PULLMAN, WASH. – Needing an extra five minutes to decide the winner of the day's contest, the Washington State women's basketball team found themselves on the wrong end of a 77-73 decision to Boise State in Beasley Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. The loss for the Cougars (5-3) was their second in overtime on the year as the Broncos (7-0) escaped Pullman with their unblemished record intact.
The close loss was tough for the Cougars who clawed their way back into the contest in the fourth quarter despite playing the entire day without their second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, Louise Brown, due to injury. Without one of their key cogs, WSU was able to spread the ball around as the Cougars put five players in double-figures for the first time since their game against Colorado back on Feb. 25 of last season.
The Cougars had their chances to pull out the win on the day but missed a pair of opportunities late in the fourth quarter and again in overtime allowing the Broncos to escape.
Despite the missed chances, the Cougs set themselves up for a shot at victory late as they erased a 12-point Bronco lead in the fourth quarter. Down 55-43 with just over eight minutes to play, the Cougars found a groove on the defensive end thanks in part to sophomore Nike McClure who came up with two of her career-best four blocks down the stretch before fouling out. The Cougs would go on a 12-2 run over the next four minutes, holding the Broncos without a field goal. After the BSU lead swelled back to seven with just 3:24 to play, the Cougars went back to work with a 7-0 spurt capped by a three from Caila Hailey to tie the game at 64-64. The two teams would trade free throws down the stretch before a defensive stand by WSU in the final seconds of regulation sent the game into overtime.
In the extra five minutes, the Cougars would take their first lead since early in the third quarter on a three by Chanelle Molina with 3:20 to play. However, that would be the last time the Cougars would lead as the Broncos scored six-straight to essentially seal the victory.
Prior to the second half, the Cougars appeared as if they were in for an easy win at home as WSU led by 14 points just one minute into the second quarter before running into a scoring drought. After scoring the first five points of the quarter, WSU would score just four more in the final nine minutes of the period including going without a field goal the final 6:11 of the half. The field goal drought would creep its way into the second half, reaching nearly 10 minutes for the Cougars as their 14-point lead turned into a four-point hole. The Broncos kept the pressure on in the second half primarily behind the arc as they hit seven from deep in the final 20 minutes of regulation including five in the third quarter alone.
For the Cougars, a struggle from deep played a role in their loss as WSU was just 9-for-30 from behind the arc after starting the game 4-for-4. Despite the missed shots, the Cougars did see a career-best four made three-pointers from freshman Chanelle Molina who finished her day with 13 points for her third-straight double-digit scoring effort. Sophomore Borislava Hristova shook off an off shooting performance to tie for the team lead with 13 points while Alexys Swedlund had 11 and Hailey and freshman Kayla Washington each scored 10. The 10 for Washington was a career-best for the first-year Cougar as she also added five rebounds in just 16 minutes of action.
The Broncos put three in double-figures on the day led by a game-high 24 from Brooke Pahukoa. Pahukoa hit 7-of-17 from the floor including a 5-for-9 mark from distance. Behind Pahukoa, Marta Hermida scored 15 while Shalen Shaw added 12. As a team, BSU outshot the Cougars, 38.0% to 34.7% from the field.
The Cougars will hit the road for the rest of the month as they begin their six-game road trip at rival Gonzaga on Thursday, Dec. 8. The two teams meet in the Spokane at 6:00 pm.
