The last weeks of 2015 rang in an impressive end to the season for WSU football while ushering in a women’s basketball team primed for the first few games of conference play.

Derek Deis joined WSU Director of Athletics Bill Moos for the first Cougar Calls of 2016. While there was much to discuss after a monthlong break, a Sun Bowl victory and women’s basketball became the main points of conversation.

The WSU football team traveled to El Paso, Texas, over break where they found themselves unable to run from the cold temperatures of the Palouse.

The Cougars made their mark in the first bowl visit since 2003, beating the Miami Hurricanes with a final score of 20-14. The Sun Bowl also marked sophomore quarterback Luke Falk’s return to game play after suffering a concussion playing against the University of Colorado.

“They practiced well and they were very focused,” Moos said.

Moos joked about the fact that the Cougars may have had an advantage over Miami as they had spent a week on the WSU campus practicing in the snow; it was highly unlikely that the Hurricanes had that experience as well.

Key victories played a part in what got WSU to a position where they not only made it to a bowl game, but came out of it with a victory.

This includes wins over UCLA and Oregon as well as the redeeming game over Rutgers after a season opening loss to Portland State.

WSU finished the season with 9 wins.

Jason Gesser recounted his experience in the Sun Bowl when he was a junior, when the Cougars beat Purdue 33-27.

“You need to realize how close it was to going either way this year.” He said.

Throughout the Pac-12 there are six teams bringing in new quarterbacks for next year while Washington State has 15 starters returning including Falk.

The season may be over but Moos says that this is the time to “switch into gear and get after it.”

Using the Sun Bowl as a springboard into next year will be beneficial to the team in the season to come.

“We are no longer the hunter. We are the hunted,” Deis said.

Women’s basketball

The Washington State women’s basketball team fell to No. 14 Arizona State this Sunday with a score of 45-63. Just two days before the team triumphed over the University of Arizona 67-46.

Freshman Borislava Hristova was the leading scorer. She scored 10 points for the Cougars. Hristova leads the team in points overall for the season as well with an average of 16.9 points per game.

Senior guard Taylor Edmondson, averaging 6.9 points per game, follows Hristova.

The women’s Cougar basketball team has had a successful season so far, winning over half of their games making their current record 11-5.

WSU will take on USC at 8 p.m. Friday in Beasley Coliseum.

Reporting by Payton Dineen