Young Cougs Figure To Get Even Younger

The roster only lists one senior, but Washington State coach Harold Rhodes stands to be down three veterans next season.

Amy Saneholtz, who redshirted her 1995-96 season after suffering a season-ending knee injury, is doing more than just hinting that this will be her last year.

Point guard Jade Hyett has it made known she’s heading back to her homeland of Australia to play professional ball.

Kristin Erickson, the team’s only senior, blew out her knee to end her WSU career 10 games into the season.

Saneholtz is a homegrown senior from Pullman with junior playing eligibility at age 22. The 6-foot-2 forward is averaging 11.5 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game, second on the team in both categories behind center Yvonne Kunze.

“A couple weeks ago (against Washington), she was feeling frustrated,” Rhodes said. “But the way she played against Cal (17 points) and Stanford (20 points) … you never know.”

Saneholtz seems to know what she wants, and it’s not a sixth year with the Cougs. She also sat out her true freshman season with an ankle injury.

“I want to move on,” said Saneholtz, who has lived in Pullman since she was five. “I’ve been contemplating this for a while.”

Saneholtz said she’s considering going to graduate school and becoming a graduate assistant for a basketball team. She said she’d like to go someplace warm, perhaps Arizona or California.

Hyett’s decision appears set. When she tries out for the Australian league, she’ll lose her college eligibility.

Hyett ranks first in the Pacific-10 Conference and third nationally in assists with 123 (7.7 per game). She’s first in the conference in steals with 75 (4.7 per game).

“We knew that was her game plan,” said Rhodes, whose Cougars (7-9, 1-6) play at Arizona State (7-10, 1-7) Thursday and Arizona (14-4, 4-3) Saturday. “We thought we be able to talk her out of it. If that’s what Jade wants, it’s our responsibility to help her get that.”

Around the conferences

The Boise State at Idaho game on Feb. 23 will start at 1:35 p.m. to accommodate TV. KIVI Channel 6 in Boise will broadcast the game live. … Gonzaga junior Lydia Ledgerwood leads the team with 9.4 points per game. GU (3-15, 1-5 WCC) suffered its worst loss of the season last week, a 45-point blowout against Pepperdine. It was the first of a home-and-home series.

University of Portland’s Kristin Hepton, a Central Valley grad, dropped to No. 2 in the nation in free-throw shooting (48 of 52 for 92.3). Gonzaga plays host to the Pilots on Feb. 5. … The Stanford women were treated to home cooking on the road last week when they made their swing through Eastern Washington. Friday, they ate at teammate Heather Owen’s home in Moscow, Idaho. Saturday was reserved for Regan Freuen’s family in Spokane. Freuen, a junior from Mead, hurt her ankle in the preseason and has not played.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Area leaders Scoring Player, school FG-FGA FT-FTA 3pt Avg. Alli Nieman, UI 97-211 99-131 6 17.6 Rebecca Moore, Whit. 76-212 48-62 34 14.6 Tanya Kirk, EWU 92-287 45-61 29 14.3 Jen Tissue, Whit. 68-164 40-46 13 13.5 Yvonne Kunze, WSU 83-159 37-64 0 12.7 Shana Ray, EWU, 43-110 29-42 1 11.6 Amy Saneholtz, WSU 66-124 52-79 0 11.5 Rachel Ferguson, EWU 69-141 59-74 0 10.9 Sherri Northington, Whit. 71-144 31-61 1 10.9 Joanna Smith, WSU 59-134 10-17 40 10.5

Rebounding Northington, Whitworth, 9.6 (153); Nieman, Idaho, 9.5 (162); Kirk, EWU, 7.4 (134); Andrea Sherer, Whitworth, 6.4 (103); Kunze, WSU 5.9 (94).

Assists Jade Hyett, WSU, 7.7 (123); Jennifer Sutter, EWU, 5.4 (91); Tissue, Whitworth, 4.3 (60); Moore, Whitworth, 3.3 (53); Kathryn Gussett, UI, 3.3 (56).

Steals Hyett, WSU, 4.9 (75); Tissue, Whitworth, 2.5 (34); Moore, Whitworth, 2.3 (36); Sutter, EWU, 1.9 (33); Ari Skorpik, UI, 2.0 (34); .

Schedule Thursday: WSU at Arizona State, 6 p.m.; Pepperdine at Gonzaga, 7 p.m. Friday: Whitworth at Willamette, 6 p.m.; Idaho at Cal State Fullerton, 7 p.m. Saturday: WSU at Arizona, 6 p.m.; Whitworth at Linfield, 6 p.m.; Loyola Marymount at Gonzaga, 7 p.m.; Eastern at Portland State, 7 p.m. Sunday: Idaho at UC Irvine, 2 p.m.

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