Borislava Hristova
79
Winner Washington State WSU 6-6, 1-0 Pac-12
76
Washington WASH 7-6, 0-1 Pac-12
Winner
Washington State WSU
6-6, 1-0 Pac-12
79
Final
76
Washington WASH
7-6, 0-1 Pac-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Washington State WSU 18 23 11 27 79
Washington WASH 14 17 18 27 76

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Athletic Communications

Hristova Scores 38 to Lead Washington State Past Washington

The Cougars went on the road and downed the Huskies 79-76 to begin Pac-12 play.

In Case You Missed It ...
SEATTLE - Behind a career-best 38 points from Borislava Hristova the Washington State women's basketball team (6-6, 1-0) scored the blow in the annual Boeing Apple Cup Series against Washington (7-6, 0-1) with a 79-76 victory on the road Sunday night. The Cougars would need every bit of Hristova's monster game as the Huskies mounted a furious rally in the second half to force WSU to come up with clutch shot after clutch shot to come away with the victory. Despite seeing their early lead of 16 slashed to just one in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, the Cougars would not be denied as Hristova mounted her own counter offensive, scoring five quick points including hitting her third of four threes in the game to lead an 8-0 run that pushed the lead back to nine with just over seven minutes to play. Once again, the Huskies battled back, cutting the lead to just one with 1:15 to play forcing the Cougars to again dig deep. As they had done all game, WSU found a way to get an open look as Chanelle Molina got loose at the top of the key and buried the Cougs 11th three-pointer of the game to make it a two-possession game as the clock ticked under one minute to play. Despite the lead the Huskies would not go quietly as Amber Melgoza had a chance to make it a one-point game in the final seconds but would miss the free throw in an and-one situation giving the Cougars a chance to seal the game. Hristova would make one of two at the line to push the lead to three with :09 to play and a staunch defensive stand forced Melgoza to heave up a three-point prayer that went unanswered to finish off the game. 

Coach Ethridge Quote of the Game
"I hope they're not all that crazy, but if we end up with a win I'm all for it. To handle the adversity of them crawling back (I don't know if they took the lead), but it just seemed that we kept them at bay.  Bobi (Hristova) was unbelievable making huge shot after huge shot. It's nice to have someone that can do that. It just shows how much these guys have invested. They have invested so much. They want to do well and they want to win for our program and obviously they put a ton of effort into this and I am really proud of them.

Moments of the Game Things You Need To Know
  • WSU pushed its way to .500 for the first time on the season while winning its Pac-12 opener for the first time since the 2014-15 season. The win was the Cougars' second-straight after finishing non-conference with an 85-59 win over Wichita State.
  • The Cougars win in Seattle was their first since since defeating the Huskies 83-72, Feb. 20, 2015. 
  • Borislava Hristova led the Cougars in scoring for the eighth time in 12 games. She posted her 12th-straight double-digit scoring game, tying her career-high for consecutive games with 10+ points.
  • Hristova's 38 points, her third 30+ point effort of the year and fifth career, marked the third highest scoring game in WSU history only behind Jenni Ruff's 41 in 1996 and Jeanne Eggart's 40 in 1981 (scored prior to women's basketball becoming an official NCAA sport). She scored a career-best 22 points in the first half and finished with 16 in the second half.
  • Hristova scored 38 points on 16-of-24 shooting, hitting a program-record 16 field goals, breaking her own record of 15 which she shared with four other Cougars. She finished shooting 66.7% from the floor and hit a career-best 4-of-6 from deep.
  • Hristova's 38 finished two points shy of the record for points against the Huskies inside of American Airlines Arena while also finishing as the second-highest total points in a game for a Pac-12 player on the season.
  • Alexys Swedlund and Chanelle Molina finished in double-figures as well with 16 points and 14 points, respectively. Swedlund hit 4-of-10 from behind the arc while Molina missed her first double-double as she added a career-best nine rebounds to go with six assists.
  • The Cougars' big four scored 74 of their 79 points in the contest.
  • Amber Melgoza, the Huskies' top scorer and sixth best scorer in the Pac-12, posted a team-best 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Jenna Moser and Darcy Rees each chipped in 15.
  • The Cougars posted 11 three-pointers in the win, hitting their season average posted in all six victories on the year.
  • WSU stays on the road with a trip to Oregon to face No. 11 Oregon State (Jan. 4) and No. 5 Oregon (Jan. 6).
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