Daugherty sidelined for WSU’s opener

Washington State’s stay at the Pac-12 Conference tournament in Seattle is off to a shocking start, as head coach June Daugherty has been hospitalized with acute appendicitis. Daugherty started experiencing pain in the morning and started feeling worse during the team’s shootaround at KeyArena. Daugherty was scheduled to have an appendectomy at the same time the eighth-seeded Cougars prepared for their opener against ninth-seeded Arizona State. Daugherty’s husband, associate head coach Mike Daugherty, will serve as interim coach tonight. The couple have coached together for 24 years and have never missed a game together. June Daugherty is expected to be released on Friday and has vowed to coach if the Cougars win tonight and advance to the quarterfinals against top-seeded Stanford. WSU and Arizona State will tip off in 50 minutes. The Cougars are 2-0 against ASU this season.