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Wednesday, Nov. 19, 10 p.m. (central)
Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum (Pullman, Wash.)
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Greg Heister/Mary Murphy)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney-PBP; Jeff Griesch-Analyst)
107.3 FM, Lincoln; 93.3 FM, Omaha; 94.5 FM, Hastings; 94.1 FM, Scottsbluff
Internet: Free live audio on Huskers.com
I have spent a lot of time in basketball arenas around the country, but this past weekend was about the most time I’ve spent in one gym in one weekend that didn’t involve a tournament. The season-opening Saturday and Sunday for Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball included three games and two on back-to-back days for Connie Yori’s defending Big Ten Champions.
The 16th-ranked Huskers opened in style, defeating Pepperdine 100-65 Saturday morning and besting Alcorn State 83-49 Sunday evening. The 100-point plateau was reached by Nebraska for the first time since 2009, as the Big Red shot 51 percent from the floor as a team in their two wins.
First-team All Big Ten point guard Rachel Theriot averaged 17 points over the weekend on a torrid 14-of-18 clip (.778) from the floor. Senior guard Brandi Jeffery started both games and posted career highs of 19 points and eight rebounds over Pepperdine, before adding 11 points in the win over Alcorn State.
Next up for the Huskers is a road game against a tough opponent. Nebraska will try to avenge a loss last season when they head to Pullman, Wash., to face Washington State late Wednesday evening in a game that will be televised by the Pac-12 Network at 10 p.m. (central).
Washington State is 2-0 for the first time since 2005-06 and has been impressive in its first two games of the season. The Cougars opened 2014-15 by upsetting No. 22 Dayton 76-60 in Pullman Friday night. On Sunday, they held a dominating 40-0 lead on Idaho State en route an 84-34 win. Against the Bengals, WSU shot nearly 42 percent from the floor including 10 three-pointers, forced 30 turnovers for the second straight game and held Idaho State to 20 percent shooting. The 50-point margin of victory was the third-largest in school history, behind the 118-37 (81 points) victory over Alaska Anchorage in 1979 and 95-36 (59 points) win over Pacific Lutheran in 1978.
The Cougars’ starting back court is experienced, fast and can fill it up. Tia Presley and Lia Galdeira were both named first-team All-Pac 12 last season. Presley, a 5-10 senior, scored 647 points, second-most in WSU single-season history. She had 29 points and a career-high six three-pointers in the win over Idaho State. Galdeira, a 5-11 junior, was also named -Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention last year. She scored 611 points, third-most in school history. Galdeira, a three-time Hawaii Player of the Year, had 24 points against the Bengals.
Mariah Cooks, a 6-1 forward, has started both games and scored six points in each game, but struggled on 1-of-9 shooting from the field against Idaho State. Shalie Dheenshaw, a 6-4 senior center, started all 34 games last year for WSU. She averaged 7.3 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds and notched team-high 38 blocks, fifth-most in the Pac-12 Conference and seventh-most in WSU single-season history.
Junior Danielle Awa, a 5-9 guard, rounds out Washington State’s probable starting lineup. She also started all 34 games last year and averaged 5.1 points.
Last year in Lincoln, the Cougars knocked off Nebraska 76-72 on Nov. 30 at Pinnacle Bank Arena for their first win in five tries in the all-time series. WSU buried 12 three-pointers and held as much as a 19-point lead. The Huskers stormed back behind a 16-0 run, but WSU came away with the win. Presley led WSU with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals, but did not hit a three-pointer. Awa had a career-high 13 points to go along with five assists and two three-pointers. Galdeira added 14 points and three triples, and Dheensaw pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.
The Huskers lost despite Jordan Hooper and Emily Cady posting double-doubles of 24 points/14 rebounds and 13 points/13 rebounds respectively. NU is 2-0 all-time in Pullman, posting a 64-56 victory in 2003 and 87-79 in 2010. Nebraska leads the all-time series 4-1, including a 107-54 win at the Devaney Center in Lincoln in 2009, the last time the Huskers had posted a triple-digit scoring effort prior to Saturday’s win over Pepperdine.
Eighth-year Washington State Coach June Daugherty led her team to a postseason WNIT appearance and a 17-17 record last year, with a 9-9 record in Pac-12 play Daugherty played collegiate basketball at Ohio State from 1974-78, where she led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten Championship in 1977 and 1978. She is still ranked among the school’s top 25 in career scoring with 1,137 points. At the conclusion of her senior season, she earned first-team All-America honors and was a Wade Trophy finalist the first year the award was presented. Now in her 26th season overall as a head coach, Daugherty previously was head coach at Boise State and Washington. Her husband Mike is an assistant coach on her staff at Washington State.
I cordially invite you to join Jeff Griesch and me for Nebraska women’s basketball on the Husker Sports Network. Our radio broadcast Wednesday evening begins with the pre-game show at 9:45 p.m. (central) with the tip-off scheduled for 10 p.m. on the Husker Sports Network including KBBK (B107.3) in Lincoln, KFFF 93.3 in Omaha, KLIQ 94.5 in Hastings, KNEB 94.1 in Scottsbluff, and many others. All Husker Women’s Basketball broadcasts are also available for free worldwide on the internet at www.huskers.com. Wednesday night’s broadcast is also available for free on your phone or tablet via the TuneIn Radio app. I hope you can join us.
There are a number of ways to get enhanced information about our broadcast and Husker Women’s Basketball via social media. You can learn more about the team on the Nebraska Women’s Basketball Facebook page or follow the team on their official Twitter page @huskerswbb. I also invite you to friend me on Facebook (Matt Coatney) or follow me on Twitter @coatman1.
Go Big Red!
Matt