In Case You Missed It ...
PULLMAN, Wash. – Going toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country, Washington State (7-12, 2-6) found themselves outgunned in a shootout with No. 5 Oregon (18-1, 7-0) who used a barrage from deep in the third quarter to come away with a 79-64 win over the Cougars Friday night at Beasley Coliseum. After outshooting the Ducks in the first half to take a 34-30 lead into the break, the Cougars found themselves on the wrong side of a 17-2 run to start the second half as the Ducks found daylight behind the arc and made their open looks count to create separation in what had been a tight contest. Spurring the run was Satou Sabally who knocked down four of her eight three-pointers during the Ducks' outburst. In all, Oregon would hit on all six of their attempts from deep in the third while the Cougars went cold, missing on five attempts. The three-point onslaught proved to be the difference in the game as the Cougs would trade shot-for-shot in the fourth as the Ducks held on to their advantage to secure the win.
Prior to the big third quarter out of Oregon, the Cougars gave the Ducks everything they could handle in the opening half led by the play of
Borislava Hristova and
Alexys Swedlund. The duo combined for 28 of WSU's 36 points. Swedlund got the ball rolling early, netting 10 of her 14 in the opening frame including knocking down a pair from deep. After scoring seven in the first quarter, Hristova would tallying nine more in the second to push the Cougars into the lead after 20 minutes. For Hristova, her last basket of the half was a special one as the redshirt-junior crossed the 1,500-point threshold for her career.Â
Coach Ethridge Quote of the Game
"I thought we played a great team in Oregon tonight. Last time we played them I couldn't be more disappointed in our effort and I was really proud how we managed the first half and played and competed in the first half and came out and played against a top-five team. Little disappointed in our second half, coming out of the halftime. Again, I don't exactly know why we lose our minds a little bit but we did and you know Oregon is a fantastic team and they make you pay. They made shots really hard for us in the second half. I think their length really bothered us a lot made everything seem a lot harder for us. They got some pretty easy look and some awesome looks and made threes in the third quarter and kind of did us in."
Moments of the Game
Things You Need To Know
- WSU dropped the season series to Oregon which has won four-straight against the Cougars.
- Borislava Hristova became the 6th Cougar all-time to score 1,500 career points when she dropped in a layup late in the second quarter. She finished the game with 1,514 to move into sole possession of No. 5 on WSU's all-time scoring list.
- Hristova's 29 marked the 19th-consecutive double-digit scoring game for the star, the sixth longest streak in program history. She also posted her 11th 20-point game of the season.
- Chanelle Molina finished the game with 18 points and seven rebounds. Her 10-straight double-digit scoring games is tied for the third-longest streak by a Cougar junior in WSU history. She picked up her 100th assist of the season in the contest as well.
- Alexys Swedlund finished the night with 14 points and six rebounds while Maria Kostourkova added 11 rebounds to lead the Cougs on the glass.
- For Oregon, three Ducks hit double-figures led by the career effort out of Satou Sabally who scored 33 points including an 8-for-11 effort from deep. Ruthy Hebard added 20 points and 14 rebounds while Sabrina Ionescu chipped in 14 points, four rebounds, and seven assist.
- As a team, the Ducks would hit 13-of-22 from deep while the Cougars finished 9-of-28.
- WSU gets a second crack at taking down No. 9 Oregon State Sunday, Jan. 27, after falling in a nail-bitter back on Jan. 4 in Corvallis. The Beavers come to Pullman after a 47-point win over Washington in Seattle Friday night.
