After traveling to the University of Washington and completing the regular season sweep against the Apple Cup rivals, the Washington State Cougars (10-6, 4-0) will come home to begin a two-game home stand against No. 21 Colorado Buffaloes (11-4, 1-3) and the Utah Utes (7-8, 0-4). 

The Cougars will begin with Colorado at 7 p.m. on Friday and finish the weekend on Sunday against Utah at 12 p.m., where they will look to extend their undefeated record in conference play. Against these two opponents the WSU women’s team must execute in three key areas.

Remain consistent:

The 4-0 start in Pac-12 play is the best since the 1977-1978 season, when the Cougars began 5-0 in conference play, according to WSU Athletics.

“We’ve started out with four really competitive games, you know I’m proud of our team, and I think that we are playing some very balanced basketball both offensively and defensively,” women’s basketball Head Coach June Daugherty said Tuesday in her weekly media briefing. “The other thing is we are excited to be home to be in front of students and our Zzu Cru.”

The most accurate word to describe this basketball team is balanced. On offense, WSU guards junior Tia Presley and sophomore Lia Galdeira average a combined 38.6 points per game.

On defense the Cougars have been aggressive. The team has only allowed about 73 points per game in the last four games. In their first three conference games, the Cougars forced at least 15 turnovers and in the last game against UW, the Huskies turned it over seven times. 

Keep Dheensaw Involved:

Since Pac-12 play began, the real impact player has been junior center Shalie Dheensaw. She averaged double-double in points and rebounds her last two outings.

“Shalie Dheensaw, I like to say is she is growing up right before our eyes,” Daugherty said. “She has worked really hard.”

Daugherty said Dheensaw’s recent success is partially due to the two-a-day practices the team held during Christmas break. During those practices Dheensaw was able to work on timing and individual skills along with defending without fouling.

“Interesting, Shalie is one of the higher IQ players, basketball-wise, that I’ve coached that plays on the front line,” Daugherty said. “I knew that from the time when I recruited her as a junior in high school.”

If Dheensaw can keep getting the ball down low in the post, opportunities will open up for the high-scoring guards on the WSU team. One of the weaknesses the Cougars had during non-conference play was rebounding, but with Dheensaw elevating her game, it could become one of their strengths.

Finish strong

In this home stand it will be critical for the Cougars to close out games. WSU is currently 6-2 at home, and if they intend to improve on that mark, executing down the stretch will be critical.

“We need to continue to not be in situations where the game is so close,” Daugherty said. “We’ve lost leads in the second half, and that has been a concern for the coaching staff.”

Daugherty said the upcoming game against the Buffaloes is the most important game of the year. The nationally ranked Colorado team was an NCAA tournament team just a season ago. The Cougars have three single-digit losses this season.