Cougars Host No. 16/15 Nebraska on Pac-12 Networks

No. 16/15 NEBRASKA (2-0) at WASHINGTON STATE (2-0)
8 p.m  •  Wednesday  •  Nov. 19
 Beasley Coliseum (11,671)  •  Pullman, Wash.
Pac-12 Networks

COUGARS HOST NO. 16/15 NEBRASKA WEDNESDAY ON PAC-12 NETWORKS
Washington State continues its season-opening four-game homestand hosting No. 16/15 University of Nebraska Wednesday at 8 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks

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 at Pac-12.org.

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

COUGARS RECEIVE VOTES IN NATIONAL POLLS
Washington State is receiving votes in both the Associated Press Top-25 and the USA Today Coaches Polls released this week. The Cougars are coming off a season-opening weekend that saw them post a convincing 76-60 victory over No. 22 Dayton and 84-34 win over Idaho State to start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2005-06. WSU received 10 votes in the AP poll and nine votes from coaches across in the country in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Washington State received votes in the coaches poll towards the end of last season after beating four ranked teams including a win over No. 20 California at the Pac-12 Conference Tournament. It was the first time the Cougars received votes in a top-25 poll since midway through the 1991-92 season.

COUGS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Washington State went 4-5 against ranked opponents last season, posting a 76-72 road win at No. 10 Nebraska, a 85-78 victory over No. 24 Arizona State, a 70-60 win over No. 21 Colorado and a 91-83 victory over No. 20 California a the Pac-12 Tournament. The Cougars dropped a pair of eight-point contests to No. 25 Gonzaga and No. 3 Stanford, a 87-70 decision to No. 23 Cal,  a 75-68 contest in overtime at No. 18 Cal and a road game at No. 5 Stanford. For the first time in school history, WSU posted four wins over ranked teams in the same season.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
The Cougars return eight letterwinners including four starters highlighted by All-Pac-12 guards Tia Presley and Lia Galdeira. Last season, Washington State posted one of the best season’s in school history with the program’s first trip the WNIT and its first postseason tournament appearance since 1991 (NCAA Tournament). WSU went 17-17 including 9-9 in Pac-12 play and reached the Pac-12 Conference Tournament semifinals for the second time in the last three seasons. The 17 overall wins and nine Pac-12 wins were the most under June Daugherty and the most since the 1995-96 team also won 17 games and the 1994-95 team posted nine wins during Pac-10 play. The Cougars posted four wins over ranked teams while facing the nation’s 14th-toughest schedule. Presley led the team and was fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring at 19.0 ppg while Galdeira finished seventh in the conference in scoring at 18.5 ppg and second in steals with 80.

ABOUT NEBRASKA
The University of Nebraska enters the week with a 2-0 record and ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press Top-25 and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Cornhuskers return seven letterwinners including four starters from last year’s club that went 26-7 and won the Big Ten Conference Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Connie Yori is in her 13th season at Nebraska and owns a 243-142 record at the school.

COUGARS KNOCKED 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 last season. 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. Nebraska went on to win the Big Ten Tournament.

COUGARS BEAT NO. 22/22 DAYTON IN SEASON-OPENER
WSU opened the 2014-15 season with a convincing 76-60 victory over visiting No. 22/22 Dayton last Friday. Lia Galdeira and Tia Presley finished 21 and 18 points, respectively, while the Cougars forced 30 Flyer turnovers and held Dayton, an NCAA Tournament team the last five seasons, to 31 percent shooting. WSU overcame a slow shooting start of its own after forcing some Dayton miscues and tallied 28 points off of turnovers, recorded 13 steals and received 19 points from its bench to knock off its fifth ranked opponent in the last two seasons. Galdeira also matched  Shalie Dheensaw with a team-high eight rebounds. Taylor Edmondson chipped in with nine points and freshman guard Pinelopi Pavlopoulou notched eight points and six rebounds.

COUGARS USE 40-0 RUN TO CRUISE PAST IDAHO STATE
WSU started the game with a 40-0 run and cruised to an 84-34 victory over Idaho State Sunday. Nine different Cougars tallied points as Washington State improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2005-06. WSU shot 42 percent from the floor, forced 30 turnovers for the second straight game and held Idaho State (0-1) to 20 percent shooting. The 50-point margin of victory is the third-largest in school history, behind the 118-37 (81 points) over Alaska Anchorage in 1979 and 95-36 (59 points) win over Pacific Lutheran in 1978. Tia Presley led the way with 29 points, her 17th career 20-point game, after hitting a career-high six 3-pointers. Lia Galdeira added 24 points, her 18th career 20-point effort and the Cougars improved to 5-1 when Galdeira and Presley each score 20+ points. Freshman Ashley Bolston chipped in with six points and eight rebounds while freshman Bianca Blanaru blocked five shots, a WSU freshman record.

GALDEIRA, PRESLEY EARNED ALL-PAC-12 HONORS
Guards Lia Galdeira and Tia Presley were both named to the All-Pac-12 Team as voted on by the Pac-12 coaches last season. Galdeira and Presley were the first Cougar teammates to earn All-Conference honors in the same season in program history and is Washington State’s first All-Conference selection since Tricia Lamb in 1998-99. Galdeira also received All-Defensive Team honorable mention for the second consecutive year, picking up her fourth and fifth career all-conference accolades after also receiving All-Pac-12 honorable mention and a spot on the All-Freshmen team last season. Presley earned her second career all-conference honor after receiving All-Pac-12 honorable mention last season. The Spokane, Wash. native had her first two years cut short with season-ending injuries but bounced back with 647 points, the second-highest total in WSU single-season history.