• Let's begin this New Year with some good news for Cougar Nation. Wazzu women's hoops (9-3,1-0) completely dominated the Cal Bears (9-3,0-1) Friday evening by a margin of 69-42. The joy from this victory should be tempered by the fact Cal was playing without the services of their three top players. That said, the Cougs looked sharp on offense and smothered the Bears at the defensive end of the court. Where WSU really impressed was their choice of 3-point shots. Crisp passing led to open looks beyond the arc leading to Wazzu shooting a sizzling 47.8%. Overall they finished the game knocking in 45.8% of their shot attempts. Sophomore Charlisse Leger-Walker scored a game-high 22-points while shooting a blistering 57.1% (8-of-14) from the field. Freshman Tara Wallack added a career-high 12-points along with five rebounds. After the game, Coach Kamie Ethridge had this to say about her team's performance: "We're extremely happy to get a win. We sat on a two-game losing streak over the break and no one has any fun when that happens. I liked how our kids responded and executed. Obviously, that was a shell of the team Cal is and will be. They are missing three of their top players. I expect them to be a competitive team against the rest of the league and we will see a different team when we go back there. We're 1-0 and we're happy with that."
  https://wsucougars.com/news/2021/12/31/womens-basketball-cougs-collect-a-win-over-california-in-their-pac-12-season-opener.aspx

• Turning to the Sun Bowl game, there are those who may focus on the fact the Cougs lost for the first time in El Paso. Fact is, WSU dug a very deep hole with inconsistent play in the first half of the game. This one was the quintessential tale of two halves. Central Michigan won the first half 21-0 while Wazzu did most of the scoring in the final two quarters, 21-3. Using this game as a look into the future of Cougar football, things are very bright for Cougar Nation. Given the holidays, finals being over, and away from family and friends, it would have been easy to understand the guys packing it in after underperforming in the first two quarters of post-season football. That wasn't the case. Wazzu's defensive unit came out in the second half and played with their hats on fire for 30-minutes of football. The Cougar D seemed to energize the offense who finally found a rhythm with sophomore quarterback Victor Gabalis getting his first significant snaps as a collegian. From his performance, replacing the injured de Laura, we learned that Gabalis has the skill set and heart of a competent QB. He simply needs more coaching and reps to become an effective starter. With half of the starting wide receivers on the sidelines, we learned that Lincoln Victor and Joey Hobert have what it takes to be the next men up for WSU. Unfortunately, one lesson learned the hard way was simply this. The offensive line for the Cougs is a work in progress. There's no rational way to judge the performance of third-string running back Nokia Watson. He rarely had a chance to be an effective runner given the abysmal performance of the OL. When Watson was provided some running room, he slashed his way to a couple of nice carries. On the defensive side of the ball, WSU junior LB Travion Brown made a number of good plays and appears ready to step into a starting role replacing either Justus Rogers or Jahad Woods who have exhausted their eligibility. Brown tallied five tackles and an interception. DL Brennan Jackson and Ron Stone, Jr. both turned in solid performances and will be back for their senior year next season. The most impressive performance goes to new head coach Jake Dickert. He and his staff got the attention of their players during halftime helping them regain focus and desire to stage a comeback despite trailing by three scores. There are a lot of moving parts in play between now and the 2022 fall campaign for Cougar football. Clearly Wazzu is moving in the right direction.

• What they are saying about Washington State losing the Sun Bowl:
  "No, I’m not talking about the final score. The result was a bummer, but the performance was everything we’ve come to love about this team. Facing a tough situation — a situation in which they easily could have folded — they did not. Even when it seemed they were toast (and through the first 38 minutes of the game, they very much looked like they were toast), the Cougars reached down for the kind of resilience that not many teams display, fighting back in a way that not many teams could. Even with so many players missing, they refused to give up. Nobody likes to lose, but the Cougars can be so proud of their performance in this game." - Jeff Nusser
  "But the opt-outs of the Sun Bowl underscored what a fine line Wazzu walked – and achieved with – despite a roster of modest depth. And the game itself demonstrated that Dickert’s heaviest lifting – replacing those missing standouts and others who did play, and coaching up what’s left – is still ahead." - John Blanchette
  "As inspiring as the comeback was, WSU's special teams were dreadful, and the Cougs have serious offensive holes to fill in 2022 -- starting with the o-line starters and depth. Cougar QBs were under siege with both starting tackles out while the run game, on the rare occasions it worked, mostly found success when Nakia Watson ran wide and created something (though the second half was better). Gabalis has some tools and he certainly has the right tough-as-nails mentality. But the Cougs also desperately need QB depth behind de Laura in this recruiting class, including experienced transfer types who can play immediately." - Barry Bolton
  "Although a 21-point comeback victory wasn’t in the cards for a severely shorthanded Washington State football team, coach Jake Dickert would agree that the Cougars’ last performance of 2021 was on-brand. Given plenty of reason to fold throughout its wild year and its turbulent Sun Bowl finale, WSU refused to concede defeat. - Colton Clark
  "The Cougars special teams had been pretty good most of the season, but they were horrible in the first half and that had a lot to do with the Cougars falling behind 21-0 to a team they were favored to beat by a touchdown. The lowlights: a fumbled kickoff return by Travell Harris, a botched snap on a field-goal attempt and then allowing a long punt return that set up Central Michigan’s final touchdown of the first half." - Scott Hanson
  "This nail-biter of a bowl game brings an end to a headline-making year for WSU. From Nick Rolovich’s firing to winning the Apple Cup for the first time in several years, this will definitely go down as one of the most memorable seasons in Cougars history." - Patrick Henkels

Go Cougs!!!