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Cougars Look To Keep Hot Start Going Friday Against Colorado

Jan 14, 2014

No. 21/20 COLORADO at WASHINGTON STATE
7 p.m. • Friday  • Jan. 17
Beasley Coliseum (11,671)
Pullman, Wash.

COUGARS HOST NO. 21/20 COLORADO FRIDAY: Washington State University (10-6, 4-0 Pac-12) opens another weekend of Pac-12 Conference play hosting No. 21/20 University of Colorado (11-4, 1-3 Pac-12) Friday at 7 p.m. in Beasley Coliseum.

ON DECK: The Cougars will close out the weekend and first third of Pac-12 play hosting the University of Utah Sunday at Noon on the Pac-12 Networks.

WSU HOSTS DADS & DAUGHTERS DATE NIGHT FRIDAY: Friday is the 2nd annual Dads & Daughters Date Night at Cougar Women’s Basketball. Fans can purchase 1 adult and 1 youth ticket for just $7 and also receive a youth Cougar T-shirt and a voucher for a free popcorn. There will also be a photo booth area for commemorative photos. Additional youth tickets are just $1.  Tickets can be purchased online at WSUCougars.com, by calling 1-800-GO-COUGS or at the Beasley Coliseum box office prior to the game.

LISTEN IN: Fans can follow the Cougars during the regular season on Pullman’s KHTR (104.3 FM), KQQQ 1150 AM or go to WSUCougars.com and listen online. Steve Grubbs will be calling the play-by-play for the Cougs.

COUGAR ATHLETICS ON THE WEB: Connect with Washington State University Athletics on the web at WSUCougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics. Every home game will be webstreamed through the Pac-12 Networks at http://pac-12.com/videos/washington-state-university.

FOLLOW THE COUGS ON TWITTER: Follow Washington State women’s basketball on twitter @WSUWomensHoops and head coach June Daugherty @CoachJuneD.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE: The Cougars own a 10-6 record and have won five of their last six contests after sweeping the Arizona schools and both games over rival Washington last week. The 82-80 win over the Huskies in Pullman snapped a 36-game losing streak to UW and the 85-76 victory in Seattle was the Cougars first road win of the series since 1993. The Cougars start 4-0 in conference play for first time since starting Northwest Women’s Basketball League play 5-0 in 1977-78. Guard Tia Presley paces WSU and is fourth in the conference in scoring at 19.9 ppg and fellow guard Lia Galdeira enters Friday tied for sixth at 18.7 ppg including 21.3 ppg in Pac-12 play, third highest in the league.

COUGAR NOTES:
• Lia Galdeira is third in the conference in scoring during Pac-12 play at 21.3 ppg
• Galdeira is second in the Pac-12 in steals with 40, 2.5 spg
• Tia Presley is tied for second for the most free throw attempts (102) in the Pac-12
• Galdeira and Presley each own six 20-point scoring efforts this season
• Shalie Dheensaw’s first two career double-doubles came in the two wins over Washington
• WSU has started conference play 4-0 for the first time since starting NWBL play 5-0 in 1977-78
• WSU has won four straight against Arizona State and six straight against the Arizona schools
• WSU snapped a 36-game losing streak to Washington, winning for the first time since 1995
• WSU recorded its first win over Washington in Seattle since 1993, snapping a 20-game skid
• WSU swept Washington in the regular season for the first time since 1974-75
• WSU enters the week No. 44 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, up from No. 57 last week

ABOUT COLORADO: Colorado enters the week 11-4 overall and 1-3 in Pac-12 play after dropping a pair of home contests to Stanford and California last weekend. The Buffaloes, an NCAA Tournament team last season, comes into Friday ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll and No. 20 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll. Forward Arielle Roberson paces the club in scoring at 13.3 ppg and rebounding at 8.2 rpg. Head coach Linda Lappe is in her fourth season at CU and owns a 75-41 career record at the school.

CU-WSU SERIES: Colorado leads the all time series with Washington State 3-1, after claiming the last two meetings, 57-56 in Pullman in 2012 and 59-45 in Boulder last season. WSU’s only win over Colorado was a 81-76 victory in Pullman in 1998.

LAST YEAR AGAINST COLORADO IN BOULDER: WSU dropped a 59-45 contest to No. 20 Colorado last season in Boulder. CU held the Cougars to 19.6 percent shooting and tallied 25 points off of 25 Washington State turnovers. WSU was held to 2-for-10 from behind the arc. Lia Galdeira led the Cougars with 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals and Mariah Cooks added 10 points and five boards.

2012 MEETING AGAINST COLORADO IN PULLMAN: Colorado sank a free throw with 11 seconds left and Washington State’s Jazmine Perkins potential game-winning jumper bounced off the front of the rim at the buzzer, giving the Buffaloes a 57-56 win in Beasley Coliseum 2012. The Cougars were held to 25.4 percent shooting including 1-for-10 from behind the arc while the Buffs shot 40.4 percent from the field and just 1-of-13 from three. WSU forced 22 turnovers while Colorado scored 20 second-chance points including a couple big baskets on offensive rebounds in the final two minutes.

SCHEDULE RANKED 11th TOUGHEST IN THE COUNTRY: According to Jeff Sagarin of College Basketball News, the Cougars enter the week having played the No. 11-toughest schedule in the country. The Cougars beat No. 10 Nebraska and No. 25 Arizona State, and dropped contests to Syracuse, West Virginia, Gonzaga and Dayton (road), with each currently receiving votes in the latest national polls. Syracuse and Gonzaga were each ranked earlier this season.

COUGS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS: Washington State has gone 2-1 against ranked opponents this season after posting a 76-72 road win over No. 10 Nebraska and an 85-78 victory over No. 24 Arizona State. No. 25 Gonzaga recorded an eight-point win in Pullman Dec. 21. For the first time since 2001, WSU owns two wins over ranked teams this season. Last season, WSU beat No. 20 Ohio State University 63-55 in Beasley Coliseum.

PRESLEY PUTTING UP BIG NUMBERS: Tia Presley enters the week fourth in the Pac-12 at 19.9 ppg after posting six 20-point efforts this season. The junior guard scored 20 points in the season-opener against Syracuse, 29 in the win over Ole Miss in Hawaii, a career-high 37 in the win over Fresno State, 21 while beating Cal State Northridge, 24 in the victory over UC Riverside in Kennewick, Wash and 29 in the win at Washington. Her 37 points against Fresno State were the second-most in WSU single-game history, four away from the Jenni Ruff’s school record of 41 set in 1996 against California. Presley went 15-of-24 from the floor including a career high five threes, all five coming in the first half. She also grabbed six boards and made three steals. Her 15 made field goals tied for the most in WSU single-game history.

GALDEIRA CONTINUES TO PRODUCE: Lia Galdeira has picked up where she left off from last year’s record-setting freshman season. The sophomore guard enters the week tied for sixth in the Pac-12 in scoring at 18.7 ppg and second in steals with 40. Galdeira’s six 20-point performances this season  are tied for the team-high. Her 32 made 3-pointers are tied for seventh-most in the Pac-12 this season and twice she has reached the 29-point mark, the first coming in her return to her homestate Hawaii against the Warriors and the other coming at Dayton. Galdeira also scored 20 in the win over Fresno State, 26 in a overtime victory against UC Riverside, 27 in the win over No. 24 Arizona State and 28 in the home victory over Washington.

ROMBERG CLIMBING WSU RECORD BOOK: Sage Romberg is making the most of her senior season for the Cougars, producing seventh-highest 3-point shooting percentage in the Pac-12 at 41.2 percent and owning the team lead in blocks (19) after blocking four shots in the win over Washington in Pullman. The McKinleyville, Calif. native has served a variety of roles for WSU during her four years and the result has put her name throughout the WSU record book. Romberg enters the week seventh in WSU history with 115 made threes and sixth with 78 career blocks.

DHEENSAW STEPPING UP: Shalie Dheensaw has stepped her production during Pac-12 play, averaging 12.3 ppg, 10.8 rpg and shooting over 63 percent from the field in the first four conference games. The junior center broke out in WSU’s two wins over Washington last week, recording the first two double-doubles of her career with 11 points and 14 rebounds in the win in Pullman before pouring in a career high 20 points along with 13 rebounds in the victory over the Huskies in Seattle. The Vancouver, B.C. native is second on the team with 17 blocks, has scored in double figures four times and posted four double-digit rebound performances in her first season as the starting center after sitting behind Carly Noyes the past two seasons.

COUGARS KNOCK OFF NO. 10 NEBRASKA IN LINCOLN: Washington State made a season-high 12 threes and held off No. 10 Nebraska twice after building big leads to post a 76-72 upset in Lincoln November 30. Tia Presley led the Cougars with 17 points, seven rebounds, five steals and five assists as four players scored in double figures. It was WSU’s first win over a top-10 ranked team since 1998, beating No. 10 Arizona in Tucson.

COUGARS BEAT OLE MISS AT HAWAII TOURNAMENT: Washington State posted a 1-2 record at the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, falling to Hawaii (77-66) and West Virginia (88-66) before closing the tournament with an impressive 79-65 victory over Ole Miss Sunday behind Tia Presley’s career high 29-point effort. The win over Ole Miss is WSU’s first win over an SEC opponent since beating Mississippi State 61-59 in Hawaii in 1997.

GALDEIRA NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM IN HAWAII: Sophomore guard Lia Galdeira capped her return to the islands by earning a spot on the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic All-Tournament Team. The Kamuela, Hawaii native averaged 18.3 ppg and a team-best 7.0 rpg while also recording six steals in the three games. Galdeira poured in a game-high 29 points and added nine rebounds against Hawaii, scored 12 points against West Virginia before tallying 14 points, eight boards and five steals in the win over Ole Miss.

COUGARS INK FOUR FOR 2014 SIGNING CLASS:  Washington State women’s basketball signed four players to attend WSU next fall. Joining the Cougars next season are 6-2 guard Ashley Bolston (Medford, Ore.), 5-9 guard Caila Hailey (Inglewood, Calif.), 6-3 forward Nike McClure (Tenino, Wash.) and 5-8 point guard Pinelopi Pavlopoulou (Athens, Greece). This year’s class received honorable mention from Blue Star Basketball as one of the top recruiting classes in the country.

COUGARS TOOK EUROPEAN TRIP IN AUGUST: WSU took a 10-day foreign trip to Austria, Slovakia and Czech Republic this past August. The Cougars departed Pullman Aug. 6,  arrived in Vienna Aug. 7 and visited the cities of Vienna (Aug. 7-8), Bratislavia (Aug. 9-11) and Prague (Aug. 12-15). They took in a number of sights including a tour the St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Schonrunn Palace, Prater Amusement Park, the Bratislava Castle and the Vltava River before returning home Aug. 16. The Cougars played four games and swept all four contests, beating Levice in Bratslava Aug. 11, Hradec Kralove in Prague Aug. 13, Lokomotiva Karlovy Vary in Prague Aug. 14 and BLK VSE Praha in Prague Aug. 15. Six WSU Ambassadors joined the team on the trip including WSU First Lady Carmento Floyd.

GALDEIRA INVITED TO TEAM USA U19 NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS: Guard Lia Galdeira was selected to attend the 2013 National Team Trials and tryout for the FIBA U19 World Championship Team at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. last May. Galdeira was one of 34 players from throughout the country who received and accepted the invitation.

FORMER COUGS SIGN PRO CONTRACTS: Former Cougars Ireti Amojo and Carly Noyes each signed professional contracts to play in Germany this fall. Both Amojo and Noyes inked deals with the Chemitz Chemcats in Ghemnitz, Germany. The Chemcats are one of 12 teams that play in the DBBL, the highest rated league in Germany. It was the second straight year that multiple Cougars have signed professional contracts. Last summer, Rosetta Adzasu signed to play professionally in Finland and Jazmine Perkins signed to play in Sweden.

PRESLEY MISSED FINAL 13 GAMES WITH KNEE INJURY: Tia Presley missed the remainder of the 2012-13 season after suffering a torn ACL in her right knee in the final minutes of the Jan. 25 loss to Oregon. The guard was second on the team in scoring at 13.3 ppg and in steals with 41 and owned a team-high 52 assists. During Pac-12 play, Presley was eighth in the conference with a team-best 15.7 ppg and was shooting 47.7 percent through seven games. Presley scored in double-figures 12 times this season including 20+ performances against Monmouth (21), at UC Riverside (22), Arizona State (27) and at USC (25). The Spokane, Wash. native did a little bit of everything in the win over Ohio State, recording eight points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals. In 2011-12, Presley scored in double-figures five times and made 15 starts before a foot injury kept her out of the final 12 games.