WSU WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL at USC
Sunday
Feb. 3, 2019 noon tipoff in Los Angeles at USC
Cougars
lost 81-73. Led 40-39 at halftime.
Top four
scorers for WSU
--Borislava
Hristova = 24
--Alexys
Swedlund = 18
--Chanelle
Molina = 17
--Maria
Kostourkova = 9
Photo from
USC Livestream of the game
Next game
7pm Thur Feb. 7 in Pullman, Arizona State at WSU with the game to be played on
Friel Court in Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. Then, at the same location on
Sat., Feb. 9, it’s Arizona at WSU with a noon tipoff.
::::::::::::::
Commentary:
Pullman airport working to rise above the fog
Recent
weather disruptions complicate already-challenging logistics of air travel in
the Quad-Cities area
By ELAINE
WILLIAMS
Lewiston Tribune
Feb 3,
2019
The
headaches of reaching Boise from north central Idaho by air turned to migraines
recently when the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport experienced a rash of
cancellations caused by fog.
A total of
14, or one quarter of scheduled Pullman-Seattle flights — a local connection to
Boise — either didn’t land or depart the last full week in January. Weather
continued to plague the airport last week, with another 14 cancellations by
Thursday.
As many as
2,128 passengers were affected, and many couldn’t just book the next flight
because aircraft were already running full, said Tony Bean, airport manager.
“Fog in
January has been higher than normal that I have seen over the years I have been
here,” he said.
Moscow
City Council members were stuck. So were both the University of Idaho and
Washington State University men’s basketball teams, which, unlike the football
teams, don’t use charters.
The
hassles they experienced were exactly what people predicted would happen when
Alaska Airlines chose last year to withdraw the service of its subsidiary,
Horizon Air, from Lewiston. Horizon had direct Lewiston flights to Boise and
Seattle. The Boise flights were of particular importance to north central
Idaho, especially this time of year when the state’s legislature is in session.
Lewiston
still has commercial flights to and from Salt Lake City through SkyWest, but
the region lacks direct Boise service.
Pullman
airport officials are doing everything they can in the short and long term to
improve the situation.
For the
first time ever, the Pullman airport invested $20,000 this year in chemicals to
remove ice from the runway, giving snow removal crews another tool.
That has
enabled more than five flights to proceed that otherwise would have been
grounded, Bean said.
The
Pullman airport’s new, longer $142.5 million runway and an instrumentation
landing system that’s expected to debut this October should further mitigate
the problems. Paid for mostly with federal money, the infrastructure will allow
pilots to land in conditions that are too hazardous now.
Pilots
have to be able to see the runway from 375 feet in elevation and 1 mile away
now, and if they can’t, they aren’t permitted to touch down. That window can be
as small as about one-quarter mile and 100 feet when the upgrade is complete.
Plus,
Pullman plans to experiment with some technology already in use in Missoula
that could literally change the weather. Liquid carbon dioxide can be forced
through a nozzle in temperatures between about 28 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit
when fog typically forms. Doing so makes it cold enough that the fog turns to
snow.
The
airport has experimented with the technology previously, but it didn’t work
when it needed to go 400 feet into the air. At about 100 feet, it could make a
difference.
“It’s a rudimentary
technology, but people don’t think about it,” Bean said.
Even
though the situation should improve dramatically next year, cancellations won’t
go away entirely.
Some
solutions that might seem to make sense aren’t possible. Planes bound for Pullman,
for example, can’t land in Lewiston because the Lewiston-Nez Perce County
Regional Airport has no Horizon Air ground crew.
Adding to
the already complicated logistics of air travel in the area, airlines typically
do not issue vouchers for food or lodging when passengers’ itineraries change
because of weather or other acts of God. Amid the very real aggravation
passengers face in those situations, Bean said it’s important to remember
everything airline and airport officials do has the singular goal of keeping
the public safe.
“You don’t
take chances with other people’s lives, health and welfare,” he said.
Ann
Johnson, a spokeswoman for Alaska, echoed Bean.
“In the
case of a weather cancellation, we work to rebook guests as quickly as we can,
weather permitting,” she said in an email. “The safety of our crew and guests
is our top priority.”
::::::::::::
WSU MEN’S
BASKETBALL
Cold Cougs
bow to USC
WSU misses
first 10 shots on its way to 93-84 league loss to Trojans
By Colton
Clark
Lewiston
Trib
Feb 3,
2019
PULLMAN —
Only five minutes of basketball had been played, but any fairly observant
spectator at Beasley Coliseum might have forecasted the result.
Washington
State had shot 10 times, and netted nada. Meanwhile, Pac-12 adversary USC had
11 points already tallied.
The Cougs
appeared jumbled and drained, traits they’ve generally adopted down the
stretch, rather than out of the chute — WSU usually stays somewhat in it until
it’s trodden down in the second half.
Though the
Cougars were able to stir as the game progressed and crack the funk enough to
snip the Trojans’ edge to single digits on occasion, it was early turmoil that
ultimately brought about a 93-84 WSU loss on Saturday afternoon in front of a
reported 2,559 testy fans.
“We had
just a horrendous start to the game shooting,” said WSU coach Ernie Kent, whose
team has lost 11 of 12. “I didn’t feel like we were very talkative on defense
either. When you don’t have that kind of energy on defense, it will affect your
offense a bit.”
Defense
was again the Cougs’ affliction, and it was painted like a portrait in those
opening stages — WSU was losing track of cutters, failing to close out on
spot-up shooters and later, was answering only after allowing USC streaks and
leisurely buckets.
The
Cougars (8-14, 1-8) got some takeaways, woke up offensively and staked an 18-5
retort that was quelled after Marvin Cannon hit a 3 to make it 26-21 with seven
minutes left in the first. And like clockwork, a USC rally hushed that hint of
a rejoinder, and it was never again that close.
A 17-2 run
followed for the Trojans. USC’s Nick Rakocevic constantly found slivers of
space underneath, Jonah Mathews loitered beyond the arc and Bennie Boatwright
powered his way past every Coug and onto the glass to procure a 19-point
advantage.
Rakocevic
tied the game-high with 25 points and added 13 rebounds, Mathews chipped in 20
on 6-of-7 from deep, Boatwright logged 18 and Derryck Thornton rounded out the
Trojans’ leaders with 12.
“We’re
talented enough to stay with them, particularly on first possession, first
rotation,” Kent said of USC’s upperclassmen-laden group. “If that rotation goes
a couple of times, and you break down … they’re gonna get you.”
Afterwards,
the Cougs clipped the edge to eight a few times in the second half, but
couldn’t fashion a genuine threat to the streaky-shooting Trojans (13-9, 6-3),
who booked a 58.9-percent mark from the field en route to their sixth straight
toppling of Wazzu.
“If a team
is shooting 50-some percent on you, there’s not gonna be many looks in
transition,” said Kent, who acknowledged that WSU’s juco transfers need to get
accustomed to this level of play. “Sometimes, the littlest thing can knock you
out of rhythm. The key thing for me is they hung in there.”
Point
guard Ahmed Ali, who entered as a sub, spearheaded WSU’s attack, oftentimes
skittering about at the perimeter and drawing enough attention to furnish
3-ball openings, many of which he assisted on. He had seven assists and zero
turnovers.
WSU, which
Kent said tinkered with its lineup to combat USC’s athleticism, placed three in
double figures — Robert Franks had 25, though the Trojans succeeded in limiting
his drives; Ali booked a career-high 18 and, with his parents in town, Aljaz
Kunc also had a career-high 14 off the bench.
Given his
tone postgame, Kent considered Ali’s showing the tilt’s bright spot, although
Ali was none too pleased.
“We feel
like we’re better than every team. … We’re just coming up with losses,” Ali
said. “I don’t know what it is, but we look at the scouting report and (think),
‘We’re gonna win this game.’
“We don’t
have an excuse at this point. We practice hard. We need to believe we can win,
and it’s not just saying it, it’s doing it.”
WSU
appeared to believe in its deep game, where it launched a program-record 41
3-point attempts. Thing is, the Cougs hit just 14 of them, and ended with a
42-percent mark from the floor.
“I’d like
to get that any night,” Kent said, “because I thought about 30 of them were
wide open.”
After the
contest, Kent talked of continuity and seniority, and how many of WSU’s
opponents possess it, while the Cougars remain a work in progress. He also
mentioned how program-regular Viont’e Daniels only played six minutes because
the Trojans had him bottled up in their game plan.
“Guys
individually are emerging before your eyes, they just gotta do it
collectively,” Kent said.
SOUTHERN
CAL (13-9)
Rakocevic
9-16 7-9 25, Boatwright 6-12 5-7 18, Thornton 6-10 0-1 12, Mathews 7-9 0-0 20,
Aaron 1-2 5-6 8, Uyaelunmo 1-1 0-0 2, Brooks 0-2 0-0 0, Weaver 0-1 0-0 0,
Porter 3-3 0-2 8. Totals 33-56 17-25 93.
WASHINGTON
ST. (8-14)
Pollard
1-3 0-0 2, Elleby 3-10 0-0 7, Franks 8-17 6-6 25, Cannon 1-5 0-0 3, Robinson
0-2 0-0 0, Wade 3-3 0-0 6, Kunc 4-5 4-4 14, Ali 6-15 2-2 18, Daniels 1-3 0-0 3,
Skaggs 2-6 0-0 6. Totals 29-69 12-12 84.
Halftime_Southern
Cal 47-33. 3-Point Goals_Southern Cal 10-18 (Mathews 6-7, Porter 2-2, Aaron
1-2, Boatwright 1-5, Weaver 0-1, Thornton 0-1), Washington St. 14-41 (Ali 4-12,
Franks 3-9, Kunc 2-3, Skaggs 2-6, Daniels 1-3, Elleby 1-3, Cannon 1-4, Robinson
0-1). Fouled Out_Wade, Kunc. Rebounds_Southern Cal 35 (Rakocevic 13),
Washington St. 28 (Franks 6). Assists_Southern Cal 19 (Thornton 6), Washington
St. 17 (Ali 7). Total Fouls_Southern Cal 15, Washington St. 23.
Technicals_Aaron, Elleby. A_2,559 (11,671).
::::::
According
to Cougfan.com, a 6-foot-3, 253-pound defensive end from South Carolina has committed
to playing football for WSU.
It was
confirmed by Spokane S-R:
High
school defensive end Nicholas Sheetz commits to Washington State
Sun., Feb.
3, 2019, 11:31 a.m.
By Theo Lawson,
Spokane Spokesman0Review
PULLMAN –
Mike Leach and the Cougars received a commitment from a high school defensive
lineman on Super Bowl Sunday.
Nicholas
Sheetz, a 6-4, 255-pound defensive end from Greenwood, South Carolina,
announced an oral commitment to Washington State on Twitter.
Sheetz
doesn’t list any other Power Five offers, according to 247Sports, but held
other FBS offers from Air Force, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Middle
Tennessee State, Tulane, Troy, USF and Western Kentucky.
The
Cougars are only expecting to sign a handful of players this Wednesday on
National Signing Day after inking 20 during the early signing period in
December.
The early
signing class included two defensive linemen – Cosmas Kwete and Tyler
Garay-Harris – but the Cougars had initially expected to bring in four. Nassir
Simms decommitted from WSU and USC proceeded to flip another defensive tackle
commit, Dejon Benton.
Sheetz, an
all-league and all-region defensive end at Emerald High in Greenwood, will
account for one of those vacancies.
Currently,
the Cougars have only one other hard commit – junior college offensive tackle
Jimmy Price – expected to sign a letter of intent on Wednesday.
#
