Washington State faces the San Francisco Dons after Eleonora Villa scored 24 points in the Cougars' 69-61 loss to the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

SAN FRANCISCO — Washington State built a 17-point lead after the first quarter and rode an exceptional first half to a 74-58 road win at San Francisco. The Cougars led 45-21 at halftime. The Dons were unable to mount a serious rally, outscoring the visitors by eight in the second half.

BOTTOM LINE: San Francisco plays Portland after Malik Thomas scored 34 points in San Francisco’s 91-82 loss to the Washington State Cougars. The Dons are 10-0 in home games. San Francisco is third in the WCC at limiting opponent scoring, giving up 66.8 points while holding opponents to 41.3% shooting.

Thursday night will provide an opportunity for David Riley's Cougars to keep pace with the rest of the West Coast Conference after a 3-0 start to their league schedule. Gonzaga are also 3-0 and St. Mary's reached 4-0 on Tuesday night with a blowout win over Loyola Marymount.

Significant movement took place in the logjam at the top of the West Coast Conference women's basketball standings last weekend. A week ago six teams were knotted at the top of the WCC. A week later just two remained deadlocked — Gonzaga and Washington State.

Washington State visits the San Francisco Dons after Eleonora Villa scored 24 points in the Cougars' 69-61 loss to the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Washington State Cougars (10-8, 5-2 WCC) at San Francisco Dons (8-8, 5-2 WCC) San Francisco; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Washington State visits San Francisco after Eleonora Villa scored 24 ...

San Francisco is the WCC leader with 35.2 rebounds per game led by Debora Dos Santos averaging 7.7. The Cougars are 5-2 in WCC play. Washington State ranks fifth in the WCC scoring 30.3 points per ...

Significant movement took place in the logjam at the top of the West Coast Conference women’s basketball standings last weekend. A week ago six teams were knotted at the top of the WCC. A week later just two remained deadlocked – Gonzaga and Washington State. Both teams swept a pair of games last week to gain a little separation.

Nate Calmese’s 27 points lifted the Washington State men’s basketball team to a win at San Diego, and the WSU women cruised to a 74-58 victory at San Francisco.

In this weekly notes WCC column, I share my insights on the four teams in our coverage footprint, Gonzaga, Oregon State, Saint Mary’s, and Washington State.

Following two wins over West Coast Conference opponents in three days, the Washington State Cougars men's basketball team are riding a wave of positivity. WSU a