SEATTLE, Wash. - The Washington State women's basketball team's run in Seattle at the 2017 Pac-12 Tournament came to an end Friday night as the Cougs could not get past the second-seeded Stanford Cardinal in the quarterfinals at KeyArena. A cold-shooting night for the Cougars (12-19) was too much to work through as the Cardinal (26-5) shot their way to a 66-36 win to earn their ticket into the semifinals.
Throughout the night the Cougs could not get anything to drop against the No. 10 team in the country for as cold as WSU was Stanford was equally hot, running out to a 21-0 lead seven minutes into the contest. After missing their first 11 shots of the game WSU finally broke through on a jumper by redshirt-sophomore Nike McClure with 3:06 remaining in the first quarter. She would go on to finish the quarter with all of the Cougars' eight points as WSU trailed by 18 after 10 minutes of action. In the second, the Cougs would make a run at the Cardinal, scoring eight-unanswered points to cut the deficit to 12 midway through the period. However, the Cardinal would respond by scoring 10 of the final 12 points of the half including hitting a corner three as time expired to erase the WSU efforts.
For the Cougs, the halftime break would not prove to be the magic bullet as the Cardinal held WSU at bay throughout the game's final 20 minutes while slowly extending their lead to 30 points, the final margin of victory. Throughout the game, Stanford did significant damage against the Cougar defense from behind the arc as the Cardinal hit 9-of-21 from deep with Karlie Samuelson hitting 6-of-10 three-pointers. Samuelson led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting while Brittany McPhee chipped in 12 points by going 5-for-8 from the floor.
A night after posting their best shooting night in Pac-12 tournament history, the Cougs shot a season-low 24.6% (16-65) from the floor while going 0-for-16 from deep. The dearth of outside shooting marked the first time since 2012 WSU was held without a three-point field goal. Senior Ivana Kmetovska, playing in what may have been her final collegiate contest, was the lone Coug to reach double-figures in scoring with 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting. McClure finished just shy of 10 points with eight to go with six rebounds. Of her six boards, three came on the offensive glass giving her the program single-season record with 106 for the year. She would also add to her block record with one in the game while she also came up with a career-best five steals.
The Cougs' 36 points proved to be a Pac-12 Tournament low for WSU in 23 post-season games and the lowest scoring total since a 76-35 loss to Arizona State in the 2009 season.
Even with the loss, the Cougs season may not be complete as WSU must wait to see their post-season fate on Selection Monday. Despite the sub-.500 record, WSU currently sits in line for the Pac-12's automatic bid to the WNIT after finishing seventh in conference standings. The Pac-12 awards its automatic bid to the WNIT to the first team outside of the NCAA tournament and current projections have the top-six conference teams earning a spot in big dance. The WNIT tips off March 15 with games held at host sites around the country.
Throughout the night the Cougs could not get anything to drop against the No. 10 team in the country for as cold as WSU was Stanford was equally hot, running out to a 21-0 lead seven minutes into the contest. After missing their first 11 shots of the game WSU finally broke through on a jumper by redshirt-sophomore Nike McClure with 3:06 remaining in the first quarter. She would go on to finish the quarter with all of the Cougars' eight points as WSU trailed by 18 after 10 minutes of action. In the second, the Cougs would make a run at the Cardinal, scoring eight-unanswered points to cut the deficit to 12 midway through the period. However, the Cardinal would respond by scoring 10 of the final 12 points of the half including hitting a corner three as time expired to erase the WSU efforts.
For the Cougs, the halftime break would not prove to be the magic bullet as the Cardinal held WSU at bay throughout the game's final 20 minutes while slowly extending their lead to 30 points, the final margin of victory. Throughout the game, Stanford did significant damage against the Cougar defense from behind the arc as the Cardinal hit 9-of-21 from deep with Karlie Samuelson hitting 6-of-10 three-pointers. Samuelson led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting while Brittany McPhee chipped in 12 points by going 5-for-8 from the floor.
A night after posting their best shooting night in Pac-12 tournament history, the Cougs shot a season-low 24.6% (16-65) from the floor while going 0-for-16 from deep. The dearth of outside shooting marked the first time since 2012 WSU was held without a three-point field goal. Senior Ivana Kmetovska, playing in what may have been her final collegiate contest, was the lone Coug to reach double-figures in scoring with 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting. McClure finished just shy of 10 points with eight to go with six rebounds. Of her six boards, three came on the offensive glass giving her the program single-season record with 106 for the year. She would also add to her block record with one in the game while she also came up with a career-best five steals.
The Cougs' 36 points proved to be a Pac-12 Tournament low for WSU in 23 post-season games and the lowest scoring total since a 76-35 loss to Arizona State in the 2009 season.
Even with the loss, the Cougs season may not be complete as WSU must wait to see their post-season fate on Selection Monday. Despite the sub-.500 record, WSU currently sits in line for the Pac-12's automatic bid to the WNIT after finishing seventh in conference standings. The Pac-12 awards its automatic bid to the WNIT to the first team outside of the NCAA tournament and current projections have the top-six conference teams earning a spot in big dance. The WNIT tips off March 15 with games held at host sites around the country.