Area sports roundup-Dec. 17 issue

Drew Lawson, The Times | Last updated Dec 17, 2020 3:9pm0

Drew Lawson | The Times count

EWU's Tyler Robertson goes up for a layup Dec. 11 against College of Idaho.

Compiled by Drew Lawson for The Times

This week saw more wins, losses, COVID-19 cancellations and unexpected circumstances take place for local sports teams. Perhaps the strangest COVID-related occurrence occurred in the PAC-12, when the Washington Huskies had to withdraw from the PAC-12 football championship due to rising case numbers. They were replaced by the Oregon Ducks, who will take on USC in the title game Friday, while other PAC-12 schools will play regular season games the next day.

2020 is truly a strange year. Here's a breakdown of what occurred last week for area sports teams in games played Dec. 9-15.

WSU football

Speaking of cancellations, the Cougars had a game get called for the second time this season. The announcement came the day of WSU's scheduled home match in Pullman against the California Golden Bears. The Cougars are scheduled to wrap up the season on the road at Utah on Saturday, Dec. 19, concluding a year in which only one home game and four total games were played...unless the Apple Cup is rescheduled.

WSU men's basketball

The Cougar men kept up their undefeated, albeit narrow victory streak with two more triumphs last week over Big Sky Conference opponents Idaho and Portland State.

Noah Williams led the way with 19 points in a narrow 61-58 victory over the Vandals. Isaac Bonton added 17 points and eight rebounds, while Andrej Jakimovski contributed 11 points as the Cougars overcame a six-point halftime deficit.

All three players again scored in double figures against Portland State, paced by Williams' 18 points. The trio was joined by TJ Bamba, who came off the bench and scored 15 points in WSU's 69-60 win.

WSU is now 5-0 and has two more home games scheduled this week: Dec. 18 against Montana State of the Big Sky and Dec. 21 against Prairie View A&M of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

WSU women's basketball

Cougar basketball's winning ways aren't limited to the men's team. The WSU women's basketball team picked up wins in its first two games of the season, including a 60-52 victory at rival Washington on Dec. 11 and a comfortable 74-55 decision in the Dec. 13 home opener against Idaho.

Charlisse Leger-Walker led the way against the Huskies and Vandals, scoring 20 points against UW and 29 against UI. Ula Motuga added 16 for the Cougs against the Huskies, while Bella Murekatete added 15 against the Vandals.

WSU has three more home games scheduled this week: Dec. 19 against Oregon State, Dec. 21 against Oregon and Dec. 22 against Eastern Washington.

Gonzaga men's basketball

The Bulldogs program remained shut down all of last week, but does have a large game looming: Dec. 19 against No. 3 Iowa in Sioux City, South Dakota. The game will be nationally broadcast at 9 a.m. PST on CBS. The Zags are also scheduled to finally have its first home game two days later against Northwestern State.

Gonzaga women's basketball

The Gonzaga women picked up a win in its lone game and home opener last week, a 58-51 victory over Montana Dec. 13. Gonzaga is now 3-2 this season and is ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll.

LeeAnne Wirth led the Zags with 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Grizzlies as Gonzaga eeked out the win despite shooting just 31.1% from the field.

Gonzaga is now scheduled to head to Las Vegas for the Holiday Hoops Classic, where the Bulldogs will play two games against Eastern Michigan and North Alabama Dec. 20 and 21.

EWU men's basketball

EWU picked up its first win of the season in a convincing 80-56 victory over College of Idaho at a fan-less Reese Court on Dec. 12. Jacob Groves and Jacob Davison led the way with 15 points each, while Tyler Robertson added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.

The Eagles then took their fourth loss of the season at St. Mary's in California, narrowly falling 80-76 despite Robertson and Tanner Groves each scoring a career-high 17 points. The loss dropped EWU to 1-4 on the season.

EWU now begins Big Sky Conference play with two games at Northern Arizona on Dec. 18 and 19.

EWU women's basketball

The Eagle women have yet to right the ship and claim victory this season. EWU dropped its lone decision to Grand Canyon 84-78 at home on Dec. 14 after falling at Boise State 84-64 Dec. 10.

Kennedy Dickie scored 16 points against Boise State, while Liberty High School's Maisie Burnham added 12 points off the bench. Jenna Dick scored 17 points and Alexyss Newman scored 16 for the Eagles against Grand Canyon as EWU had five players score in double figures, but it wasn't enough for victory.

EWU has three more games this week: Dec. 17 at home against College of Idaho, Dec. 19 at home against Seattle University and Dec. 22 at Washington State.

– Don't see a team you want covered in the area sports roundup? Email reporter Drew Lawson at drew@cheneyfreepress.com.