Climbing the ladder

At times during the final game of last season, an upset win against Arizona State, Washington State had five freshmen on the floor.

That provided optimism for the future.

The Cougars won six games last season after winning just two games the year before in coach Sherri Murrell’s initial year.

The coach expects more progress this season, though in the Pac-10 improvement can be relative.

“I don’t think talent-wise we could have done much better,” Murrell said. “At times we did well because we outplayed opponents. Some good things came out of it, but I’m a realist, you’ve got to have firepower.”

The good news is those freshmen aren’t freshmen any more and they’re backed by five newcomers, three from junior college.

“It’s nice, I’m not looking at having to start freshmen this year,” Murrell said. “We have very seasoned sophomores. I still think we definitely need more. We have depth but we need more talent and bodies in the post area.”

The front line is a source of concern. Kate Benz, who averaged 8.8 points and 6.7 rebounds as a freshman, senior Emma Joneby, who saw limited time, and Idaho transfer Keisha Moore, all 6-foot-2, are the whole of the inside game.

Moore started in 49 of 56 games at Idaho, averaging more than 12 points and 7.4 rebounds in her two years.

“We have a new offense that allows us to play on our strength. We’re not very big,” Benz said. “We have to realize that and work to our advantage with our speed.”

The depth is at guard.

Senior Jessica Perry and junior Charmaine Jones are the point guards.

“Jones was on the verge her freshman year of not being here,” Murrell said. “She has just completely turned around her game. She is one of our best players, if not the best player, on the team. She’s been a pleasant surprise.”

Sophomores Adriane Ferguson (18 starts, 5.8 ppg), Stephanie Singer (10 starts) and Nikki Stratton (six starts) all have the capability of making room inside with their outside shooting.

Ariana Scales, a junior college transfer from Kansas and freshman Dani Montgomery have made early impressions.

“We just have a lot more offensive and defensive power with Ariana,” Murrell said. “I like Danni Montgomery. She’s a Kate Benz in a smaller body. She’s all over the floor, she works hard. She’ll get things done just because of her hard work.”

Murrell expects more than four wins in the preseason and hopes the team doesn’t wait to the end of the season to be competitive in the Pac-10.

“That’s been tough for us, we’ve done well at the end and in the beginning but we haven’t done well in the middle,” she said. “It’s talent. We didn’t have the players that could play in the Pac-10. I’m being brutally honest… . Having that experience, seasoned sophomores, is going to help us.”

Still, the Pac-10 is going to be a challenge.

“Most of us haven’t been here for that long so we’re not really used to losing,” Benz said. “We don’t want to make it a habit.”

“I really believe we’re one more year from having everything in place to for us to be judged by wins but I’m not going to be surprised by them,” Murrell said. “We should be better … it all depends on the maturity of this team. And we have a great recruiting class coming in.”