Diving into WCC foes for WSU women's basketball (2024)

WASHINGTON STATE'S WOMEN'S BASKETBALLdelves into uncharted territory this year, competing in theWest Coast Conference for the next two seasons.Even though the hoops foes will be new in a sense, there isfamiliarity. WSU has regularly played Gonzaga and San Francisco over the last decade and has also matched up with Portland, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Loyola Marymount on various occassions.

Here'sa look at all nine WCC schools the Cougs will be playing.

GONZAGA

• Head coach:LisaFortier (11thseason)
• Series record: WSU leads 22-11
• Last meeting:WSU beatGU77-72 in Pullman in triple overtime in 2023
• 2023-24 season: 32-4/16-0, lost in Sweet Sixteen
• About the Bulldogs: Similarly to men's basketball, the Zags are the class of the WCC in women's basketball. Fortier has won the WCC eight times, the WCC Tournament four times and the WCC Coach of the Year six times. Gonzaga has made the NCAA Tournament seven years in a row, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen this past season. The Bulldogs do lose a lot from this past season but do return dominant post Yvonne Ejim, the heavy favorite to be WCC Player of the Year.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

• Head coach:AarikaHughes (Fourth season)
• Series record: WSU leads 3-0
• Last meeting: WSU beat LMU 93-41 in Los Angeles in Pullman in 2021
• 2023-24 season:11-19/5-11
• About the Lions: LMU has had some decent seasons here and there, but has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2004. The Lions have made moderate improvements under Hughes, but still finished near the bottom of the league. The Lions were also decimated by the transfer portal in the offseason.

PACIFIC

• Head coach:BradleyDavis(Tenth season)
• Series record: Tied 2-2
• Last meeting: WSUbeat Pacific 69-60 in Pullman in 1989
• 2023-24 season:19-15/8-8
• About the Tigers: WSU has not met Pacific since the late 1980's, long before the days of Kamie Ethridge and the Cougars' unprecedented run of success. After a dreadful 2021-22, Davis has rallied the Tigers back to a pair of solid seasons. He also took them to the WNIT back in 2018-19. Pacific has never made the NCAA Tournament, but it is one of the middle-of-the-pack programs that could be problematic if taken lightly. There is also some familiarity, as former Cougar forward Jovana Subasic is an assistant coach.

PEPPERDINE

• Head coach:KatieFaulkner (Firstseason)
• Series record: WSU leads 2-1
• Last meeting: WSU won 85-48 in Pullman in 2019
• 2023-24 season:5-25/1-15
• About the Waves: After a disastrous 2023-24 campaign, Pepperdine changed things up and hired Faulkner. She was an associate head coach at UW the last three years and an assistant at Oregon State the five years prior to that. Faulkner is well-regarded in coaching circles, but it may take a while to get Pepperdine back to relevancy.

PORTLAND

• Head coach:MichaelMeek (Sixth season)
• Series record:Portland leads 6-2
• Last meeting: WSU won 69-63 in Portland in 202
• 2023-24 season: 21-13/10-6, lost in first round of NCAA Tournament
• About the Pilots: Portland has emerged as the thorn in Gonzaga's side the last two seasons. While the Bulldogs won the regular season crown, the Pilots clipped them in each of the last two years in the NCAA Tournament. Meek has also done a marvelous job retaining his roster as Portland does not have any players in the transfer portal according to TheNextHoops.com. This squad will be one of the more challenging tests in the WCC, especially when it comes to postseason play.

SAN DIEGO

• Head coach:Cindy Fisher(20th season)
• Series record: WSU leads 4-0
• Last meeting: San Diego won 83-73 in Pullman in 2016
• 2023-24 season: 9-22/4-12
• About the Toreros: Fisher has been at the helm at San Diego for two decades now, leading the Toreros to eight WNIT's and an NCAA Tournament in 2008. Last season was something of an anomaly for USD, considering it is normally among the teams in the conference just a tier below Gonzaga. With a coach as experienced as Fisher, this squad has the potential to be a tough test for the Cougars, even coming off of a bad 2023-24.

SAN FRANCISCO

• Head coach:MollyGoodenbour (Ninth year)
• Series record: WSU leads 9-2
• Last meeting:WSU won 69-63 in San Francisco in 2022
• 2023-24 season: 14-16/10-6
• About the Dons: WSU has faced USF five times in the last decade, winning all of the matchups. But USF certainly gave the Cougars a scare in 2022-23, as WSU had to rally from a 15-point halftime deficit. Goodnebour has solidified the Dons as one of the stronger WCC programs, keeping them in that tier right below Gonzaga. USF has made the WNIT in three of the last four years and have finished .500 or better in league play the last four seasons.

ST. MARY's:

• Head coach:Jeff Cammon (2nd season)
• Series record:SMC leads 7-3
• Last meeting:SMC beat WSU 70-64 in Pullman in 2018
• 2023-24 season:13-18/6-10
• About the Gaels: Cammon just finished his first year after Paul Thomas' 17-year run ended in controversy after an undisclosed internal investigation. Thomas took the Gaels to the WNIT 10-straight years and won the WBI in 2022, but now the onus falls on to Cammon to get them to an NCAA Tournament, something he never accomplished.

SANTA CLARA

• Head coach:Bill Carr (Ninth season)
• Series record:Tied 4-4
• Last meeting: WSU won 73-47 in Pullman in the second round of the WNIT in 2024
• 2023-24 season:25-9/12-4, lost in second round of WNIT
• About the Broncos: Ironically, Santa Clara is the most recent WCC team faced by both the WSU men and women. The women however were victorious, eliminating SCU from the WNIT in March. The Broncos suffered some losses in the transfer portal including leading scorer Tess Heal, but Carr has the program on the rise and they present another challenge for WSU in the WCC next season.

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