corvallis.
> Borislava Hristova, a Cheryl Miller Watch List nominee,
is the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week. She has scored 20+ points in three-straight
games and averages 23.2 ppg, 2nd in the Pac-12 and 6th in the nation.
> Alexys Swedlund, the program's all-time leader in
three-point field goals, is 7 points shy of 1,000 career points. She will be
the 19th Cougar to reach the mark joining Hristova.
> Chanelle Molina grabbed her first-career double-double
at #11 Oregon State scoring 16 points and grabbing a career-best 10 rebounds.
She added 6 assists and 2 steals as well.
GAME INFORMATION - AT OREGON
The Cougars look to get back on track in arguably the
toughest environment in the Pac-12 when they play #5 Oregon in Eugene Sunday.
The matchup marks the second-straight top-12 game for the Cougars after playing
at #11 Oregon State Friday night and the third ranked opponent for WSU on the
year having faced then #24 Gonzaga in
non-conference play. WSU has taken two of the last five meetings between the
two teams but Oregon has won the last two. WSU last won on Jan. 1, 2017,
defeating the Ducks on their home floor in dominating fashion. Star forward Borislava
Hristova will play her first game in Eugene Sunday after missing the previous
to games due to injury. Last season in a high scoring affair at home, Hristova
scored 22 to lead five Cougs in double-figures while Ruthy Hebard scored a
game-high 29 to lead four Ducks in double-figures.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Men’s Basketball; WSU at UW in Seattle
Projected starting lineups and scouting reports
By Percy Allen Seattle
Times 1/4/2018
Washington vs. Washington State
Time: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Alaska Airlines Arena
TV/Radio: Pac-12 Networks/KOMO 1000 AM & 97.7 FM
Records: UW (9-4): WSU (7-6).
Projected starting lineups:
WSU
Player … Ht. … Yr. …
PPG … RPG … APG
G Jervae Robinson … 6-2 … Jr. … 4.9 …. 1.6 … 1.6
G Marvin Cannon … 6-5 … So. … 6.8 …. 3.0 … 0.7
F Robert Franks … 6-9 … Sr. … 22.1 … 7.9 … 2.9
F CJ Elleby … 6-6 … Fr. … 15.6 … 7.5 … 2.3
C Jeff Pollard … 6-9 … Jr. … 3.5 …. 2.1 … 0.5
UW
Player … Ht … Yr … PPG … RPG … APG
G David Crisp … 6-0 … Sr. … 9.5 …… 3.0 … 3.0
G Jaylen Nowell … 6-4 … So. …
17.1 … 4.5 … 3.2
G Matisse Thybulle … 6-5 … Sr. … 9.2 …. 2.9 … 1.8
F Noah Dickerson … 6-8 … Sr. …
15.3 … 7.1 … 0.9
F Hameir Wright … 6-9 … So. … 3.0 …. 3.6 … 1.0
What exactly is WSU's Speed D? How the Cougars have risen to
the top of the Pac-12's defensive rankings
Scouting report: Washington has a seven-game home winning
streak at Alaska Airlines Arena, including an 86-74 win over Cal State
Fullerton its last outing on Tuesday. … Meanwhile, Washington State is riding a
three-game losing streak following a 79-71 setback against Santa Clara on Dec.
29. … The Cougars are 7-0 in games at Pullman. WSU is 0-1 in a home game at
Spokane, 0-2 in true road games and 0-3 in neutral-site games. … WSU leads the
Pac-12 in scoring with 82.2 points per game. … UW ranks fourth in the
conference in scoring defense while allowing just 66.5 points per game. … The
Huskies are 8-1 when foes score fewer than 70 points. … WSU forward Robert
Franks, who leads the Pac-12 with a 22.1 scoring average, missed the last
outing due to hip contusion. He’s expected to play Saturday. … WSU freshman
forward CJ Ellerby, who starred at Cleveland High, plays his first collegiate
game in Seattle. … Washington has faced the ninth-most difficult schedule in
the NCAA in terms of opponents’ cumulative .694 (118-54) win percentage
(through Jan. 3 games). … David Crisp is on the verge to becoming the first
player in UW history to record 1,000 career points (1,191), 300 assists (he has
298), 200 made 3-point FGs (he has 199) and 100 steals (101). … Matisse
Thybulle, UW’s career steals leader at 244, needs to average 4.3 thefts during
18 regular-season games to break the Pac-12 all-time record of 321 that’s held
by former Oregon State star Gary Payton. … Six of sophomore Nahziah Carter’s
career 13 10-plus scoring performances have come in the last 12 games.
Key matchup: The Cougars lead the league in three-point
attempts (26.2 per game) and 3-pointers made (9.5). Only two Pac-12 teams have
allowed fewer 3-pointers than Washington, which surrenders an average of 6.6
per game. Washington State needs to convert around 10 three-pointers for its
offense to work. Otherwise, the Cougars are doomed without much of an low-post
attack.
Coach: Ernie Kent is 54-81 in his fifth season with the
Cougars. In the previous four seasons, WSU hasn’t won more than 13 games
overall and its best conference finish was an eighth-place tie at 7-11 in his
first year (2014-15). Kent has 379-336 record during his 24-year career, which
includes stops at Oregon (1997-2010) and Saint Mary’s (1991-97).
The series: Saturday marks the 288th meeting, as the Huskies
hold a 183-104 edge all-time. Washington swept both games last year after
Washington State won a pair in 2017. In the past 10 years, UW is 15-6 against
WSU. Ten of the last 14 meetings have been decided by five points or less.
Last meeting: Thybulle scored 18 points and Jaylen Nowell
added 14 points to lead Washington to an 80-62 win on Jan. 28, 2018 at Alaska
Airlines Arena. WSU, which entered the game second in the nation with 11.9
3-pointers per game, was just 6 of 24 beyond the arc. UW was 11 of 25 from
3-point range, including three by Thybulle. Ahead 49-44, Thybulle’s four-point
play – a three-pointer and a free throw – began a 12-0 run to go up 61-44 as
the Cougars went scoreless for almost 6½ minutes left. The Huskies led by 24
points (76-52) with 4:49 left.
::::
WSU FOOTBALL
From Lamonte McDougle to Mike Leach’s reunion with Dana
Holgorsen, 19 reasons to follow Washington State in 2019
UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 4, 2019, 6:05 p.m.
By Theo Lawson Spokane S-R
It’s been less than a week since Washington State finalized
one of the most successful seasons in school history – and there’s a debate to
be made for it being the most successful –with a 28-26 victory over Iowa State
in the Alamo Bowl that gave the Cougars a program-record 11th win.
Now comes the waiting game.
Officially, WSU doesn’t kick off again for another 240 days,
but it’s never too early to peer into the future. Even with a bold question
mark at the most important position on the field, the Cougars will be targeting
their fifth consecutive bowl appearance and should be in the thick of the
Pac-12 North race again, even if they aren’t a favorite to win the division title.
In no particular order, here are 19 reasons to follow Cougar
football in 2019.
1. Lamonte in the middle – They led the Pac-12 in sacks this
season (35) and the Cougars may have been playing without the most talented
defensive lineman on the roster. Nose tackle Lamonte McDougle was an ESPN
Freshman All-American at West Virginia before he transferred to WSU, and though
he couldn’t play a snap this season, the player who should start at nose tackle
in 2019 occasionally partook in team periods – and often wreaked havoc when he
did.
2. Cougars v. Cougars – Before WSU drew Iowa State in the
Alamo Bowl, many predicted the Cougars would play another Big 12 opponent, West
Virginia. The Mike Leach-Dana Holgorsen reunion didn’t happen then, but the WSU
coach and his longtime pupil will square off after all. Leach’s WSU Cougars
will play Holgorsen’s Houston Cougars on Sept. 13 at NRG Stadium.
3. Pass-catchers aplenty – WSU didn’t have a receiver named
to the All-Pac-12 teams and it may have been the best compliment you could have
given to the group. But the Cougars had seven receivers who caught 20 passes or
more, seven that had at least 200 yards receiving and eight that caught a
touchdown. All but one of the rotational receivers return in ’19.
4. Boobie and Borghi – One of them came a touchdown shy of
tying the school’s single-season touchdowns record. The other one broke WSU’s
freshman TDs record. Together, James “Boobie” Williams and Max Borghi combined
to reach the end zone 27 times. They accounted for 1,817 all-purpose yards in
2018.
5. Another Duck hunt? – Four other times in school history,
WSU has strung together four consecutive wins over Oregon. But the Cougars have
never defeated the Ducks five times in a row. That could happen when the Pac-12
North rivals meet on Oct. 26 in Eugene. Oregon returns QB Justin Herbert and
brought in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, and Mario Cristobal’s
bunch will probably come in as the 2019 Pac-12 favorite.
6. Abe’s ascent – Leach has produced an All-American on his
offensive line every year since Joe Dahl’s final season in Pullman. Abe Lucas,
the right tackle from Everett who just wrapped up a stellar freshman year,
could join Dahl, Cody O’Connell and Andre Dillard next season. Coaches often
want their best blocker protecting the QB’s blind side, so don’t be surprised
to see the 6-6, 281-pound Lucas shift to the other side of WSU’s line.
7. Offensive whizzes collide – Maybe more than any of their
peers during the same era, Mike Leach and Chip Kelly have been responsible for
modernizing college offense and inventing schemes and concepts that are still
used in every part of the country, at every level. The offensive pioneers face
off when UCLA visits WSU on Sept. 21.
8. Harris returns – Travell Harris played an integral role
for the Cougars this year in the slot, but more so as a kick returner. His 27.6
yards per kick return ranked sixth nationally. With one kick return touchdown
under his belt, Harris needs one more to become the school’s all-time leader.
9. Climbing the charts – Williams has a chance to crack a
few more school records in ’19. The senior needs one more catch to break Jamal
Morrow’s mark for career receptions by a running back (202) and 17 more to move
past River Cracraft (217) for second on the list of all-time WSU receptions.
10. New-look Huskies – Losers of six straight Apple Cups,
it’s unlikely the Cougars will be favored to beat Washington in Seattle next
season, but the rivalry game will certainly look different without Jake
Browning and Myles Gaskin in the backfield. Those two accounted for 14 Husky
touchdowns in the last four WSU-UW games. So, maybe a glimmer of hope?
11. Pass happy – Who’s playing quarterback for the Cougars
next season? Your guess is as good as Leach’s. But in his 17 seasons as an FBS
head coach, Leach hasn’t had a team throw for less than 3,500 yards and 14 of
those 17 teams have passed for 4,000 or more. It’s unclear who’ll be under
center, but it’s almost guaranteed whoever it is will pile up the passing
yards.
12. Safety net – The Cougars leaned on Jalen Thompson and
Skyler Thomas to anchor their secondary, but the safeties also wound up being
two of the team’s top tacklers – Thomas with 67 (third) and Thompson with 61
(fourth). Both players are back in the fold next season.
13. “D” up – WSU’s defense regressed between the 2013 and
’14 football seasons, but every year since, the group has improved –
dramatically in some cases. In 2014, the Cougars allowed 38.6 points per game.
That number improved to 27.7 in 2015, 26.4 in 2016, 25.8 in 2017 and 23.1 in
2018. Can the trend continue under second-year defensive coordinator Tracy
Claeys?
14. Secondary help – Needing to replace Darrien Molton and
Sean Harper Jr., WSU inked four cornerbacks in the latest signing class – three
of them from junior colleges – and playing the numbers game, at least one
should make an impact in 2019. Will it be Daniel Isom? Derrick Langford?
Shahman Moore? Or Armauni Archie?
15. Gunner’s gun – Even if he isn’t considered for the
starting QB job, fans should see a spring practice or scrimmage for a glimpse
of true freshman Gunner Cruz. At Casteel High (Arizona), the 6-5 signal caller
passed for 30 touchdowns and rushed for 14 more as a senior.
16. More Woods – If Peyton Pelluer was WSU’s best defensive
player this season, Jahad Woods may have been a close second. As a redshirt
sophomore, he finished second on the team in tackles (73), but more important,
was a turnover machine, forcing fumbles, recovering two while intercepting a
pass. Without Pelluer, Woods becomes the captain of the linebacking corps.
17. Back home – The Cougars’ spring game returns to Martin
Stadium in 2019. The annual scrimmage will be hosted in conjunction with
“Gameday for Mental Health” in an effort to spread more information about
mental health and wellness. The spring game had been held at Spokane’s Joe Albi
Stadium the last eight years.
18. Martin dominance – Minus a few losses to their in-state
rivals, the Cougars have been dominant on home turf. Not counting two Apple Cup
defeats to UW, WSU has won 18 straight games on the Palouse.
19. Staff stability – It’s possible the Cougars lose an
assistant coach or two during the offseason – such is the nature of college
football, especially for an 11-win team – but if the 2019 staff isn’t identical
to the 2018 one, it’ll look familiar at the very least.
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