MOSCOW, Idaho --The Idaho Women's Basketball team wraps up a season opening four game home stand inside the new Idaho Central Credit Union (ICCU) Arena this Sunday against rival Washington State. The Battle of the Palouse is set to continue Nov. 21 at 2 p.m.
 
Idaho returns to the court after finishing runner-up in the Big Sky Championship game a season ago. The Vandals finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 17-7 overall record and 14-3 in conference play.
 
The Vandal perimeter defense has been on point to start the season, holding opponent to just 11.1 percent from beyond the arc (3-27).
 
This will be the 40th meeting between the two schools. The Vandals have lost the last three meetings. WSU holds a 24-15 series lead. The Vandals are 7-12 at home.
 
Washington State is receiving votes in the latest AP poll and is off to a 2-0 start to the 2021-22 season recording wins over San Jose State (86-56) and Northern Arizona (62-54).
 
The Cougars went 12-12 in the shortened 2020-21 season, ending their season with a opening round loss to South Florida in the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Cougars are shooting at a 42.7 percent clip, Led by Charlisse Leger-Walker's 22.5 points per game and Bella Murekatete's 17.5. Murkatete is also averaging 11 rebounds a game.
 
FOLLOW: Fans can follow the Vandals all season long on Twitter and Instagram, @VandalsWBB and with the Voice of the Vandals, Doug Taylor, at GoVandals.com/Listen. The game will air on ESPN +.

The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ while fans can also listen to the game at govandals.com/listen and on KMAX840 AM. Live Stats can be found here.


PRESEASON NOTES 

POLLS
Idaho was picked to finish third by both the coaches and the media in the Big Sky Preseason Polls after receiving 82 points in the coaches' poll and 202 total points in the media poll.

PRESEASON MVP

Junior Beyonce Bea was named the Big Sky Conference Preseason Most Valuable Player after leading the Vandals to the Big Sky Championship game last season. The Washougal, Wash. native was selected as a unanimous first-team All-Big Sky member in 2020-21. She ranked tied for third in the conference for scoring after averaging 16.2 points while grabbing 7.7 rebounds per contest. 

NON-CONFERENCE SLATE

Head coach Jon Newlee and his coaching staff built a strong non-conference schedule that is headlined by three NCAA tournament teams from 2020-21 - Oregon State and Washington State from the Pac-12 and Texas from the Big 12. The Beavers came in ranked No. 14 in the first Associated Press poll while the Longhorns sit at No. 25. That won't be the only tests the Vandals face in their non-conference slate this season as they will also get a chance to lace up against two top teams from the West Coast Conference (San Diego and San Francisco) and Missouri Valley Conference (Drake and Northern Iowa).

NEWCOMERS

The 2021-22 Vandal roster will showcase five freshmen and two transfers that will help replace three starters from last season. Former Sacramento State forward Tiana Johnson enters her senior season for the Vandals where she will look to build off of a strong junior campaign, where she averaged 12.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for the Hornets. Graduate student Louise Forsyth will add experience to the Idaho backcourt after playing in 93 contests over her four-year stay at Gonzaga.