Alert: WSU
football schedule
shows WSU
Spring 2019 football game starting 1pm Sat., April 20,
at Martin Stadium
::::::::::::
WSU men’s
basketball
Upset
special:
Grip on
Sports: Nothing is sweeter than an unexpected win
Fri., Feb.
8, 2019, 8:42 a.m.
By Vince
Grippi Spokane S-R
A GRIP ON
SPORTS • One of the best aspects of being a sports fan, any type of sports fan,
is when the unexpected happens. OK, when the “good” unexpected happens. Like
what happened last night in Tempe for Washington State basketball fans. For
Arizona State’s fans, it wasn’t such an enjoyable experience. Read on.
• If you
put money on the Cougars to win last night at ASU, either you felt the line was
too high or you own a Doc Brown-modified DeLorean. Other than that, you must
hate having cash in your pocket.
Honestly,
who could have seen this coming? Not with this Washington State team, not this
year.
The
Cougars hadn’t won a true road game all season. Not just in Pac-12 play, but
all season. They had lost five consecutive games, all but one of those by
double digits. And their lone conference win came against California, the only
Power 5 school rated lower in the NCAA’s NET rankings.
Arizona
State? Sure, the Sun Devils had been up-and-down, winning home games against
the likes of Kansas and Arizona. But they had also lost to Princeton and Utah
in their building, meaning they weren’t invincible.
This one
was different – in the bad way. The headline on the Arizona Republic’s website
says it all: “ASU suffers horrific loss to Washington State seriously damaging
postseason hopes.”
It’s not
often the word horrific makes its way into a sports headline.
And it’s
not often Washington State’s basketball team can enter the second game of a
Pac-12 road weekend thinking about a sweep. It last happened a year ago when
the Cougars opened their Bay Area weekend with a two-point win over California.
They
didn’t get the sweep then. Can they get one Saturday against reeling UA in
Tucson? Wouldn’t that be unexpected?
……………..
WSU men’s
basketball
ASU
tournament hopes take a big hit as Sun Devils fall to Washington State
By Michelle
Gardner, Arizona Republic
Feb. 7,
2019
The ASU
men's basketball squad had a chance to play its way off the proverbial NCAA
Tournament bubble. All it needed was the expected win over 11th-place
Washington State and then the more difficult victory over front-runner
Washington.
Not only
did the Sun Devils not do that, the situation got worse.
ASU was
discombobulated from the start and got throttled by Washington State, 91-70, on
Thursday in Pac-12 play at Wells Fargo Arena. ASU (15-7, 6-4) looked little
like a team that came in standing second in the Pac-12. And, no, Washington
State (9-14, 2-8) didn't look like the
next-to-last place team, let alone a team that had yet to win a game on the
road or on neutral court.
The Sun
Devils also had an entire week to prepare for the contest but it didn't look
like it. Defending the perimeter had been an issue in some games, including the
Sun Devils' last game against Arizona, one it eventually won in overtime.
ASU coach
Bobby Hurley said earlier this week his team had been focusing on that issue
but it proved to be a problem again as Washington State hit nine of 17 tries in
the first half, one which ended with the visitors comfortably in front, 50-33,
in front of a stunned ASU crowd.
The
Cougars' Robert Franks scored 21 points in the first half alone, equaling his
conference best average coming in.
"You
can't give that kind of space in the open floor to a guy like Franks,
especially when he has it going," Hurley said.
There
weren't many signs pointing to a possible ASU comeback, either. The last time
ASU overcame that kind of deficit was on Feb. 12, 1994, when ASU trailed
Stanford 46-17, but came back to win, 71-69.
Complicating
matters, ASU hasn't been a team very capable of catching up via the long ball.
The Sun Devils came in only ranked seventh in 3-point percentage (.345). Rob
Edwards has been the team's most reliable player from long distance and he was
0-for-7 from the field in the first half and missed his three tries from deep.
He ended up going 2 for 15 from the field, including an 0-for-7 from long
distance.
Freshman
Taeshon Cherry, the other long distance threat was not available after
aggravating a concussion originally sustained against UCLA in the Arizona game.
ASU failed
to make much of a run in the second half. The closest the Sun Devils would get
was 13 after a fast-break layup by Zylan Cheatham made it 50-37 but the Cougars
answered with a 12-2 run, thwarting any hope ASU had of a comeback.
The Sun
Devils shot 33.8 percent (23 for 68) from the field, with an abysmal 5 for 33
from long distance and a 19 for 33 from the line.
Freshman
guard Luguentz Dort led ASU with 22 points, his best outing since tallying 24
in a loss to Nevada on Dec. 7. Cheatham snagged 16 rebounds, giving him 72 in
the last four games but ASU was still beaten on the boards 48-41.
Remy
Martin had eight assists but was managed nine points and shot only 3 of 13 from
the field. Hurley added that Martin rolled his ankle in practice on Saturday
and practiced only sparingly this week.
Sophomore
forward Romello White went down midway through the second half with a leg
injury and did not return. Hurley said he was not sure of the extent of that
injury.
"We've
been hanging our hat on rebounding even when we weren't making shots and
tonight we didn't even do that," There wasn't anything very positive you
can say. It's a pretty damaging loss for us. I give Washington State
credit for how hard they played and
competed tonight.
Washington
State ended up hitting 43.3 (26 for 60) from the field, led by Franks with 34
points. He also had 13 rebounds and four steals.
"This
is a big, big win for our program to come out here and beat a program like his
that had been so red hot last year and has such a good team this year,"
Cougars coach Ernie Kent said.
ASU
remains at home to take on conference leader Washington at 8 p.m. Saturday but
the other obstacle facing the Sun Devils is that after Saturday they will be playing five of
their last seven regular season games on the road where they have only
moderately been successful.
:::::::
WSU
football’s Gardner Minshew makes history: first Coug since boxing’s Pete
Rademacher 1956 to win Seattle “Male Sports Star of the Year” award
By
COUGFAN.com 2/8/2019
THIS IS
EXTRAORDINARY. Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew made history
Thursday night in Seattle, becoming the first Cougar to be named the Male
Sports Star of the Year by the Seattle Sports Commission since 1956.
That it
happened in Seattle -- where the Huskies, Seahawks and Mariners reign supreme
-- is remarkable. Indeed, 17 of the
previous 20 award winners came from either the Huskies, Hawks or M’s.
You have
to go back more than 60 years, to Olympic gold medalist and heavyweight boxer
Pete Rademacher in ’56, to find a Cougar winner for the top male prize. Not even Klay Thompson, Drew Bledsoe, Rueben
Mayes or Ryan Leaf could break through.
But “The
Mississippi Mustache” did.
Minshew
beat out finalists Tyler Lockett (Seahawks), Mitch Haniger (Mariners), Ben
Burr-Kirven (UW Football), coach Brian Schmetzer (Sounders), and Phil Mack
(Seawolves) on Thursday.
In his
only season on the Palouse in 2018, the graduate transfer QB led Washington
State to its first 11-win season in program history, capped by a win over Iowa
State, to give WSU its first top 10 final poll ranking since 2003. Minshew led
the nation in passing yards per game (367.6); 300-yard games (11), 400-yard
games (six) and was second in passing yards (4,779) and total offense (376.8).
He was also fourth in TD passes (38).
Minshew
also set Pac-12 single-season records for passing yards and completions, as
well as the WSU single-season record in total offense and tied the record for
touchdown passes (Luke Falk). The Brandon, Miss. product led three fourth
quarter game-winning drives (Utah, Stanford, California) and rushed for four
scores.
Minshew
also was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and was named All-Pac-12
first team. He also won the Johnny
Unitas Golden Arm Award, and was a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of the
Year, Lombardi Award, Davey O’Brien Award and Manning Award.
NOTABLE
NOTES:
-- Cougar
soccer star Morgan Weaver was a finalist for the Female Star of the Year Award.
The WSU junior was named All-Pac-12 Region first-team and All-Pac-12 first-team
with a career-best 13 goals, third most in the Pac-12 and 20th in the nation.
Weaver led the Cougars to their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and
seventh in the last eight seasons, advancing to the second round.
::::::::
Big
winners at Seattle’s 84th Sports Star of Year awards include Sue Bird, Gardner
Minshew
February
7, 2018
By Scott
Hanson
Seattle
Times
Sue Bird
has won many, many awards during her long, illustrious career with the Seattle
Storm, and before that as one of the best collegiate point guards in history
with Connecticut, but the one she received Thursday will stand out.
Bird, who
led the Storm to the WNBA title this past season while having one of the best
seasons of her 17-year Storm career, was given the Royal Brougham Award, “given
to an individual for a lifetime of achievement in sports and who exemplifies
the spirit of our state.”
Bird and
others in the Seattle sports scene were honored Thursday at the 84th Annual
MTRWestern Sports Star of the Year banquet at the Sheraton Grand Seattle hotel.
“This is
different than any other award I’ve won, because it’s not one singular thing or
one singular year, but for a career worth of achievements and to be honored
like this in this city is pretty cool,” Bird said.
Will
Seahawks make a move with Kam Chancellor? And what might happen with Frank
Clark and Russell Wilson?
It's in
the numbers: Washington's Chris Petersen develops lower-star recruits into
first- and second-round NFL draft picks | Matt Calkins
Washington
continues to hum along, snaps losing streak at Arizona
Will
Washington's pursuit of four-star wideout Puka Nacua continue? 'It's always
recruiting season.'
It was a
big night for the entire Storm team. Its 2018 WNBA title won the Sports Story
award. Breanna Stewart, who was the WNBA’s regular season and finals MVP, beat
a strong group of nominees to win the Female Sports Star award.
Washington
State quarterback Gardner Minshew won the Male Sports Star award, beating UW
linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven, Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger, Seahawks
receiver Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seawolves star Phil Mack and Sounders FC coach
Brian Schmetzer.
Longtime
Seahawks employee Sandy Gregory was given the Paul Allen Award, “given to an
individual who has made a significant or compelling philanthropic
contribution.”
Nine-year-old
Elijah Hagstrom won the Wayne Gittinger Inspirational Award,” given to an
inspirational young athlete who has overcome major medical obstacles to inspire
others.”
Sports
columnist Art Thiel won the Keith Jackson Award, “given to a member of the
media for excellence in communicating the sports stories of our state.”
Some of
the biggest cheers of the night were for Bird, who received a standing ovation.
She came to Seattle in 2002 when she was the No. 1 overall draft pick by the
Storm, and has become one of the city’s legendary athletes.
“I
definitely feel like Seattle is home,” she said. “I came out here after I got
drafted when I was 21 and I am still here at 38. In a lot of ways, in my adult
years, I grew up here. The best way to describe it is every time I am at the
airport, it’s ‘Ah, I’m home.'”
Stewart,
who like Bird was a star at Connecticut and a No. 1 overall draft pick (2016),
was chosen as Female Sports Star over Special Olympics USA Games athlete Devon
Adelman, WSU soccer player Morgan Weaver, UW softball player Sis Bates, Seattle
University basketball player Alexis Montgomery and the Seattle Reign’s Jodie
Taylor.
“Not only
was Stewy MVP of the season and finals, which is a huge honor in the very best
league, but a week later she was leading (the U.S.) to a world championship in
the Canary Islands in Spain and she was the best player in the tournament,”
said Bird of Stewart, who is playing in Russia and did not attend Thursday’s
event.
Stewart
helped lead the Storm to its third title, and that was the top story despite
several other good nominees: the NHL Seattle ticket sales, the Special Olympics
USA Games coming to Seattle, the Seattle Seawolves winning the Major League
Rugby title and Shaquem Griffin reunited with twin Shaquill as a Seahawks draft
selection.
“Whenever
you win (the title), the offseason is the best,” Bird said. “You get to sit and
bask in it for six or seven months. Every time I go out, someone is saying
something positive to me.”
Minshew,
sporting a full beard rather than his famous mustache, exploded on the local
sports scene. He committed to Alabama early last year after leaving East
Carolina as a graduate transfer, then changed his mind when WSU coach Mike
Leach recruited him. It worked out splendidly, of course, with Minshew being
the Pac-12 offensive player of the year and leading the Cougars to their first
11-win season in program history.
“Last year
(at this time), I was sitting at home, didn’t really have any offers and didn’t
know what was going to happen,” he said. “But God had a plan for me. That plan
was in Pullman and I had a lot of people help make this a great year. It was
about perfect. It was a blessing for sure. It took a lot of hard work and it
was a collective effort.”
It was
also a night to reminisce about the Seattle SuperSonics’ world title 40 years
ago, with several members of the team and coach Lenny Wilkens on hand and drawing
huge ovations.
:::::::::::::::::::::::
Franks
rings up 34 points in Cougars’ 91-70 road victory
Lewiston Trib
and AP Feb 8, 2019
WSU men’s
basketball pull stunning blowout of Sun Devils in Arizona
TEMPE,
Ariz. — Washington State has had little to celebrate this season, so a surprise
victory in the desert felt awfully good.
Robert
Franks matched his career high with 34 points and Washington State stunned
Arizona State with a dominant 91-70 victory over the Sun Devils on Thursday
night.
“This is a
big, big win for our program,” Washington State coach Ernie Kent said.
The Cougars
(9-14, 2-8 Pac-12) snapped a five-game losing streak and won on the road for
the first time this season.
Arizona
State (15-7, 6-4) had won four of five and figured to be headed into an
important game Saturday against Pac-12 leader Washington. But the Sun Devils
were derailed before they ever got to the Huskies.
“There
really wasn’t anything overly positive that you can say. It was a pretty
damaging loss for us,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said.
Franks,
who scored 34 last season against California, made 11-of-16 shots, went 5-of-8
from deep and grabbed 13 rebounds.
“He was
draining shots everywhere,” Hurley said. “We didn’t really have any answers for
him.”
Marvin
Cannon added 13 and freshman CJ Elleby flirted with a triple-double (10 points,
10 rebounds, nine assists) for Washington State.
Franks
said it was “most definitely” the Cougars’ biggest win of the season.
“The way
that we ran, we defended and shared the ball is something that we’ve got to
predicate the rest of our season on,” he said.
Luguentz
Dort scored 22 for Arizona State. Kimani Lawrence added 13.
The big
difference came from long range. The Cougars made 12-of-29 3s, while the Sun
Devils were a dismal 3-of-28.
The
Cougars, whose only other conference win was at home against California, took a
double-digit lead early and never were seriously threatened as Arizona State
added this loss to other pratfalls against Utah, Princeton and Stanford by a
Sun Devils team that was expected to contend in the Pac-12.
Franks
said he knows opponents simply expect to beat the Cougars.
“We’re
definitely an underdog,” he said. “Once we come in to play against teams I feel
like they underestimate us a little bit. That’s why we have a little chip on
our shoulder.”
But Kent said
the Cougars had shown glimpses of excellence.
“Young
team; a lot of inexperienced guys. We’ve had to drown out a lot of noise,” he
said. “A lot of noise circling around our heads, some of it self-inflicted
noise. This team — in spurts — in all of our losses at some point in time we
have looked spectacular. The thing we haven’t done is the buy-in to play like
that for 40 minutes. Tonight ... they finally bought in.”
Franks
scored eight in a 15-5 run that put Washington State up 25-14 with 9:50 to play.
Arizona State never got closer than seven the rest of the game.
Frank’s
fourth 3-pointer of the half, followed by a layup by Isaiah Wade, put
Washington State up 46-30 with 3:19 left in the half. That basket, followed by
two free throws by Marvin Cannon, gave the Cougars their biggest lead of the
half, 50-32, with a minute left. They led 50-33 at the break.
Franks
made 8-of-11 shots, including 4-of-5 3s, for 23 first-half points. He also
grabbed eight rebounds.
The Sun
Devils went the final 5:41 of the half without a field goal.
Washington
State led by as many as 26 in the second half.
BIG
PICTURE
The
Cougars followed the brilliant performance of Franks to their best game of the
season, a win that had to feel good after so many struggles lately. This one
wasn’t even close and will help Washington State as it finishes out the
schedule.
Shooting
is a problem for Arizona State and that weakness was on display big-time.
Losing at home to one of the worst teams in the conference has to be a low
point in the season for the Sun Devils as well as a big blow to any hopes of
getting to the NCAA Tournament without winning the conference tourney in Las
Vegas.
WASHINGTON
ST. (9-14, 2-8)
Franks
11-17 7-7 34, Pollard 2-5 1-2 5, Cannon 3-9 7-8 13, Daniels 2-4 1-2 7, Ali 1-4
4-4 7, Elleby 3-10 1-2 10, Kunc 2-3 1-2 6, Wade 1-4 0-0 2, Robinson 1-3 5-6 7.
Totals 26-59 27-33 91.
ARIZONA
ST. (15-7, 6-4)
Cheatham
3-6 2-4 8, White 1-2 2-6 4, Martin 3-12 2-2 9, Edwards 2-16 2-2 6, Dort 6-13
8-12 22, Lake 1-2 0-0 2, Lawrence 5-13 3-7 13, Shibel 0-0 0-0 0, Valtonen 2-5
0-0 6, Fogerty 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-69 19-33 70.
Halftime —
Washington St. 50-33. 3-Point Goals — Washington St. 12-29 (Franks 5-9, Elleby
3-6, Daniels 2-4, Kunc 1-2, Ali 1-4, Robinson 0-2, Cannon 0-2), Arizona St.
5-34 (Valtonen 2-5, Dort 2-8, Martin 1-8, Cheatham 0-1, Lawrence 0-4, Edwards
0-8). Fouled Out — None. Rebounds — Washington St. 46 (Franks 13), Arizona St.
39 (Cheatham 16). Assists — Washington St. 22 (Elleby 9), Arizona St. 11
(Martin 8). Total Fouls — Washington St. 24, Arizona St. 24. Technicals —
Arizona St. coach Bobby Hurley. A — 9,517.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL
Sun Devils
scorch Cougs in Beasley
WSU shot
an abysmal 32 percent from field, scored 18 points to increase its losing
streak to seven games
By JOHN
SPELLMAN, Evergreen
Feb 7,
2019
WSU
women’s basketball fell to No. 20 Arizona State 61-46 on Thursday night in
Beasley Coliseum after leading at halftime.
The defeat
gave the Cougars (7-16, 2-10) their seventh straight as the Sun Devils (16-6,
7-4) spoiled the annual Wave Pink game.
“We
couldn’t muster up any points from anybody,” Head Coach Kamie Ethridge said,
“and we obviously couldn’t keep with Arizona State who I thought got better as
the game went on.”
The
Cougars got off to a quick start in the first quarter to take an early 8-2 lead
as the WSU defense stifled the Sun Devils’ offense.
The Sun
Devils were able to finally make some shots to put them back into the game, but
the Cougars were still able to take a 14-11 lead at the end of the first
quarter.
The second
quarter was just as even as the teams kept trading blows. The majority of the
quarter was dominated by ASU, but Ethridge’s team showed no quit as they came
back. This was highlighted by a three-pointer from freshman guard Michaela
Jones to give WSU a 28-27 halftime lead.
Unfortunately
for WSU, the Sun Devils were able to find their offensive touch in the third
quarter. ASU dominated play beyond the three-point line and in the paint to
extend its lead to as many as 14.
Going into
the fourth quarter, Ethridge knew her team would have to make some adjustments
as they were outscored 21-9 in the third.
The Sun
Devils continued their second-half dominance on the Cougars, limiting WSU to
only nine points again in the fourth quarter to claim victory.
ASU senior
forward Kianna Ibis dominated scoring 22 points and grabbing eight rebounds and
junior guard Robbi Ryan added 13 points.
On the WSU
side, redshirt junior forward Borislava Hristova led the Cougars with 11 points
and senior center Maria Kostourkova finished with nine. The Cougars shot 32
percent from the field in the game and 22 percent from the three-point line.
The
Cougars now turn their attention to Arizona whom they will host noon Saturday
at Beasley Coliseum. The game can also be seen live on Pac-12 Networks.
::::::::::::::::::::
WSU
football’s Gardner Minshew makes history: first Coug since boxing’s Pete
Rademacher 1956 to win Seattle “Male Sports Star of the Year” award
By COUGFAN.com
2/8/2019
THIS IS
EXTRAORDINARY. Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew made history
Thursday night in Seattle, becoming the first Cougar to be named the Male
Sports Star of the Year by the Seattle Sports Commission since 1956.
That it
happened in Seattle -- where the Huskies, Seahawks and Mariners reign supreme
-- is remarkable. Indeed, 17 of the
previous 20 award winners came from either the Huskies, Hawks or M’s.
You have
to go back more than 60 years, to Olympic gold medalist and heavyweight boxer
Pete Rademacher in ’56, to find a Cougar winner for the top male prize. Not even Klay Thompson, Drew Bledsoe, Rueben
Mayes or Ryan Leaf could break through.
But “The
Mississippi Mustache” did.
Minshew
beat out finalists Tyler Lockett (Seahawks), Mitch Haniger (Mariners), Ben
Burr-Kirven (UW Football), coach Brian Schmetzer (Sounders), and Phil Mack
(Seawolves) on Thursday.
In his
only season on the Palouse in 2018, the graduate transfer QB led Washington
State to its first 11-win season in program history, capped by a win over Iowa
State, to give WSU its first top 10 final poll ranking since 2003. Minshew led
the nation in passing yards per game (367.6); 300-yard games (11), 400-yard
games (six) and was second in passing yards (4,779) and total offense (376.8).
He was also fourth in TD passes (38).
Minshew
also set Pac-12 single-season records for passing yards and completions, as
well as the WSU single-season record in total offense and tied the record for
touchdown passes (Luke Falk). The Brandon, Miss. product led three fourth
quarter game-winning drives (Utah, Stanford, California) and rushed for four
scores.
Minshew
also was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and was named All-Pac-12
first team. He also won the Johnny
Unitas Golden Arm Award, and was a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of the
Year, Lombardi Award, Davey O’Brien Award and Manning Award.
NOTABLE
NOTES:
-- Cougar
soccer star Morgan Weaver was a finalist for the Female Star of the Year Award.
The WSU junior was named All-Pac-12 Region first-team and All-Pac-12 first-team
with a career-best 13 goals, third most in the Pac-12 and 20th in the nation.
Weaver led the Cougars to their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and
seventh in the last eight seasons, advancing to the second round.
#
