Washington State 65 - 61 Washington
Final
  for this game

Washington State seeks highest win total in 15 years

Feb 14, 2007 - 3:34 PM No. 11 Washington St (21-4) at Washington (16-8) 10:00 pm EST

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Washington State is in uncharted territory.

The 11th-ranked Cougars look to reach their highest win total in 15 years when they take on cross-state rival Washington on Wednesday.

Washington State last won 22 games in 1991-92 when it qualified for the NIT. This season, however, the Cougars are looking for nothing less than an NCAA berth, which would be their first since 1993-94.

Just one game behind perennial power UCLA, Washington State (21-4, 10-3 Pac-10) is chasing another first - its first Pac-10 title in coach Tony Bennett's initial season. Bennett has turned around the Cougars, who were picked to finish last in the conference in the preseason rankings.

Washington State picked up its fourth consecutive win, a 59-46 victory over California on Saturday. Turning up their defense, the Cougars held the Golden Bears to just 35 percent shooting (16-of-46).

For the second straight season, the Cougars hope to sweep the Huskies. Washington State won the first meeting, 75-47, on January 20. The Huskies were without star freshman center Spencer Hawes, who was sidelined with an ankle injury.

Leading his team with an average of 14.8 points per game, Hawes had 18 points and seven rebounds last Saturday in a 64-52 win over Stanford. star center will look for continued success against ranked

Washington (16-8, 6-7) has won nine of its last 10 home games, including three of four this season, against Top 25 squads.






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