The Washington State University women’s basketball team will open its 2013-14 regular season against a familiar foe. At Beasley Coliseum on Sunday, the team faces off against Syracuse Orange, a team which defeated Washington State at the Carrier Dome in December 2012.

This weekend, Cougars get a shot at redemption.

Syracuse, a former Big East giant, is entering its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Washington State is coming off of an upbeat, style-changing offseason. Last year when the two teams met, Washington State was still developing its crop of freshmen, while Syracuse was dominating down low with their senior center Kayla Alexander.

Head Coach June Daugherty said despite losing two starters from last season, Syracuse is still a force to be reckoned with.

“Syracuse is pretty similar to what they were last year,” Daugherty said. “Although, they lost to graduation their tremendous post player who is playing in the WNBA, but I don’t think that is going to make them miss a beat.”

Syracuse brings a level of energy to the game expected from a team that earned an at-large berth in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

“They are a very athletic team,” Daugherty said. “This is a team that is going to get after you for 40 minutes defensively. They are tenacious about it in full-court press, and in half-court press they’re going to stay in it with a lot of trapping schemes.”

For WSU, confidence comes in the form of reassurance from the preseason. The Cougars feel as though they’ve seen schemes similar to Syracuse’s and are ready to adjust.

“I thought that both of our exhibition games served us very well,” Daugherty said. “Coaches made some really good adjustments on the fly. I think our players felt pretty confident about both opportunities, but certainly, they saw in film session that we’ve got a lot of room to improve as well.”

Washington State will look to progress in multiple facets of the Sunday game, including a better effort on the interior and a more concerted effort on attacking the glass, Daugherty said.

This year, WSU junior post player Shalie Dheensaw is determined to help the Cougars turn the tables on opponents in the paint. This goal is proven by her performance on the floor in WSU’s preseason contests, which Daugherty noticed as useful.  

“Shalie – I thought defensively – if she wasn’t blocking a shot, she was changing shots,” Daugherty said. “I think right now she has a great mind for what we’re trying to do systematically.”

Still, the Cougars will need Dheensaw to have a presence on the glass as well. 

“The other big area of improvement, I think, with Dheensaw is she’s becoming a rebound magnet,” Daugherty said. “She’s going to the basketball with two hands strong. She likes to get it now and feels comfortable pushing it out and getting us into our running game.”

Daugherty said the Cougars are pleased with the up-tempo offense but want to see it limit turnovers against the Orange. Washington State has a rotation of guards and forwards available who are capable of running the floor.

Players like sophomore guard Dawnyelle Awa, junior guard Tia Presley, sophomore guard Lia Galdeira, senior guard and forward Sage Romberg, senior guard and forward Brandi Thomas, and sophomore guard Taylor Edmondson give Daugherty and the Cougars reason to be confident: they can be successful.

“I have the luxury of mix-matching them at any time and cutting them loose,” Daugherty said. “This is a very talented corps of two and three players. So, it’s a great place to be in as a coaching staff right now.”

Daugherty will use the Cougars’ depth to run the floor on Sunday. The Cougars expect to show Syracuse a different style of game than they experienced in 2012.

“We’ve got to sprint the floor consistently every time and see how the game comes to us,” Daugherty said.

While Cougs let the game come to them, come tipoff Sunday, WSU will take center stage against a formidable Syracuse team knowing they have to seize opportunities throughout the matchup to earn a win.

“This is a team that will never quit,” Daugherty said. “They play very hard for their coaching staff and their program and they have some kids that I think are some of the better athletes in the country. This is going to be a great test for us in our first game here at Beasley.”