PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State nearly pulled off another top-10 upset Sunday but No. 7 Oregon State University held off a Cougar comeback to escape Beasley Coliseum with a 61-56 victory.

The Cougars (13-10, 4-8 Pac-12) who already own a win over No. 8 Maryland earlier this season, led by as much as 16 in the opening minutes and owned a one-point halftime lead but struggled to get shots to fall in the second, shooting 22 percent in the final 20 minutes before faltering late to OSU. Washington State shot 32 percent for the game but tallied 12 points off of 19 OSU turnovers. Oregon State shot over 43 percent from the field including 45 percent in the second half and had four players score in double figures. OSU (21-2, 11-1 Pac-12) went 13-of-20 at the free throw line while WSU went 4-for-6. The Cougars dropped to 3-4 in games decided by five or fewer points this season.

Junior guard Lia Galdeira scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds while battling foul trouble for most of the game. Galdeira pushed her career point total to 1,532, passing Jenni Ruff for second all-time in WSU career scoring and sits 435 points from Jeanne Eggart's (1977-82) top mark of 1,967.

Junior forward Mariah Cooks added 10 points, senior guard Tia Presley chipped in with nine points and freshman forward Louise Brown brought down 10 rebounds.

The Cougars were off and running early, using a 15-0 run to build a 21-5 lead at the 13:05 mark as Oregon Stat struggled to knock down shots. Cooks got things going with a jumper off the glass, Galdeira followed with a pull-up jumper from the right wing, Presley scored on a layup and Galdeira drove into the lane before dropping off a pass to Brown for a layin. Junior guard Taylor Edmondson got into the act, hitting a runner in the lane before freshman guard Pinelopi Pavlopoulou sank a three from the right corner and Presley capped the run with a driving layin for a 21-5 advantage.

Washington State stayed hot as Galdeira hit a three from the right wing but the Beavers slowly chipped away, adding two threes of their own after Galdeira's make. OSU would use a 10-3 run to cut the Cougar lead to 27-20 with 7:28 remaining.

Oregon State continued to knock down shots in the final minutes of the half, putting together another run, this time a 9-0 streak that made it a one-point game at the break, 31-30 Washington State. The Cougars shot over 45 percent from the floor while OSU shot 42 percent including 4-of-15 from behind the arc. Galdeira led WSU with 10 points and Presley added eight as eight Cougars registered points in the first half.

WSU started the second half with baskets by Cooks and Galdeira and later built a 39-35 lead after a Cooks' three but Oregon State answered with a 7-0 run to take its first lead since early in the first half. Minutes later, Galdeira evened things up at 46 with a pair of free throws at the eight-minute mark but the Beavers rattled off six straight points that later turned into a 9-2 run and a 55-48 advantage with 3:54 to go.

Cooks kept the Cougars in it, coming up with a big shot, hitting a three from the left wing to cut the OSU lead to four with 2:29 remaining but the Beavers started to sink their free throws. Following a Galdeira layup that made it a four-point game with 44 seconds remaining, OSU added a couple free throws to go back up six. Galdeira gave WSU one last boost, hitting a long three from the right wing to make it a three-point game with 10 seconds left. Washington State was then forced to foul and the Beavers sank both free throws to go back up five and held off the Cougars for good.

Washington State will hit the road next weekend to face the University of Colorado Friday and the University of Utah Sunday.