PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State women's basketball posted an 81-73 victory over visiting University of Alaska-Anchorage in an exhibition contest at Beasley Coliseum Sunday. Three Cougars scored in double figures led by junior guard Pinelopi Pavlopoulou and sophomore guard Borislava Hristova who each finished with 15 points. Pavlopoulou hit three 3-pointers, dished out eight assists while sophomore guard Alexys Swedlund added 12 points and redshirt-sophomore forward Nike McClure blocked seven shots, a would-be WSU single-game record if the game had been in the regular season.
 
Sophomore center Maria Kostourkova added eight points and nine rebounds while freshmen Chanelle Molina (7 pts, 4 asst) and Kayla Washington (6 pts, 3 reb, 1 blk) each impressed in their first game game at Beasley Coliseum.
 
UAA, a team that went 38-3 last season and played in the Division II National Championship game, was led by Tara Thompson's 26 points after she hit eight 3-pointers.
 
The Cougars shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half and finished shooting 44 percent while UAA connected on 11 threes in the game but was held to 22 percent shooting for the game. WSU blocked 10 shots and forced 26 turnovers.
 
Alaska-Anchorage opened the game with five 3-pointers in the first quarter and used a 24-15 rebound advantage to build a double-digit lead. Late in the half the Cougars started to head up and Pavlopoulou got things going with a three that sparked a 13-1 run to end the half. Swedlund also hit at three from the right wing and added three more as she was fouled on a driving layup and hit the free throw and Molina capped the half with at three from the left wing to cut the UAA lead to 44-40.
 
The Cougars used a 7-0 run early in the third quarter as Pavlopoulou evened the game at 47 with a three from the right wing and the run later grew to 11-1 after Lousie Brown drained a jumper from the left baseline for a 51-48 lead.
 
Washington State pulled away for good with a 10-0 streak to start the fourth quarter as Brown capped the run with a jumper from the right elbow. The Seawolves kept things close with the three ball, hitting three more from long range in the final minutes but the Cougars answered with a three from Pavlopoulou and a nice no-look pass from Hristova to a cutting Kostourkova to seal up the win.
 
WSU opens the season with a four-game homestand beginning Friday against Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m.