The third annual Sterling Savings Bank Night with Cougar Basketball, featuring Washington State Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tony Bennett and Women’s Basketball Head Coach June Daugherty, will take place, Friday, Oct. 19 at Bell Harbor International Conference Center (2211 Alaskan Way, Pier 66) in Seattle. Festivities begin at 5:45 p.m. with a social and silent auction; dinner and the evening’s program begin at 6:45 p.m.
Individual tickets are $100 for WSU Athletic Foundation members and $125 for non-Athletic Foundation members. To RSVP please contact Todd Thrasher at 206-448-1330 or tthrasher@wsuwest.edu by Oct. 15. Space is limited and walk-up accommodations will be based on availability.
The Cougar men’s basketball team is coming off one of the greatest seasons in school history, as its 26 wins tied it with the 1941 national runner-up squad for the most in school history and was good enough to earn a No. 3 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. Not only did the Cougars make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1994, they posted their first NCAA Tournament win in 24 years with a first round defeat of Oral Roberts University.
In addition, Bennett achieved one of the most decorated seasons that any coach has seen, earning numerous coach of the year honors, including Naismith and Associated Press accolades.
Daugherty, who is in her first year at WSU, is the seventh women’s basketball head coach in program history. She arrived in Pullman after an 11-year tenure at Washington. During her time with the Huskies, she led the team to nine postseason appearances, including a NCAA Tournament appearance during her first season in 1997.
In 2001, she led the team to its first Pacific-10 Conference title since 1990 and guided the Huskies all the way to the NCAA Regional Final. Daugherty was named a finalist for the prestigious Naismith Coach of the Year Award in 2003 and, most recently, took Washington to the 2007 NCAA Tournament, the team’s second consecutive appearance. In her 11 seasons as the head women’s basketball coach at Washington, Daugherty compiled a 191-139 (.579) overall record and a 113-85 (.571) mark in Pac-10 play.
Both the men’s and women’s teams open the season, Nov. 9 with a doubleheader at Beasley Coliseum. The men take on Eastern Washington, and, prior to that game, the women tip-off their season versus Portland at 4 p.m. For ticket information, please call the WSU Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-COUGS or visit the Cougar Athletics’ website at www.wsucougars.com.
