The WSU women’s basketball team will try to continue their winning ways tonight as they take on the Utah Utes in Beasley Coliseum. 

The big question will be how the Cougars (11-6, 2-4 in Pac-12) react in their first game since learning senior center Shalie Dheensaw will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Dheensaw, the team leader in rebounds and blocks, was injured during the final play against Oregon State last Friday.

Utah comes into Beasley coliseum with a 6-11 record overall, 0-6 in the conference, putting them in last place. The Utes have struggled on offense so far this season and have only scored an average of 56.2 points per game. 

Utah is also second to last in the conference in turnover margin, which means the Cougs will need to turn up the intensity on defense to secure a win. This may be the key to the game for both sides, as Utah has managed to hold opponents to 59.1 points per game, good for third in the Pac-12.

WSU has struggled lately on defense and has allowed teams to come back from large deficits. The team had leads in games against Oregon State and Stanford, but lapses on defense allowed those squads to steal wins. The Cougars need to lock down Utah and their leading scorer, senior forward Taryn Wicijowski.

Senior guard Tia Presley Cougars’ star last Sunday against Oregon, scoring 29 points for WSU. Presley is scoring an average of 19.4 points per game, third in the Pac-12 behind junior teammate Lia Galdeira and Washington sophomore Kelsey Plum.

The duo of Presley and Galdeira has continued to be explosive this year, and the two guards will need to have big games Friday to secure another win. Without the presence of Dheensaw going forward, the rest of the team needs to put extra emphasis on interior defense. Look for forwards Louise Brown and Mariah Cooks to see more playing time while Dheensaw recovers from her injury.

WSU hosts Utah at 7 p.m. in Beasley Coliseum in a game that could be critical for the Cougars’ hopes of keeping pace in the Pac-12 North. The game will be live streamed on wsucougars.com.

Reporting by Steffen Stroup