Northwest Notes Oct. 17, 2024
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 1 year, 10 months AGO
Gonzaga, WSU women picked to finish 1-2 in West Coast Conference basketball
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Gonzaga was picked to finish first in the West Coast Conference women's basketball preseason poll by the league's coaches for the third straight season.
Washington State, in its first year of a two-year run as an affiliate member of the league, was picked to finish second.
Pepperdine, coached by former Lake City High star Katie (Baker) Faulkner, was picked to finish 11th in the 11-team league.
GU graduate student Maud Huijbens and fifth-year senior Yvonne Ejim were also named to the Preseason All-WCC Team, as was sophomore Eleonara Villa and senior Tara Wallack of WSU.
Gonzaga has amassed a conference record of 290-34 (.895) during the last 20 seasons, which includes 19 West Coast Conference regular-season titles and nine WCC Tournament championships.
Last season, Ejim led the Zags in scoring with 19.7 points and 8.7 rebounds a game and recorded 15 double doubles. Huijbens was named the WCC's Sixth Woman of the Year last season as she was the sixth leading scorer coming off the bench, averaging 6.3 points per game.
WSU sophomore guard Eleonara Villa and senior guard Tara Wallack were named to the preseason all-conference team.
Wallack posted 19 double-digit scoring games to average 10.5 points per game last year as a junior, along with 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. Villa was named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team after posting one of the greatest freshman seasons in program history. Among all-time freshman ranks in program history, Villa finished first in double-digit scoring games (29), second in consecutive double-digit scoring games (13), T-8th in 20-point games (3), second in total points (463), eighth in points per game (12.9), T-1st in games played (36), first in minutes played (1,199), second in made field goals (179), sixth in attempted field goals (411), eighth in field goal percentage (.436), third in made threes (54), fourth in attempted threes (158), seventh in 3-point percentage (.342), T-4th in free throw percentage (.739), and fifth in assists (81).
2024-25 WCC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
First-place votes in parentheses
1, Gonzaga (5), 92 points. 2, Washington State (2), 91. 3, Portland (2), 84. 4, Oregon State (2), 77. 5, Pacific, 63. 6, San Francisco, 53. 7, Santa Clara, 43. 8, Saint Mary's, 39. 9, San Diego, 28. 10, Loyola Marymount, 20. 11, Pepperdine, 15.
2024-25 ALL-WCC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON TEAM
Maisie Burnham, sr., G, Portland; Debora dos Santos, sr., F, San Francisco; Yvonne Ejim, 5th, F, Gonzaga; Maud Huijbens, Gr., F, Gonzaga; Anaya James, sr., G, Pacific; AJ Marotte, sr., G, Oregon State; Olivia Pollerd, sr., F, Santa Clara; Emme Shearer, sr., G, Portland; Eleonara Villa, so., G, Washington State; Tara Wallack, sr., G, Washington State.
Cougars add Louisiana Tech to 2025 football schedule
PULLMAN — Washington State announced Wednesday that it has added Louisiana Tech to its 2025 football schedule.
The scheduling agreement is for the 2025 season only.
The game versus Louisiana Tech is scheduled for Nov, 15, 2025, at Gesa Field, and will be the first meeting between the two teams. It also marks the first game against a Conference USA opponent since WSU and SMU met during the 2010 season in Dallas. WSU did defeat current Conference USA member New Mexico State to begin the 2019 season, but the Aggies were not a member of the conference at that time.
The addition of Louisiana Tech to the 2025 schedule marks the eighth announced opponent for WSU's 2025 schedule. Previously, the Cougars had announced home contests against Idaho, San Diego State, Washington and Oregon State, while WSU will travel to Ole Miss, North Texas and Virginia.
UNLV, Wyoming picked to finish 1-2 in preseason Mountain West women's basketball poll
LAS VEGAS — UNLV was picked to finish first, Wyoming second in Mountain West Conference women's basketball by the league's coaches.
Teagan Colvin (Coeur d'Alene High) is an incoming freshman at UNLV. Madi Symons (Coeur d'Alene) is a sophomore at Wyoming. Colvin and Symons were teammates on the Vikings' 2023 state 5A girls basketball championship team.
Boise State was picked to finish third, followed by San Diego State, New Mexico, Nevada, Air Force, Fresno State and San Jose State.