BOULDER, Colo. - An array of mistakes over the game's final 10 minutes proved to be too much to overcome for the Washington State women's basketball team as the Cougars suffered a 70-58 loss on the road at Colorado, Friday night, in Boulder. The game between the Cougs (9-13, 4-7 Pac-12) and the Buffaloes (13-9, 3-8 Pac-12) was the first of two in the month of February as the two teams will meet again at the end of the month to close out the regular season in Pullman.

Colorado turned the Cougars over 12 times in the game's final quarter resulting in 19 points for the Buffs who overcame a 13-point deficit over the final 10:05 to play. Behind the turnovers and a lack of offense for WSU, Colorado was able to outscore the Cougars 31-9 in the fourth quarter to literally steal the victory out from under Washington State. WSU had its chances to overcome the onslaught, even pulling to within one with 3:20 to play in the game on a three from Pinelopi Pavlopoulou. However, it was not to be as the Buffaloes' press would not relent, holding the Cougs to just one field goal the rest of the way and without a point over the final 2:42 of the contest.

Prior to the fourth quarter mistakes, the Cougs appeared well on their way to picking up just their second road win of the year as WSU hit its groove midway through the second quarter and into the third to bust seemingly bust the game wide open. Down seven five minutes into the second, the Cougars went on a 13-5 run to close out the half as WSU took a one-point lead into the break. The Cougs would push the lead to as much as 14 midway through the third before settling on a 10-point advantage heading into the game's final period of play. During the run, the Cougars hit 14-of-21 from the field after starting the game 6-for-22.

There were signs of what was to come in the final quarter as the Buffs hit a three with :05 seconds to play in the third after the Cougars missed a layup on the other end that would have given them their largest lead of the evening at 15 points. Colorado would hit two more threes to start the fourth and turn the Cougars over five-straight possessions to flip the momentum and start the comeback effort.

Overall, the Cougars finished the game shooting 44.4% (24-of-54) from the floor while holding Colorado to just 32.4% (24-of-74) shooting. The difference in the game would come at the line and further as Colorado hit 18-of-26 freebies and 4-of-23 from deep while WSU hit just 8-of-12 from the line and 2-of-14 from behind the arc. Additionally, the Buffaloes forced the Cougars into a season-high 27 turnovers that they turned into 34 points.

Senior Ivana Kmetovska led the way for the Cougs with 16 points, tying her career high for the second-straight game while Pavlopoulou finished with 13 points for the third-straight contest. Kmetovska would finish the game a perfect 8-for-8 from the field while also adding five rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.

Colorado was led by Kennedy Leonard with a game-high 25 points while Ariana Freeman added 14 points and Haley Smith chipped in 10. Smith finished with a double-double in the game as she added a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Cougs will head to Salt Lake City, Utah, Sunday, to take on Utah in a midday matinee. The game is scheduled for 12 p.m. MST.