Before the Cougars embark on their journey to Seattle for the Pac-12 Tournament, they decided to continue their season-long trend of making history.  For the first time in program history, two players received All Pac-12 Honors in the same year. Sophomore guard Lia Galdeira and Junior guard Tia Presley were among 15 players to be selected on the All-Pac-12 Team.

The seven seed Washington State Cougars (15-15, 9-9) will face the 10 seed Oregon Ducks (15-14, 6-12) in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

This will mark the third meeting between the two teams this season. The first game occurred in January; the Cougars were defeated handily on the road, 82-66. Next time around Presley and Galdeira combined for 59 points in a 108-88 rout of the Ducks on Senior Night.

This week will be important for the Cougars as they fight for a top seed in the National Invitation Tournament or, better, an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Typically when teams meet for a third time, it simply comes down to who wants it more.

A rough stint in California last week has the Cougars entering tonight’s matchup having lost their last two games.

“We just have to be ready; I think tournament play is a whole different thing,” Presley said. “We ended our season with two tough losses on the road, we fought in both games, did what we could so now it’s time to clear our heads and just get ready to play again.”

The season has been riddled with inconsistent play; the home series against the Oregon schools is a clear indicator of that. However, when the Cougars are clicking offensively as they were on Senior Night, they are a tough out for any team.

To earn an automatic NCAA Tournament bid WSU will need to win four games in four nights, and with that goal in mind, Presley said it will be important not to look too far ahead.

“We’re definitely taking it one game at a time,” she said. “Right now we are focused on getting a win with Oregon.”

After the 344 total points scored in the two meetings, fans can expect another shootout in tonight’s game. Head Coach June Daugherty said these two evenly matched teams are sure to produce another entertaining game to watch.

Presley, sidelined with injuries in her first two seasons, will experience Pac-12 Tournament action for the first time.

“I’m really excited, I’ve never done this whole back to back game thing,” she said. “It’ll be really interesting to see, I’m so excited that I’ve made it through this season so it’s cool to play in the Pac-12 Tournament.”

The game is slated for a 6 p.m. tip and can be seen on the Pac-12 Networks.