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WSU women's hoops season came to an abrupt end in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Kansas State played well enough to earn the victory and send the Cougs packing.
The game was a tale of two halves. Wazzu played solid ball in the first two quarters and went to the locker room at halftime with a 24-17 lead. That lead vanished by the end of the third quarter and K-State eked out a 35-33 advantage. KSU made adjustments to shut down the WSU offense. That wasn't a huge challenge given that the only two players Coach Kamie Ethridge put on the court who could consistently put the ball through the hoop were Charlisse and Krystal Leger-Walker who contributed 20 and 9 points respectively. Denying Charlisse the ball and double-teaming Krystal worked to perfection. By forcing other players wearing crimson and gray to take shoots, KSU stumbled into a winning formula. Wazzu shot a pathetic 2-18, 11.1%, in the final ten minutes of play. The most notable offensive player who went missing in action for the entire game was Johanna Teder. Normally a steady shooter with a very nice touch from outside, Teder was blanked for the entire game going 0-10 from the field and 0-7 from behind the arc along with three turnovers. The Cougs really needed the double-digit scoring she usually contributes.
Coach Kamie Ethridge had this to say after the game:
"Just really sad and disappointed in how we played. K-State was awesome in the second half and made great adjustments, really we just got standing still. I thought we really lost some opportunities in the first half to extend our lead. That just was glaring to me with some of the turnovers that we had in trying to do too much at times. But again, it was just a hard game to compete in. You know, you hold a really good team to 50 points you think you're going to have a much better chance to win. We just had one of those days where our best shooters didn't always shoot it very well. So, congrats to K-State. Really proud of our team for being here and fighting as they do on a daily basis. And you know, disappointed that we didn't do a better job today."
Before closing the books on a very successful season for women's hoops, there is plenty to enjoy from their 19-win season. Looking forward, the only two starters graduating are Krystal Leger-Walker and Ula Matuga. With an off-season of training and practice, the balance of the WSU roster should be counted on for another run at the NCAA tournament and a 20-win campaign.
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/wsu-cougar-basketball/wsu-women-cant-sustain-defensive-effort-fall-to-kansas-state-in-ncaa-tournaments-first-round/ -
Cougar baseball took it on the chin in Seattle Saturday falling to the UW by a final score of 8-2. The Huskies put up at least one run in each of the first six innings while holding Cougar bats at bay and scoreless. And once again, WSU defense was a problem making two errors, both of which led to runs scoring. Credit Nate Swarts for breaking up the no-hitter with a blast to the opposite field for a two-run homer, his first of the season. Wazzu will look to salvage the final game of the series Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 12:05pm. The game will be telecasted on Pac-12 Washington.
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Ran across a very nice background piece put together by Scott Hanson of the Seattle Times on Wazzu head football coach Jake Dickert. If you have a few minutes, check it out at:
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/wsu-cougar-football/after-an-unlikely-journey-to-pullman-wsus-jake-dickert-is-ready-to-settle-down-and-build-a-football-program/
Or here's another link in case the one above is behind a pay-wall:
https://www.yakimaherald.com/sports/college_sports/wsu_sports/after-an-unlikely-journey-wsus-jake-dickert-is-ready-to-settle-down-and-build-a/article_1b72c586-f985-53f2-a406-58a725f7e1a3.html
Go Cougs!!!
- It seems fitting to put together a list of coaches who branch off of the Mike Leach coaching tree. Perspective on his football genius can easily be determined by a cursory glance:
Dave Aranda/Baylor head coach – Graduate assistant coach under Leach from 2000-02 at Texas Tech
Neal Brown/West Virginia head coach – Played under Leach in 1998 when Leach was offensive coordinator at Kentucky
Sonny Cumbie/Louisiana Tech head coach – Played under Leach at Texas Tech from 2000-03 and later served as a graduate assistant coach under Leach
Sonny Dykes/TCU head coach – Coached wide receivers and later was the co-offensive coordinator at Texas Tech under Leach from 2000-06
Josh Heupel/Tennessee head coach – Played under Leach at Oklahoma in 1999 when Leach was the offensive coordinator for the Sooners
Dana Holgorsen/Houston head coach – Coached alongside Leach as assistants at Valdosta State from 1993-95, then served as a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator under Leach from ...
- The news of former WSU Coach Mike Leach passing at the young age of 61 is very, very sad. I had the pleasure of writing about the Cougs when Leach was at the helm. To say that he was a unique person doesn't begin to describe the multi-faceted dimension of the man.
In terms of coaching football, Leach led his teams in a way that had most other coaches scratching their heads. His offensive creativity gave a multitude of defensive coordinators ulcers. To say that his techniques for molding student-athletes into football players were unusual would be accurate. Making guys run sprints in a sand pit named "Leach Beach" is a prime example. Crazy as that sounds, his players had fewer ankle injuries over the course of the season than any team in football. Only Mike Leach could get players to hit the beach. And if you look at the coaching tree that branches out from Leach, you'd find a myriad of men who owe him for their start in the profession.
When you examine the way Leach represented the schools ...
- Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so Wazzu's loss yesterday to UNLV by a score of 74-70 was just that, a loss. However, there were plenty of reasons to applaud both the performance and the progress the Cougs are making over the past few games. Let's get the bad observation out of the way. WSU turned the ball over a ridiculous 22 times. No one is going to beat many teams with such wreckless play, especially against a team that posted a 9-0 record going into the contest. Some of those errors might be attributed to Coach Kyle Smith going with a different lineup almost every game because of player injuries. Facts are facts and when there isn't a steady lineup, players struggle to play team ball. On the bright side, Wazzu shot a respectable 54.2% from the field, coupled with a very nice 56.5% from behind the arc. On defense, WSU held UNLV to just 30.4% from behind the arc and 50.9% overall. The Cougs outrebounded the Rebels by a margin of 33-20. Despite being down by ...
