BYU women open the 2019-20 basketball season at Washington State

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball begins the 2019-20 campaign traveling to Pullman, Washington to take on the Cougars of Washington State on Saturday, Nov. 9. The battle of the Cougars tips at 1 p.m., PT.  

Fans can follow the action on the Pac-12 Network.

BYU vs. Washington State Game Notes

 ABOUT BYU

• As a precursor to the regular season, BYU women’s basketball recorded back-to-back wins in two exhibition games
• With 393 total wins, head coach Jeff Judkins enters the 2019-20 season as the all-time winningest men’s or women’s BYU basketball head coach; he needs seven wins to reach 400 victories, a coaching milestone
• The BYU team returns scoring leaders Paisley Johnson (14.5) and Brenna Chase Drollinger (12.8)
• Junior center Sara Hamson returns leading in rebounds (5.9) and blocks (2.8)
• Chase Drollinger leads in assists with a 3.9 average and has the team’s best 3-point field goal percentage (.352)
• Senior Jasmine Moody returns with the most playing experience (97 total games)
• The Cougars return 10 letterwinners and three starters, while adding five newcomers and one redshirt freshman
• After finishing second in last year’s West Coast Conference race and winning the WCC tournament crown, BYU was selected to finish second in the conference race
• Three Cougar players were named to the 2019-20 Preseason All-WCC Team; Brenna Chase Drollinger, Paisley Johnson and Sara Hamson
• In the USA Today Sports Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll, BYU received 10 votes and is playing three teams that are in the top-25 poll

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE

• Washington State returns nine letterwinners and three starters from last year’s team that compiled a 9-21 overall record and a 4-14 mark in the Pac-12, finishing in 10th place
• The Cougars played one exhibition game, beating Beijing Normal University 71-63
• WSU opened the 2019-20 season with an 85-48 home win over Pepperdine on Tuesday, Nov. 5
• Head coach Kamie Ethridge is in her second season at the helm of the women’s basketball program at Washington State
• The Cougars were selected to finish 10th in the Pac-12 Coaches Poll and are led by All-Pac-12 honoree Borislava Hristova, a 6-foot-8 senior center forward who is averaging 23.0 points per game

SERIES HISTORY

The series with Washington State is tied at 5-5. BYU is 1-3 when playing in Pullman and coach Judkins has a 2-2 record against WSU. The last time the two Cougar teams played was on March 16, 2017 in the postseason WNIT. In that game, Washington State recorded the 72-64 victory in Provo.

UP NEXT FOR BYU

After the road game at Washington State, the Cougars return home for their season opener against Texas A&M Kingsville on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. That game will be carried live on the BYUtvApp.