Women's Basketball Returns to Beasley Wednesday to Battle No. 6 Stanford
PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State women's basketball team begins an extended stay at Beasley Coliseum this Wednesday, Jan. 27, as the Cougars host No. 6/6 Stanford to kickoff a four-game home stand. Tip-off from Friel Court is set for 6:30 p.m. PT and will air live on the Pac-12 Network.
WASHINGTON STATE (RV) (8-4, 6-4 Pac-12) vs. No. 6/6 Stanford (12-2, 9-2 Pac-12) | Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 | 6:30 p.m. PT | Beasley Coliseum
Live Stats | WSUCougars.com
Watch | Pac-12 Network (Greg Heister & Alyssa Charlston)
Listen | WSU IMG Radio (Steve Grubbs)
Game Notes | Click Here
STARTING FIVE
>> Washington State returns to Pullman fresh off a thrilling 77-75 double-overtime win at Oregon State. Sunday's win over the Beavers puts the Cougars at 8-4 overall on the year, while they stand at 6-4 in Pac-12 Conference action.
>> The Cougars return to the friendly confines of Beasley Coliseum this Wednesday to kickoff a four-game home stand. WSU is currently 4-1 on Friel Court and will be seeking its third win over a top-25 team at home this season. The Cougs have already knocked off No. 21 Oregon State (61-55; Dec. 19) and No. 7/10 Arizona (71-69 OT; Jan. 10) at home this season.
>> Wednesday's matchup against No. 6-ranked Stanford will mark the first of two-consecutive games against the Cardinal at Beasley Coliseum this week. Wednesday's contest will serve as a make-up game from the postponed Dec. 8 game between WSU and Stanford. The two teams will play again this Friday, Jan. 29, in Pullman in a regularly-scheduled contest. Tip-off for Friday's game is set for 12 p.m. PT.
>> This week's pair of games will serve as the 68th and 69th all-time meetings between Washington State and Stanford. The Cougars go into the week seeking their first win over the Cardinal, as Stanford has won every contest in a series that dates back to 1983.
>> On Monday, the Pac-12 Conference named Charlisse Leger-Walker Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season. Leger-Walker becomes only the seventh player in Pac-12 history to earn the league's weekly freshman honor five-or-more times in a season. She joins an elite club that includes California's Kristine Anigwe (8x; 2015-16), Washington's Kelsey Plum (7x; 2013-14), Utah's Dre'Una Edwards (6x; 2018-19), Oregon's Chrishae Row (6x; 2013-14) and Sabrina Ionescu (5x; 2016-17) and Colorado's Arielle Roberson (5x; 2012-13).
Leading the Pac
Freshman Charlisse Leger-Walker enters Wednesday's game vs. Stanford as the Pac-12 leader in scoring at 20.3 points per game and steals at 3.0 steals per contest. No freshman has ever ended the season leading the Pac-12 in scoring.
Battle Tested
Washington State has played in five overtime periods over the last five games, as they are coming off a double-overtime win at Oregon State this past Sunday. The overtime streak began on Jan. 16 with a 71-69 win in overtime against No. 7/10 Arizona in Pullman. It continued with back-to-back overtime losses in Los Angeles against USC (Jan. 15) and UCLA (Jan. 17). The Cougars are the first team in Pac-12 history to play in three-consecutive overtime games.
Fantastic Freshman
Charlisse Leger-Walker has been putting up elite numbers this season, as she has asserted herself into the National Freshman Player of the Year conversation. The guard is the only player in the nation to rank in the top-3 in scoring and steals among all freshmen in NCAA Division I. Leger-Walker enters the week with the second-highest scoring average for a freshman in the nation at 20.3 points per game, while her 3.0 steals per contests is the third-highest per game average among all freshmen.
Getting Votes in the Polls
Washington State earned eight votes in this week's USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. It marks the third-straight week that the Cougars have earned votes in the Coaches poll. WSU also enters this week's slate of games with a NET ranking of 32.
Double Trouble
Redshirt senior Krystal Leger-Walker and freshman Charlisse Leger-Walker each eclipsed the 20-point plateau in Sunday's 77-75 double-overtime win at Oregon State. The elder Leger-Walker sister scored a team-high 23 points, while her younger sibling tallied 22 points in the win. It marks the second time this season that the Leger-Walker sisters have each scored 20-or-more points in a game. The last time came on Jan. 15 at Southern Cal, when Charlisse scored a career-high 29 points, while Krystal tallied 23 points against the Trojans.
Scouting the Cardinal
Stanford comes into this week's slate of contests in Pullman boasting a 12-2 overall record and a 9-2 mark in Pac-12 play. The Cardinal, who have spent multiple weeks this season at No. 1 in both the Associate Press and USA Today/WBCA Coaches Polls, have lost two of their last three games, which has placed them at No. 6 in both top-25 polls this week.
Sophomore Hayley Jones leads a quartet of double-digit scorers for the Cardinal at 15.2 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding at 9.0 caroms per game, while senior All-American Kiana Williams follows Jones at 13.0 points per contest. Williams has hit a team-high 31 3-point field goals this season, and connects on 34.1% of her shots from behind the arc. Junior Lexie Hull (12.0 ppg) and sophomore Francesca Belibi (11.6) round out the group of double-figure scorers.
As a team, Stanford is averaging 81.8 points per game. The Cardinal have scored 80-or-more points in 10 of their 13 contests this season. Stanford is shooting 44.6% from the field, and 34.0% from behind the arc. Defensively, the Cardinal are giving up 56.4 points per game, while teams are shooting 33.3% from the field against them.
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