Cougs routed in coach’s return

SEATTLE – Lewis and Clark graduate Katelan Redmon scored 20 points, leading Washington to an 84-40 women’s basketball victory over Washington State on Sunday.

Washington State coach June Daugherty received a short standing ovation during introductions in her first return to Washington since the school fired her as coach after last season.

Katie Appleton had 14 points for the Cougars, who lost their 27th consecutive conference game.

Daugherty, 51, coached 11 years at Washington with a record of 191-139 and six trips to the NCAA tournament before athletic director Todd Turner fired her last March.

The Cougars hired Daugherty last April to replace Sherri Murrell, who had a 27-114 record in five seasons.

Fans erupted with applause and stood up after the announcement of Daugherty as the Washington State coach during team introductions.

Daugherty, who suffered a cardiac arrest last May not long after accepting the job at Washington State, exchanged hugs and greetings with most of the Washington players during shoot around for the teams about an hour before the game. All of Washington’s players were recruited by Daugherty.

The Huskies (9-13, 4-6 Pac-10) have won 26 consecutive games against the Cougars (3-18, 0-10) since 1995.