12/15/2019
from WSU Sports Info
PULLMAN–
The Washington State University women's basketball team got a
pair of double-doubles from redshirt senior Borislava Hristova and
freshman Bella Murekatete en
route to an 87-59 victory over UC Irvine on Sunday afternoon in Beasley
Coliseum.
It was
the freshman stealing the show on Sunday afternoon, as Murekatete recorded her
first career double-double in just her third career start. The Ngoma Huye,
Rwanda posted a personal-best 15 points and 13 rebounds in a career-high 20
minutes played against the Anteaters.
Murekatete
shot an even 50% from the floor, connecting on six of her 12 shot attempts from
the field, to help WSU post a 52.2% field goal percentage. The hot-shooting
hand allowed the Cougars to post a season-high in points on the year.
The win
moved Washington State to 6-4 on the year, while they improve to 5-1 at Beasley
Coliseum this season.
Not to
be outdone, Hrisitova recorded 19 points and 10 caroms to mark the first time
since March 26, 2017 that the Cougars had two players post a double-double in
the same game. It is the second double-double in the last three games for the
Varna, Bulgarian native, while it is her ninth career double-double.
The duo
paced a quartet of double-digit scorers for Washington State on Sunday.
Redshirt junior Jovana Subasic tied
her career high in points with 17 off the bench, while redshirt sophomore Johanna Muzet chipped in a season-best
10 points in a reserve role.
Washington
State put on one of its most dominating defensive performances of the year
against UCI by limiting the Anteaters to just 29.2% from the floor and forcing
them into 14 turnovers.
The Cougars
started on fire from the floor, as they connected on five of their first seven
shot attempts of the game en route to a 61.1% shooting percentage in the frame
and a nine-point lead after 10 minutes of play. The hot start allowed WSU to
stay ahead for nearly the entire game, as they lead for all but 49 seconds on
Sunday. Washington State extended its lead out to a game-high 28 points with
their final bucket of the game from sophomore Ula Motuga.
WSU
will now head across the country to partake in the Miami Holiday Classic on
Dec. 20-21 at the University of Miami. The Cougars open play against Southern
on Friday, Dec. 20, at 11:15 a.m. PT and conclude with a game against the host
Hurricanes on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 8 a.m. PT.
COUG
QUOTES
Head coach Kamie Ethridge on the win: "I'm really excited about this team and the growth I feel like we made. You're seeing real tangible growth out there. We were able to get the ball up the court a lot faster and put a little more pressure on their transition defense. We played a team that had some matchup issues with us and we were able to take advantage of that. We had some phenomenal individual performances from Bella and Bobi and it's exciting to see that. Overall, I'm happy with the entire team."
Head coach Kamie Ethridge on the win: "I'm really excited about this team and the growth I feel like we made. You're seeing real tangible growth out there. We were able to get the ball up the court a lot faster and put a little more pressure on their transition defense. We played a team that had some matchup issues with us and we were able to take advantage of that. We had some phenomenal individual performances from Bella and Bobi and it's exciting to see that. Overall, I'm happy with the entire team."
Coach
Ethridge on Murekatete's first double-double: "It's
exciting to see Bella score and impact the game the way she did. I hope this is
a confidence builder for her and it makes her hungrier. She has a double-double
in just 20 minutes of play, so it's exciting to see that growth. She is a great
personality and I'm thankful to have her in our program."
COUG
NOTES
- Today's double-doubles from Borislava Hristova and Bella Murekatete marks the first time two Cougs have reached the feat in the same game since March 26, 2017. Caila Hailey (10 pts, 10 reb) and Pinelopi Pavlopoulou (13 pts, 11 reb) each recorded a double-double in a Cougar victory at Iowa in the quarterfinals of the WNIT.
- Today's double-doubles from Borislava Hristova and Bella Murekatete marks the first time two Cougs have reached the feat in the same game since March 26, 2017. Caila Hailey (10 pts, 10 reb) and Pinelopi Pavlopoulou (13 pts, 11 reb) each recorded a double-double in a Cougar victory at Iowa in the quarterfinals of the WNIT.
-
Freshman Bella Murekatete set career-high
in points (15), rebounds (13), field goals made (6), field goals attempted (12)
against the Anteaters on Sunday. She also tied her career-best in blocks (2)
and minutes played (20).
-
Senior Borislava Hristova
recorded her third double-double of the 2019-20 season and the ninth of her
career. She also extends her double-digit scoring streak to four games with her
19-point effort.
- With 19 points tonight,
Borislava Hristova now
has 1,892 career points. She is now 76 points away from breaking the WSU
all-time …
:::::::::::::::::::::::
Sunday: WSU Men’s
Basketball game recap Dec 15, 2019
(Game photo posted at News for CougGroup Facebook and News
for CougGroup blog by MT.)
CJ Elleby, Jeff
Pollard boost Washington St. past UC Riverside 70-56
Next game in
Pullman
Florida
A&M
12/19/2019 |
7:30 PM
Carried on Pac-12
NETWORKS
PULLMAN, Wash.
(AP) Four the fourth time this season, Washington State forced more than 20
turnovers against their opponent.
The Cougars'
defensive effort helped lead them to a 70-56 victory over UC Riverside Sunday
afternoon, marking their third victory in a row for the first time this season.
''That's just
what we do,'' said Washington State Head Coach Kyle Smith. ''We have some good
quickness on defense and we got off to a good start in both halves.''
CJ Elleby
scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and had six rebounds and Jeff Pollard
added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars. Aljaz Kunc also had 13
points, two rebounds and two assists.
Washington
State (6-4) led the game almost the entire way, forced 23 turnovers for 24
points to help get the Cougars to a win, despite losing the rebounding battle
33-31 and the battle in the paint 30-28.
UC Riverside
(7-4) couldn't take care of the ball down the stretch and shot only 8 of 13
from the free throw line. Angus McWilliams lead the way for the Highlanders
with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. George Willborn III added 11 points for the
Highlanders.
''I thought
our guys competed for 40 minutes, but our execution was bad turning the ball
over 23 times,'' said UC Riverside Head Coach David Patrick. ''We haven't done
that all years. Kudos to Washington State for their pressure. I thought we
competed, but we just did a bad job of taking care of the basketball.''
BIG PICTURE
UC Riverside:
After a four-game winning streak, the Highlanders have gone 1-3.
Washington
State: The Cougars are on a three-game winning streak for the first time this
season. They have three more non-conference games before the start of Pac-12
play.
UP NEXT
UC Riverside:
The Highlanders host Northern Arizona on Thursday.
Washington State:
The Cougars host Florida A&M on Thursday.
::::
WSU men basketball
Defense bides Washington State time to find offense in
70-56 win over UC Riverside
UPDATED: Sun.,
Dec. 15, 2019
By Theo Lawson Spokane S-R
PULLMAN – Kyle
Smith’s name wasn’t printed on the postgame box score Sunday afternoon.
The impact of
Washington State’s first-year coach may as well have been, though.
Just once in
five years under Smith’s predecessor had the Cougars forced an opponent into at
least 20 turnovers in a single game – that coming in the 2017-18 season opener
against Texas Southern, when WSU forced exactly that number in a narrow win.
So, the fact
the Cougars have done that on four occasions this season in only 10 games under
Smith – including a 70-56 win over UC Riverside at Beasley Coliseum on Sunday –
is one example of how determined they are to clean up their act on the
defensive side of the ball.
Again, that’s
once in 98 total games under former coach Ernie Kent – hardly one percent – and
already four in 10 under Smith, who says his team spends nearly two-thirds of
its practice time focused on defense.
Even if it’s
coming against lower-end mid-majors, the progress has already paid off.
WSU forced 21
turnovers against Santa Clara, 20 against both Idaho State and Colorado State,
and Smith’s team kept the trend going on Sunday against UC Riverside, forcing
the Highlanders into 23 turnovers during a win in front of a small winter break
crowd that numbered just 1,999.
The 23
turnovers were WSU’s most in a single game since the Cougars forced 25 in an
81-59 win over Gonzaga in 2010.
“That’s what
we do,” Smith said. “I think I said (after) New Mexico State, we’ve got to hang
our hat on defense. I think we have some good quickness on the perimeter, and
we did that tonight. I knew that game was probably going to be tricky because
there were probably going to be not that many possessions, and we got off to a
good start in both halves.”
If the Cougars
can play solid defense long enough, they figure the offense will arrive at some
point, even if it only arrives in spurts.
One such spurt
in the second half allowed WSU to shrug off a few scary moments against the
Highlanders of the Big West Conference, and the Cougars used a 12-0 run to
rebuild a double-digit lead and coast through the rest of their 14-point win.
Sophomore
forward CJ Elleby was WSU’s points leader for the eighth time in 11 games,
finishing with 20 on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the free
throw line. For the second time in as many games Elleby followed a four-point
first half with a 16-point second half.
“I think it’s
kind of the way it plays out, but I definitely am a little more aggressive to
the basket in the second half the last two games,” Elleby said. “I just need to
work on probably starting that way.”
After a
two-minute scoreless stretch, Elleby set the tone for WSU with a sequence that
saw the long, lanky forward pull down an offensive rebound as he drew a foul,
then knock down a jump shot on the inbound play. Elleby scored a fastbreak
layup on the next WSU possession to put the Cougars up six.
“CJ, I’m
really proud of him the way he’s played the last three games,” Smith said.
“Didn’t shoot the ball well against Idaho, but he is really playing with a
purpose and kind of how you have to when you’re the lead guy. The defense is
going to come after him every game, and he’s going to bide his time sometimes
and pick his spots, and he did.”
Elleby, who
had six rebounds, four turnovers and three steals, got some help on offense,
with four other Cougars scoring in double figures. Jeff Pollard scored 16
points to go along with seven rebounds, Jaz Kunc fell one point of tying his
career high with 13, and Isaac Bonton had 12 points, though it came on just
5-of-15 shooting.
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