Swedlund Scores 20, But WSU Falls at Saint Mary's

Sunday, November 12

Moraga, CA

1:00 PM

Washington State University

0-2

Saint Mary's

1-1

Washington State

Saint Mary's (CA)

November 12, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

A third-quarter run by the Gaels turned the tides on the Cougs.

By: Athletic Communications

In Case You Missed It
MORAGA, Calif. – A big third quarter run proved to be the difference on the day as Washington State (0-2) fell on the road at Saint Mary's (1-1), 81-75, Sunday afternoon at McKeon Pavilion. Just as the Cougs appeared to be taking total control of the game, Saint Mary's was able to find its offensive rhythm from the free throw line as the Gaels hit six-straight from the charity stripe to kick off a 13-6 run that closed out the third quarter. Down by nine with just over four to play, the Cougs would instantly cut the lead to just four, finishing their quick outburst with a three from Alexys Swedlund, her fourth of the game. However, the outburst would be a flash as WSU went cold for the final three minutes of the game going just 1-for-8 allowing the Gaels to hold on for the win. In addition to the huge discrepancy at the line, the Gaels also benefited from controlling the glass as Saint Mary's held a 43-30 edge on the boards led by Megan McKay's 11. The big center for the Gaels used her advantage underneath to score a game-high 22 points including a back-breaking put-back with just over one-minute to play that essentially sealed the win for Saint Mary's.

Coach's Quote Of The Match
"We battled really hard today. For our second game out we battled much better than the first time. I thought that where we lost the game was in the rebound trenches. We have to be able to finish defensive plays with people boxing out and grabbing rebounds and not allowing our opponents to get those second and third opportunities. Quite frankly that's where we lost the battle today."

Moment's From The Game

Caila with the steal and Swede finishes on the other end to give the Cougs their first lead of the day at 19-18 #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/kYFpHbXyPB
— WSU Women's Hoops (@WSUWomensHoops) November 12, 2017

Lou with her 4th three of the day, tying her career best from distance #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/A7YYe4ZiiR
— WSU Women's Hoops (@WSUWomensHoops) November 12, 2017

Bobi with the nifty spin move to cut the deficit back to 7, just over 4 to play in the game as we head to the media timeout 77-70 SMC #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/wRb0dpviDx
— WSU Women's Hoops (@WSUWomensHoops) November 12, 2017

Big time 3 by Swede gives her 20 points in the game, her 8th 20+ effort of her career 77-73 SMC #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/rqWASGizXt
— WSU Women's Hoops (@WSUWomensHoops) November 12, 2017

Things You Need To Know

The Cougs fell to 0-2 to start a season for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
Alexys Swedlund scored 20+ points for the eighth time in her career.
Swedlund went 4-for-9 from deep as she moved into ninth-place all-time in WSU history with 112 made threes.
Four Cougs scored in double-figures as Swedlund was joined by Borislava Hristova (15), Louise Brown (12), and Caila Hailey (10). Brown tied her career high with four threes in the game.
WSU forced 20 turnovers scoring 18 points off the SMC mistakes.
The Gaels put three in double-figures led by Megan McKay's 22 points while Stella Beck and Sydney Raggio added 17 and 14, respectively.
SMC outshot the Cougs 50.9%-to-39.4% from the floor. The Gaels were also +11 from the line going 19-for-26 while the Cougs were 8-for-9 at the line.
SMC turned 13 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points while the Cougs scored just nine off of their 14 offensive rebounds.
The Gaels improved to 6-3 all-time against the Cougs and 4-1 in Moraga.
WSU fell to 0-1 on the year when leading at half (37-36). The Cougs were 11-6 in games their led at half last season.