WASHINGTON STATE (5-5) at Boise State (5-3)
6 p.m. (PT) | Monday | Dec. 18, 2017
Boise, ID | Taco Bell Arena (12,480)
MATCHUP NOTES
The Cougars return to the court after taking a week and a half off for finals. WSU hits the road for a pair of games to close out the non-conference schedule. Up first for WSU is a trip to Boise State to take on the Broncos. Last season, Boise State came to Beasley and upset the Cougs, taking down WSU in overtime, 77-73. The contest against the Broncos marked the first game without
Louise Brown for the Cougs after she broke her foot. The Cougs went just 9-for-30 from deep. The win for the Broncos gave Boise State the edge in the all-time series at 19-18. The Cougs are 7-8 all-time on the road in Boise, but have won the last five road matchups. Last time in Boise on Dec. 3, 2015 the Cougs took a 57-52 win over the Broncos.Â
LAST TIME OUT
A cold shooting night on the Palouse was too much for the home Cougars (5-5) to overcome as Washington State fell Wednesday night at Beasley Coliseum to Gonzaga (5-3), 64-56. An even game throughout three-quarters, the Cougs' offense went missing late in the fourth as the Zags used a 10-5 run to turn a three-point game into an eight-point advantage in the final four minutes of the game. Throughout the final minutes of the contest, WSU had its chances to push its way back into the game only to see its shot attempts come up empty and the final minutes tick away. In all, the Cougs would shoot just 4-of-20 in the final 10 minutes of action and finish the game 21-of-75 while the Zags shot 45.7% (21-of-46) from the floor and 6-of-9 from deep. In addition to the missed opportunities on the offensive end, the game was bogged down by foul trouble for both sides as the Cougs and Zags were called for 48 combined fouls. The Cougs' leading scorer,
Borislava Hristova, played the entire game in foul trouble after picking up two fouls in the first 1:35 of the game. Despite the trouble, the Pac-12's No. 2 scorer would lead the Cougs with 13 points, seven coming in the third quarter, to go with a season-high eight rebounds. While the Cougs battled their own issues, the Zags played nearly the entire second half without their star, Jill Barta, who exited the game due to injury after posting 15 points in 13 minutes of action. In her stead, Zykera Rice took control of the reins and paint to finish with 19 points, 13 of which came in the second half of play after Barta's injury.
ABOUT THEÂ BRONCOS
Boise State enters the game riding a three-game winning streak with all three games coming against regional rivals in Eastern Washington (61-57), Washington (85-62), and Portland (73-47). Three Broncos players average double-figures in scoring with Marta Hermida posting 11.9 points per game to go with 6.0 rebounds per game. Right behind her is Riley Lupfer (11.3 ppg) and Braydey Hodgins (10.5 ppg). As a team, BSU is outscoring its opponents 72.5 ppg to 59.4 ppg while shooting 42.1% from the floor.
IN THEÂ TWITTERVERSE
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