SEATTLE – It took the Washington State University women’s basketball team seven games to equal its win total from the past two seasons. It didn’t take much longer than that for the Cougars to show that, while better, they still aren’t very good.
After winning six of its first seven games, WSU has now lost six in a row, falling to 0-4 in the Pacific-10 Conference. If history plays out, the Cougars won’t break that streak when they play host to Washington at 1 p.m. today.
The Huskies have defeated Washington State 20 times in a row, and 46 of the past 48 against their cross-state rivals. The last Cougars win was on Feb. 25, 1995. But despite the complete one-sidedness of the matchup, Washington coach June Daugherty insists it is still a strong rivalry.
“It’s the Apple Cup, you don’t have to say much more than that,” Daugherty said. “Any time you play your in-state rivalry it’s going to be a good rivalry. Both teams always get up for the game. We’ve won most of the games recently but they are always tough games.”
That’s partly true. In the past seven games between the teams played in Seattle, Washington has won by an average of 17 points. But in the past seven games in Pullman, the Huskies have won by an average of 10, and five have been decided by fewer than 10 points. Last year, the Huskies beat the Cougars by four in Seattle and by seven in Pullman.
“Any team you play in the Pac-10 is going to be tough at home,” Daugherty said. “But we feel like we’ve shown we can win on the road. We aren’t intimidated about playing on the road.”
The Huskies are 3-3 away from Hec Edmundson Pavilion this season, including a win last week at Arizona that improved them to 3-1 in the Pac-10 and 10-3 overall. Washington is getting it done with defense (forcing 22 turnovers a game) and rebounding (first in the conference in offensive boards). That’s good news, as WSU is the worst offensive team in the conference, ranking last in scoring, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and turnover margin. Only 6-foot-2 senior forward Keisha Moore (10.4) averages double figures in scoring, including 15.7 over her past three games. Three other players average at least nine points.
But the Cougars do rebound. Kate Benz, a 6-2 senior, leads the league with 11.0 rebounds a game, a year after she became the first WSU player to lead the conference in that category, and Moore averages 6.9 boards. The Cougars could be without senior guard Charmaine Jones, who has missed the past two games with a concussion.
As if Washington needed more facts in its favor, four of the Cougars’ six losses during the streak (Eastern Washington, Stanford, California and Arizona) have come against teams the Huskies have already defeated.
“We try not to worry about the other team,” Daugherty said. “We feel if we go out and play like we should, we should be able to win. We’re just playing with a lot more consistency and confidence this year, and we’re seeing that in our results. We haven’t played as well as we’re capable of, but we’re headed in the right direction.”
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