PULLMAN, Wash. – In the final basketball game of the 2015-16 regular season, the Washington State women's basketball team (14-15, 5-13) fell to the University of Utah, 75-69. Despite a double-digit halftime lead, the Cougars were unable to hold off the Utes (16-13, 8-10), who outscored WSU by 13 in the third quarter. In a game that featured seven ties and 14 lead changes, the Cougars were led by freshman Borislava Hristova with 14 points and sophomore Caila Hailey who matched her career-high with 11 points.

“There is no better group of seniors than this one,” WSU Head Coach June Daugherty said. “They've been positive role models, not just in our program, but in this community. I think that they've been great teachers for this young group both on and off the court. We're really proud of them, but disappointed that we weren't able to close out the victory today for them and our fans.”

Rebounding proved to be the Cougars demise as Utah outrebounded WSU, 54-32. The Utes scored 18 second-chance points and were led in scoring by Paige Crozon and Danielle Rodriguez with 28 points apiece. Washington State played well defensively, forcing Utah into 19 turnovers, with nine steals and three blocks. All three blocks came from freshman Maria Kostourkova. The three swats pushed WSU total to a school-record 117 blocks this season, besting the previous WSU record set in 2012-13.

The Cougars played a strong first half, holding the Utes to .273 (9-of-33) from the floor. Sophomore Bianca Blanaru matched her career-high with seven points, as eight WSU players scored. Senior Alexas Williamson stormed into the game, scoring six points in the opening 20 minutes, one shy of her career-high, and WSU entered the locker room leading 38-26.

In the third quarter, WSU was unable to find an answer for Utah's transition game as the Utes outscored WSU 27-13 to erase the deficit and take a one-point lead into the final quarter. Both sides traded leads in the remaining 10 minutes. With WSU leading by one with 2:31 to play, Utah scored seven unanswered points to put the game out of reach.

“These seniors have come in and went from trying to make this program competitive, to making it a nationally-competitive program,” Daugherty said of the senior class. “They have been great leaders. On and off the court they have grown together, provided great leadership, and friendship.”

With the conclusion of the 2015-16 regular season, the Cougars will travel to Seattle, Wash., to compete in the 2016 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament. The Cougars will await to find out their final seeding, Sunday before play begins Thursday at KeyArena.