LOS ANGELES – Freshman Borislava Hristova led the Washington State women's basketball team with 16 points, but the Cougars (12-12, 3-10 Pac-12) were unable to keep pace with No. 14/16 UCLA (18-6, 10-3), falling to the Bruins, 73-61. Hristova was one of three WSU players in double-digits, as senior Taylor Edmondson added 12 points and sophomore Pinelopi Pavlopoulou added 10.

After trailing by as many as 13 points in the opening half, the Cougars put together an 11-1 run in the third quarter to take a 44-42 lead with 4:51 to play in the period. However, the lead would not last as the top-ranked Bruins forced the Cougars into a season-high 27 turnovers and outscored WSU 17-10 in the final period.

“I'm proud of our team's effort,” WSU Head Coach June Daugherty said. “We took the lead in the third quarter and the team weathered the runs that UCLA was making. Unfortunately, we turned it over a bit too much to be in a position to close it out.”

In the opening half the Bruins jumped out to a 25-12 lead midway through the second quarter. The Cougars would rally to score eight unanswered points, ultimately entering the halftime break trailing by just four.

UCLA was able to secure its victory from the free throw line, shooting 23-of-29 (.793) from the stripe. The Cougars were effective from the line, shooting 12-of-13 (.923), but were limited in their opportunities. The Bruins outrebounded WSU, 43-26. Senior Mariah Cooks led the Cougars with six rebounds and was complemented by sophomore Louise Brown, redshirt-freshman Nike McClure, and Edmondson with five rebounds apiece.

McClure played a career-high 25 minutes after making her first-career start. The Tenino, Wash., native also picked up a pair of blocks, moving in to a tie for fourth place in the WSU freshman record book with 22 season blocks. Senior Dawnyelle Awa dished a team-high six assists to move into seventh all-time in school history with 339 career assists.

The Cougars will look to snap their seven-game losing streak, Sunday, as they face USC at the Galen Center. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. with coverage on the Pac-12 Networks.