-
As expected/anticipated, Coach Jake Dickert and his staff will be combing through the JC ranks and transfer portal to restock a depleted defensive roster this offseason. Two JC players have committed to Wazzu verbally.
"Receiver D.T. Sheffield and cornerback Stephen Hall, both of whom have played for Northwest Mississippi Community College over the past three seasons, announced via Twitter that they’ll sign with the Cougars during this recruiting cycle." - Colton Clark S/R
Of the two, Sheffield has the more impressive stats. That aside, NMCC is an excellent JC program that produces winners. The team reached the Division I playoffs once again this year. Translation? These guys are used to winning and doing the work necessary to succeed. -
Wazzu women's volleyball was eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament by the second-seeded San Diego team that is 29-1 on the season. Given the fact that few believed WSU would post a winning record on the season, making it to the tournament again this season is witness to the masterful job Coach Jen Greeny is doing in Pullman. After dropping the first two sets, the Cougs came back to force a fourth set. Unfortunately, things didn't go their way in what proved to be their final set of the season. Look for more good things next season from Cougar volleyball.
https://wsucougars.com/news/2022/12/2/volleyball-jehlarova-tallies-career-block-no-600-cougs-fall-to-san-diego-in-ncaa-second-round.aspx -
Wazzu women's basketball earned another win Friday night on the floor of Beasley Coliseum downing Montana by a final score of 77-57. If you just look at the totals, you'd think the Cougs dominated the Grizz women. You'd also be wrong. Montana played outstanding basketball through the first two quarters. Wazzu clung to a slim 40-37 lead at the half. Whatever Coach Kamie Ethridge said to her troops in the locker room, it definitely made a difference in the game. Led by Charlisse Leger-Walker's game-high 24-points, WSU used a stifling defense and inside offense to pull away to a 58-36 lead after three then finished strong to notch the "W".
Coug Notes: -
Washington State wins its 11-straight non-conference game at home. The streak dates back to the 2019-20 season. WSU is 10-0 inside Beasley Coliseum against non-conference teams over the last three seasons.
-
Tonight's win over Montana marks WSU's first win over the Lady Griz since Dec. 21, 1988 and snaps a nine-game losing streak to Montana.
-
The Cougars improve to 18-4 in non-conference home games under Coach Ethridge.
-
Charlisse Leger-Walker registered double-digit points for the 53rd time in her WSU career and scored 20 or more points in a game for the 27th time at Washington State.
-
The six 3-point field goals for Leger-Walker in the win over Montana matches her career-best shooting performance from behind the arc, which was originally set on Dec. 18, 2021 at BYU.
-
Johanna Teder extends her double-digit scoring streak to four games with a 10-point performance. It is her 21st career game with double-digit points.
-
Washington State improves to 17-4 when Johanna Teder scores 10 or more points in a game.
-
Bella Murekatete extends her double-digit scoring streak to three-consecutive games with a 21-point effort. It is Murekatete's 37th career game at WSU scoring double figures, while it is her third career game with 20-plus points.
-
Tara Wallack's 10-point performance gives the sophomore her fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season, while it is her ninth career game in double figures.
- 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 ...
