Cougar men, women hoopers make their points

ON A DAY WHEN goose eggs were staring Cougar fans in the face at Husky Stadium, the WSU men’s and women’s basketball teams did their parts to help salve the crimson pain. They combined for a whopping 173 points on Saturday en route to big tournament wins. For the men, Klay Thompson set a Great Alaska Shootout scoring record as WSU improved to 6-0 on the season with Gonzaga on tap next.

Thompson, the No. 7 scorer in the nation coming into Saturday's game, led the Cougs to a 93-56 victory over San Diego of the WCC in the championship game of the Shootout. His 43 points was the most by a Cougar since Guy Williams lit up Idaho State for 43 in January 1983. In the process, Thompson broke the GAS record of 41 set by Purdue’s Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson back in 1993.

Thompson, the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week, hit 16 of 24 shots from the field, including eight from three-point land. He also dished off 4 assists.

He was named the Shootout’s most outstanding player after tallying 89 points over three games. Last season he averaged 12 points per game.

Thompson was joined on the all-tourney team by fellow Cougs DeAngelo Casto and Reggie Moore. Moore had 16 points, 5 assists and 6 steals against San Diego. Casto, who recorded a double-double Friday in WSU’s win over Nicholls State, had 5 rebounds, 8 points and 3 blocks against the Torreros.

WSU figures to get a bigger test from another WCC team this Wednesday when they head to Spokane to take on Gonzaga. The Zags are fresh from winning the Maui Invitational with impressive wins over Colorado, Wisconsin and Cincinnati. They are 6-1 this season, with the only setback a nailbiter on the road against powerhouse Michigan State.

AS FOR THE COUGAR WOMEN, they improved to 2-2 on the season with an 80-66 win Saturday over Bradley in the opening round of the Lady Rebel Round-up tourney in Las Vegas. The CouGals will battle undefeated Boise State today in the championship game of the tournament.

WSU was led by a trio of double-digit scorers, including sophomore guard Jazmine Perkins, who scored a game- and season-high 20 points. The outing marked the third 20-point game of Perkins’ career. Also scoring in double figures were freshman guard KiKi Moore, who scored 16 points, and sophomore guard April Cook, who added 15. Cook and Moore were each just one point shy of their season highs.

Moore just missed a double-double, recording a career-high nine rebounds. She also recorded five assists and six steals, both of which were game highs.