In Case You Missed It ...
PULLMAN, Wash. –  Taking on the No. 20 ranked team in the country, Washington State (7-16, 2-10) could not keep pace with Arizona State (16-6, 7-4) Thursday night as the Sun Devils came away with a 61-46 victory at Beasley Coliseum. The Sun Devils used a pair of big runs to come away with the win over the Cougars compiling a 14-2 run in the second quarter to turn a big WSU lead into a close game at halftime before breaking away with a 17-2 run to start the third. Prior to the Sun Devils taking control of the contest, the Cougars led by as much as eight as WSU opened the second quarter on a 7-2 run by getting into the lane and converting at the rim. The push to the basket was a continuation of the opening quarter for the Cougs who posted of their first 14 points in the paint to claim a 14-11 lead after 10 minutes of play. Despite the strong start the Cougars could not sustain their success against the Sun Devils who entered the game as one of the top defensive teams in the country. As ASU ramped up their defensive pressure the Cougars saw their openings shrink and with it their chances to pull off the upset.
Coach Ethridge Quote of the Game
"We played a very good defensive team. They make things really hard for your best players. They made the night really hard for Chanelle. I thought they really crowded the floor on Bobi and she didn't get a lot of great looks. I thought we held them at bay and guarded them really well in the first half. The third quarter came and we missed the first few I thought pretty good looks and just really fell apart on defensive transitions to let them get a lot of energy from that and we still don't respond great with a little bit of adversity and being able to respond the right way to that onslaught by them. On a night where we couldn't muster up many points from anybody we obviously couldn't keep up with Arizona State who I thought got better as the game went on."
Moments of the Game
Things You Need To Know
- WSU dropped its seventh-straight contest overall and eighth-straight to Arizona State.
- Borislava Hristova was the lone Cougar to reach double-figures as the junior posted 11 points to go with three rebounds and three assists.
- Chanelle Molina saw her double-digit scoring streak snapped at 13 games as the junior finished the night with eight points, four rebounds and six assists.
- Ula Motuga picked up her first career start and finished the game with six points and a career-best eight rebounds.
- Arizona State put two in double-figures with Kianna Ibis posting a game high 22 points to go with eight rebounds while Robbi Ryan added 13 points.
- The Cougars host Arizona Saturday, Feb. 9 on the Pac-12 Networks. The game is scheduled for Noon.
