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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
EWU junior forward Tanner Groves goes up for a layup during the Eagles' 69-52 loss at Oregon Dec. 7.
The past week saw COVID-19 cancellations and a bevy of defeats for area teams like Washington State, Eastern Washington and Gonzaga. Here's a run-down of the past week's events for area teams, including games from Dec. 2-8.
WSU football
The Cougars returned to the gridiron for the first time in 22 days at a fan-less Coliseum in Los Angeles to take on USC Sunday. The COVID-caused Coug rust showed, as USC built a five-touchdown lead over Wazzu in the first half and held on for a 38-13 victory.
USC remained perfect (4-0) and remains the PAC-12's only chance at a birth in the College Football Playoff, though those odds are slim. WSU fell to 1-2 and hasn't won since its season opening victory over Oregon State Nov. 7.
True freshman quarterback Jayden de Laura struggled for the Cougars, throwing for just 134 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Off the bench, Gunner Cruz threw for 34 yards and a touchdown and completed five of seven passing attempts. Renard Bell snagged 11 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown for WSU.
On the other side, USC sophomore quarterback Kaden Slovis effortlessly diced WSU's shaky defense, tossing four first-quarter touchdowns to Amon-Ra St. Brown. Slovis finished with 285 passing yards and five touchdowns.
WSU's next matchup is back in Pullman on Saturday, Dec. 12 against California. The matchup is set for a classic PAC-12 After Dark kickoff of 7:30 p.m. on FS1.
WSU men's basketball
The Cougar men's basketball team fared better than the football team, eeking out a 59-55 victory over Oregon State on Dec. 2 in Pullman in its lone contest last week to improve to 3-0 this season.
Guard Isaac Bonton led the Cougars with 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds while only sitting out one of the games' 40 minutes. Bonton, who did struggle from the field, shooting just 4 of 18, was one of four Cougs who scored in double figures. DJ Rodman, son of NBA legend Dennis Rodman, added 13 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
Warith Alatishe led the Beavers with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
WSU was scheduled to travel to Boulder to take on the Colorado Buffaloes Dec. 5, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. Interestingly, the game was the only road game scheduled by the Cougars until Jan. 7. If no other games going forward are cancelled or postponed, WSU will have played its first 10 games at Beasley Coliseum.
Next on the docket for the Cougars was a game against the Idaho Vandals, who trekked just across the state line for a Dec. 9 matchup. The game occurred after press time.
WSU women's basketball
The football team may be off to a losing start, but at least it has played a game. The WSU women's basketball team hasn't been so lucky, as the first two games of the season, scheduled against California and national powerhouse Stanford, have been postponed due to COVID-19 issues.
WSU is scheduled to finally tip off its season Dec. 11 in Seattle against the hated Washington Huskies.
Gonzaga men's basketball
College basketball fans around the country woke up Saturday, Dec. 5 to some severely disappointing news: No. 1 Gonzaga versus No. 2 Baylor had been postponed due to a positive COVID-19 test in the Gonzaga program.
Perhaps the best team in college basketball this season, the No. 1 ranked Bulldogs won't be in action again until after at least Dec. 14 after the university elected to shut down the basketball program until then.
Prior to the COVID-forced program shutdown, Gonzaga was on fire, winning its first six games against Kansas, Auburn and West Virginia. Senior Corey Kispert and sophomore Drew Timme are both averaging over 20 points per game, while junior Joel Ayayi, transfer Andrew Nembhard and freshman phenom Jalen Suggs contributed between 10-20 points per game themselves.
Timme and Nembhard have both received West Coast Conference Player of the Week awards this season.
Gonzaga women's basketball
The Bulldog women split a pair of games in the last week, falling 75-72 in an overtime heartbreaker to South Dakota State Dec. 6 before rebounding and dominating Wyoming in an 89-50 victory Dec. 8. The split brought Gonzaga's season record to 2-2.
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures against Wyoming, led by senior Jenn Wirth, who scored 16 points and snared 10 rebounds. Senior Cierra Walker had 13 points, while Wirth's twin, LeeAnne, contributed 10 points and five rebounds.
Senior Jill Townsend scored a career-high 29 points against South Dakota State as the Zags outscored the Jackrabbits 44-26 in the paint, but SDSU's 11 triples to Gonzaga's four proved to be the difference.
Gonzaga's home opener against Montana Dec. 13 is its lone scheduled contest for the upcoming week.
EWU men's basketball
The third time wasn't a charm for EWU men's basketball's attempt to vanquish a PAC-12 opponent. The 0-3 Eagles fell to Oregon 69-52 Dec. 7 after hanging tough with Arizona but failing to hold a lead in a 70-67 defeat Dec. 5.
EWU had a real chance at knocking off perennial NCAA Elite Eight contender Arizona in Saturday's matinee, holding a six-point lead with 8:42 remaining and leading for 13:42 of total game time. However, the Eagles went cold from three-point range, shooting 2 of 15 from deep in the second half after stroking eight of their 17 attempts in the first half.
EWU hung tough with Oregon for 30 of the 40 minutes two days later, but poor three-point shooting in the second half and an apparent lid on the basket for much of the game allowed Oregon to pull away in the final 10 minutes.
Once again, EWU shot just 2 of 15 from three in the second half.
The Eagles' Dec. 9 game at UNLV was canceled, so the next game on the schedule is a Dec. 15 tilt at Gonzaga rival St. Mary's.
EWU women's basketball
EWU women's basketball's losing ways from last season have carried over to this season so far. The Eagles lost back-to-back games against Northern Arizona in their first two games of the season Dec. 5 and 6 in convincing fashion, by scores of 89-60 and 69-55.
EWU finished 3-28 last season.
Freshman Aaliyah Alexander led the Eagles in scoring in both games against the Lumberjacks, with 18 points in the first game and 16 in the second.
Next on tap for the Eagles is a trip to Idaho for a Dec. 10 tilt with the Boise State Broncos.
– Don't see a team you want to see covered in the weekly sports round-up? Email reporter Drew Lawson at drew@cheneyfreepress.com.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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