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Friday was a busy day in WSU sports with three teams in action at home on Friday night. Both the men's and women's basketball teams notched victories on Friday at Beasley Coliseum while the volleyball team suffered a five set defeat in Bohler Gym to Arizona State. Here's a recap of what happened on Friday night and a brief preview of the football team's matchup with Arizona State on Saturday.
Men's basketball
The men's basketball team notched their first victory of the season and of the Ernie Kent era on Friday night with an 80-68 victory over Idaho State. Josh Hawkinson was the star of the game for WSU scoring 26 points and pulling down 15 rebounds for his second straight double/double. The Cougs had a relatively balanced scoring attack with three other players besides Hawkinson scoring in double figures. Davonte Lacy put in 25 points while Que Johnson and Ny Redding scored 12 and 10 points respectively.
A win over Idaho State doesn't really speak much for how well "The Process" is going. The last time the Cougs played versus Idaho State was December 2012 when they blew out the Bengals 74-49. ISU was rated 306th in the nation that season by KenPom.com and are ranked 296th this season. Friday night's game showed that the team is still very much in the adjusting stage with a new coach and a new system. Kent is still trying to figure out his players and the players seem to still be trying to figure out what Kent wants them to do. In an offense that is supposed to be fast-paced with players given the green light to create and take shots, WSU showed a lot of hesitancy on Friday night allowing ISU to hang around for much of the game.
The Cougs will travel to Anchorage, Alaska later this week to play in the Great Alaskan Shootout with a 9:00 pm tip-off against UC Santa Barbara Thanksgiving night. The Gauchos are ranked 97th in the nation by KenPom.com and are favored to win 71-66 with a 70% probability of victory.
Washington State pushes past Idaho State 80-68 | The Columbian
Josh Hawkinson posted career highs of 26 points and 15 rebounds and DaVonte' Lacy scored 25 points to lead Washington State to an 80-68 victory over Id
Recap: Washington St vs. Idaho State | College basketball | Columbus Ledger Enquirer
Josh Hawkinson racked up 26 points and 15 rebounds in leading the Washington State Cougars to an 80-68 triumph over the Idaho State Bengals in non-conference action at Beasley Coliseum.
Hawkinson and Lacy Lift Cougars Past Bengals - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Washington State defeated Idaho State, 80-68, Friday.
Women's basketball
The women's basketball team took to the court for third time in six days hosting Seattle at home following the men's game. The Cougars were looking to bounce back after a tough 82-61 defeat at the hands of No.16 Nebraska on Wednesday night. WSU was able to jump out to an early 22-9 lead on the Redhawks and never looked back winning by a final score of 82-62. Tia Presley was the leading scorer for the Cougs with 25 points. Taylor Edmondson chipped in big time off the bench with 17 points on a 7 for 11 shooting effort. Shalie Dheensaw and Lia Galdeira added 12 and 10 points respectively.
It was nice to see Edmondson have such a big game for WSU. She is easily the most overlooked player on the team with Galdeira and Presley ahead of her on the depth chart. Since arriving at WSU in 2012, Edmondson has been a very reliable scoring threat off the bench. Friday night was a good glimpse of the player she could be if she wasn't behind to All-Pac-12 guards on the depth chart. The kid can shoot the basketball.
The women's team is headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a holiday tournament where they will square off against Michigan at 9:00 am on Friday morning.
Cougars Down Redhawks to Conclude Homestand - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Tia Presley led all scorers with 25 points as the Cougars defeated Seattle, 82-62.
Volleyball
The frustration that has become the 2014 WSU volleyball season continued on Friday night as Cougs dropped a five set heartbreaker to ASU 25-17 25-21 22-25 22-25 8-15 to fall to 10-19 on the season and 1-16 in the conference. Speaking with some fans who were at the volleyball game, the Cougs apparently made a valiant comeback after dropping the first two sets only to fall apart in the fifth and deciding set by losing the first seven points. The positive from the game, according to the fan I spoke to, was the introduction of the recent signing class that features four players at 6'3" or taller. So for now, let's just hope that help is on the way.
If you happen to still be in Pullman this weekend, WSU will be right back on the court in Bohler at 7 pm Saturday night against Arizona. The Cougs fell to the Wildcats 3-1 in Tucson earlier in the season.
Volleyball Loses to No. 22 ASU 3-2 - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Emmy Allen led WSU with 13 kills and a .3s08 hitting percentage Friday night.
Football vs. ASU
The football team will be in Tempe Saturday morning for a 10:00 am kickoff against Arizona State. ASU is currently ranked No. 13 in the nation after being upset by Oregon State last week. ASU entered the OSU game ranked No. 6 in the nation with a reasonable shot to make the College Football Playoff if they would have won out and defeated Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game. After having their national title hopes dashed to a not very good Oregon State team, the Sun Devils will likely come out with something to prove Saturday. Sun Devil Stadium has become notorious as a place where Cougs go to die. WSU has been outscored 166-21 in their last four games at ASU.
After the tragic loss of Connor Halliday to a broken leg three weeks ago, the WSU fan base has been revitalized by the performance of redshirt freshman and former walk-on quarterback Luke Falk. Falk threw for 471 yards for his first start in a 39-32 victory over Oregon State. Arizona State will likely be a much more formidable test for the young quarterback. The most impressive thing about Falk since he took over for Halliday in the first quarter of the USC game has been his calm and collective demeanor when under pressure. I don't expect Falk to have a poor game, but I do expect him to have his hands full and it will be interesting to see how he performs. And thanks to Falk, I am able use the word "interesting" in a sentence when talking about a Cougar football again.
ASU vs. Washington State: Scouting report, prediction
Doug Haller previews and predicts Saturday's 11 a.m. (Pac-12 Networks) game between the ASU Sun Devils and Washington State Cougars.
ASU meets Washington State's 'Air Raid' in rebound effort | FOX Sports
ASU Sun Devils meet Washington State's 'Air Raid' in rebound effort.
Sun Devils look to bounce back from upset loss, face Washington State in final home game | Fox News
Arizona State looks to bounce back from a stunning upset loss when the 13th-ranked Sun Devils face Washington State in their final home game of the season.
ASU Football: The Cynical Sun Devil takes on Washington State - House of Sparky
The Cynical Sun Devil is the Apologetic Sun Devil.
Sun Devil Stadium says goodbye to 13 Arizona State seniors
Sun Devil Stadium says goodbye to 13 Arizona State seniors - ASU FB Stories - Arizona Sports Now on 98.7 FM