UW At WSU For Boeing Apple Cup Series

Sunday, February 28

Pullman, WA

1:00 PM

University of Washington

Washington State

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

February 25, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Weekly Release - at Washington State

By: Brian Tom

SEATTLE - Washington (6-12, 3-12 Pac-12) wraps up a very trying 2020-21 regular-season campaign against Washington State (10-10, 8-10) in the Boeing Apple Cup Series on Sunday, Feb. 28 in Pullman. The Huskies and Cougars will tip at 1:00 p.m.

The Cougars are trying to secure their first NCAA bid since 1991, while the Huskies will try to play spoilers while keeping their own post-season hopes alive. WSU had lost four-straight before beating Utah on Sunday, while UW has won two of their last four games.

Sunday's contest will be aired on the Pac-12 Washington Network with Greg Heister and Alyssa Charlston on the call. The game will also be carried on the UW/IMG College Network on KKNW 1150 AM, on the TuneIn App, or GoHuskies.com with Gary Hill calling all the action.

• Net Rankings: The Huskies have a net ranking of 87, which is 9th among Pac-12 teams. Their win over BYU (51) represents their best win in the rankings. Their opponent's average ranks 13th, and their opponent's success is at 9th.
• Haley Heating Up Outside: Haley Van Dyke already leads UW in scoring (12.2 ppg), steals (2.3) and is tied for the team lead with 6.2 rebounds per game. If she can continue her trend from hitting the long ball - she is 6 of 9 from 3pt range over the last three games, making at least two in each game, after shooting 5 of 44 in the first 14 games - Van Dyke will be that much more of a headache for opponents.
• More HVD: Van Dyke continues to lead the Pac-12 with 51 offensive rebounds, which accounts for 45.5% of her rebounding total of 112. She ranks 12th overall in the Conference, tied with Quay Miller at 6.2 rebounds per game. Her 42 steals are tied for second most with Arizona's Aari McDonald in the Pac-12 and trailing only WSU's Charlisse Ledger-Walker (47).
• Miller Rebounds: Quay Miller has been a beast on the boards all season, but especially of recent. She has pulled down at least eight rebounds in six consecutive games. The sophomore has grabbed eight or more nine times total and 10 three times.
• Sadler Heating Back Up: Freshman Tameiya Sadler scored 17 points last time out vs. Colorado and averaged 12 ppg during the week. She also averaged 4.0 assists, and has a steal in 10 of the last 11 games.

Last Time Vs. WSU
Haley Van Dyke recorded the second double-double of her career, but Washington State had a 29-4 run in the first half that proved to be too much for the Huskies to overcome as they fell 60-52 in their Pac-12 home opener at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The Huskies scored the first four points of the game to lead 4-0, but the Cougars rattled off the next 12 points. After Darcy Rees hit a layup to make the score 15-8, Washington State went on a 14-0 run and never looked back.

Scouting the Cougars
The Cougars snapped a season-long four-game losing streak last Sunday against Utah, 68-55. The win got them back to .500 for the season (10-10) and to 8-10 in the Pac-12. WSU is 6-5 overall at home this season. Freshman Charlisse Leger-Walker should be the runaway winner of the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and receive consideration for Pac-12 Player of the Year. The newcomer leads the Pac-12 in scoring (19.7 ppg), minutes (37.9 mpg) and is averaging 5.4 rebounds per game, has 47 steals and 65 assists. Her sister, senior Krystal Leger-Walker is second on the team in scoring (10.3 ppg) and leads with 4.8 assists per game. Ula Motuga is third on the team with 9.5 points per game. Last time the UW and WSU met, Motuga had 16 points and seven rebounds and Charlisse had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in her college debut.

Coach Kamie Ethridge is in her third season at WSU after spending four years as Northern Colorado's coach. She is 4-1 all-time against UW since arriving on the Palouse.

All-Time Series vs Washington State
Washington holds a commanding 73-18 edge in the all-time series including a 36-7 in Pullman, but WSU has won each of the last two meetings. The Huskies won the last meeting on the Palouse in the Boeing Apple Cup Series, 65-56, on Dec. 29, 2019, but the Cougars won the previous two meetings between the teams. The Cougars have had an edge in the recent series, winning five of the last seven games. It is their best stretch in the Boeing Apple Cup series since a streak from 1976-81 when they went 5-2 over a similar stretch. The teams split the series last year with each team winning on the opposition's home court.

Last Game
The Huskies mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally against Colorado, but the Buffaloes made all eight of their free throw attempts over the final two minutes to hold on for a 55-50 win on Feb. 21 at Alaska Airlines Arena. The Buffaloes (10-9, 8-8 Pac-12) defense held the Huskies to single digits in each of the first three quarters on Senior Day, before UW responded with 24 points in the fourth quarter. Colorado led by as much as 17 points in the fourth before Washington was able to get into an offensive rhythm. The Huskies were spurred by a sudden resurgent defensive effort and a couple of long bombs by Haley Van Dyke to start a 17-2 run. Freshman Tameiya Sadler capped the run with a three-pointer as the shot clock wound down that cut the Buffaloes lead to two, 47-45, with 2:14 remaining. It was as close as the Huskies would get. From there, Colorado intensified its defense and did just enough offensively to seal the game. Mya Hollingshed missed a pair of free throws during the Huskies' extended run, but she came up clutch down the stretch, going 6 of 6 in the final two minutes to finish the night with 12 points. Frida Formann iced the game, hitting a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left, part of her team-high 17-point effort.

Up Next
The Huskies will play in the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament, presented by New York Life, starting Wednesday, March 3. Game time and opponent will be determined by seeding.