In Case You Missed It ...
LOS ANGELES –  Despite a shooting clinic from
Chanelle Molina and a double-double from
Borislava Hristova, Washington State (7-14, 2-8) could not keep pace with UCLA (12-9, 5-4) Friday night in Westwood as the Bruins pulled away in the second half for an 83-56 win. From the outset, the Bruins were able to use their size and athleticism in the paint and the passing lanes to control the contest despite a quick start to the game offensively by the Cougs. Finding their shooting rhythm early, WSU shot nearly 62% from the floor in the opening quarter but found themselves trailing by one after 10 minutes of play due to UCLA collecting nine offensive rebounds and forcing four Cougar mistakes accounting for 13 of their 19 points. While UCLA continued to produce at the same rate in the second quarter, the Cougars' offense went frigid, hitting just 2-of-15 shots from the floor in the period which saw the Bruins push their lead to double-digits heading into the lockerroom. After a sluggish start in the first half, Molina went supernova to start the third, drilling five three-pointers including four in the first five minutes out of the break to get the Cougs within six midway through the frame. However, the quarter would prove to be a microcosm of the opening half as WSU would miss seven of their final eight from deep in the final 4:27 of the quarter allowing the Bruins to close out on a 14-5 run that broke the game wide open. The Bruins continued to put the pressure on in the games final quarter, shooting just over 60% from the floor to seal the win.
Coach Ethridge Quote of the Game
"I thought we played with some pretty good heart and I though Nelle came out in the second half and really tried to keep us in it and will us in it. Their zone bothered us in teh second quarter I thought we handled that decently a little bit in the second half, but again its hard when you are playing people as many minutes as we are and we just didn't get enough production. We didn't score enough points to compete against these top teams."
Moments of the Game
Things You Need To Know
- WSU dropped its fifth-straight game in Pac-12 play with the loss in the lone meeting of the season between the Cougars and the Bruins.
- Chanelle Molina scored a game-high 24 points including finishing a career-best 6-for-7 from distance. The 24 points marked the fourth time on the year the junior eclipsed the 20-point mark and the 12th-straight double-digit scoring game, the longest active streak for WSU. Molina's .857 shooting from behind the arc set a program record for three-point efficiency, outdoing the previous record of .750 (6-8) done twice prior.
- Molina did the bulk of her damage in the third quarter scoring 15 points on five three-pointers. Her 15 points ties for the second biggest single quarter output trailing only her 18-point for quarter scored against UCLA during her freshman season.
- Borislava Hristova posted 12 points to start a new double-digit scoring streak after seeing her 19-game streak snapped the game prior. The redshirt-junior finished the night with her second double-double of the season after adding a team-best 11 rebounds.
- The Bruins were just the second team on the year to put five in double-figures against the Cougars led by Michaela Onyenwere's 21. Kennedy Burke (18), Lajahna Drummer (12), Japreece Dean (11), and Lauryn Miller (10) rounded out the scoring.
- UCLA came away with a 28-5 advantage in points off of turnovers while also adding 16 second-chance points on 26 offensive rebounds.
- WSU finishes its trip to Los Angeles with a game against USC Sunday, Feb. 3. The tip is scheduled for noon from the Galen Center.
