Cougs battle Pac-12 leading Oregon State to the wire before falling
The Washington State women’s basketball team (12-11, 3-9 Pac-12) was unable to complete the upset of nationally ranked Oregon State (20-3, 11-1) Sunday at Beasley Coliseum, suffering their sixth straight loss at the hands of the Beavers, 54-45.
The Cougars led by six points at the end of the third quarter but OSU outscored WSU by 26-11 in the final 10 minutes to secure the victory.
WSU freshman Borislava Hristova led all scorers with 22 points.
The Cougars excelled defensively, forcing Oregon State into 17 turnovers and holding the Beavers scoreless for over eight minutes in the third quarter. Sophomore Caila Hailey led the defensive charge, forcing OSU’s Sydney Wiese into an uncharacteristic seven turnovers.
“I thought our kids played their hearts out,” WSU Head Coach June Daugherty said. “They were so committed to playing team defense. We gave Oregon State all they could handle. I loved our energy. We rotated a lot of people out there and everybody was committed to the scout(ing report). For the majority of the game, we played our ‘A game.’ It’s exciting to see that.”
With the Cougars leading entering the final quarter, Oregon State’s Wiese took control of the game, scoring 13 of her 16 points in the last 10 minutes to guide the Beavers to victory. WSU turned the ball over three times in the final period and made just three field goals.
“You could see the difference in Oregon State starting with about five minutes to go. Although we had the lead, Oregon State showed great poise, weren’t rattled and they were able to close it out,” Daugherty said. “That’s a step we have to take right now as a team – being able to keep playing hard and keep that passion on offense and defense but close it out in the last five minutes. I was really encouraged about how hard we played and how well we played at times today.”
The highlight of the day for Washington State came in the second and third quarters. WSU outscored the Beavers 26-16 over the 20-minute stretch. Hristova dropped 16 points over the two periods, while the Cougar defense forced 10 turnovers and held OSU 0-of-12 from the floor in the final eight minutes of the third quarter.
The Beavers controlled the game on the glass, outrebounding WSU 43-31. WSU senior Taylor Edmondson and sophomore Pinelopi Pavlopoulou pulled in four rebounds apiece to pace the Cougars.
WSU attempted just nine 3-pointers in the game, fewest of the season. They made four of them to shoot 44.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Cougars finished 18-of-57 (.316) from the field. Oregon State shot .353 (18-51) from the floor and 6-of-19 (.316) from 3-point range.
For the 19th time this season, the Cougar bench outscored the opponent’s reserves, recording 31 points to the Beavers’ two points.
WSU senior Alexas Williamson made her first career start for the Cougars, while fellow senior Mariah Cooks made her first start of the season and senior Taylor Edmondson made her second career start after starting a single game during her sophomore campaign.
“We wanted to take a different approach and we went with our seniors,” Daugherty said. “Our seniors definitely responded and our team responded right with them. We wanted to mix it up and I thought it ignited us. We were as connected as I’ve ever seen us on the bench and on the floor. All 14 players were totaling into the scout and understood it.”
Washington State now undertakes a four-game road trip to close out the 2015-16 road slate. The Cougars face UCLA on Friday at 7 p.m. in Los Angeles
“We know that when we play hard, anything can happen,” Daugherty said. “We also know we have to close it out and that’s the next step for us. I believe we can do that.”
PAC-12 RESULTS (Sun. Feb. 7)Utah 76, Colorado 68 Oregon State 54, Washington State 45 Oregon 75, Washington 63UCLA 73, Arizona 39Arizona State 69, USC 68
(WazzuWatch Publisher Scott Hood contributed to this story)
