CORVALLIS, Ore. – It was a tale of two halves for the Washington State women's basketball team at No. 17/18 Oregon State on Sunday afternoon, as the Cougars started out hot in the first half, but went cold over the final two quarters to fall to the Beavers, 73-58, at Gill Coliseum to close out the 2019-20 regular season.
Washington State shot a blistering 64% from the field over the first two quarters of play against the Beavers, as the Cougars connected on 16 of its first 25 shots in the contest to take a one-point lead going into the half at 36-35. However, the hot-shooting would not carry over to the final 20 minutes of play in Corvallis, as the short-handed Cougs only managed to hit seven of their final 26 attempts from the floor (26.9%) in the third and fourth quarters to leave Gill Coliseum with a 15-point defeat.
The Cougars had a season-high four players score double-digits in the 2019-20 regular season finale, despite missing two starters on Sunday. Sophomore Ula Motuga led the way for WSU with 13 points, while redshirt senior Borislava Hristova and redshirt junior Jovana Subasic each chipped in 12 points. Sophomore Cherilyn Molina, who made her first career start on Sunday, matched Hristova and Subasic in the scoring column with a career-best 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.
Sunday's contest featured seven lead changes and eight ties, as Washington State posted a 45.1% shooting percentage from the floor in the loss, while Oregon State connected on 43.3% of its shot attempts.
WSU trailed by six points to begin the second quarter, before opening the frame on a 7-2 run to pull within a point of Oregon State at 24-23. A 6-0 spurt late in the second quarter gave the Cougars a one-point lead, as a steal by Hristova led to a fast-break layup to make it 31-30 with 1:49 left to play in the quarter.
OSU hit a 3-point field goal in the ensuing possession after Hristova's basket to retake the lead, but Johanna Muzet ended the half by connecting on a 3-point field goal from the corner to give Washington State a 36-35 advantage over the No. 17/18-ranked team in the nation at the break on its home floor.
The Cougars expanded their lead to a game-high five points out of halftime, as the youngest of the three Molina sisters sank three-consecutive 18-foot jumpers to begin the third quarter to extend the Washington State lead to five points, 42-37, at the 8:08 mark. WSU only managed two more points in the third quarter, as Oregon State turned up the defensive pressure over the final eight minutes of the stanza to take a 56-44 lead heading into the fourth
The Cougars were able to pull their deficit to within single digits midway through the fourth, as a pair of free throws by freshman Emma Nankervis made it 61-52 with 5:40 left to play. Oregon State would follow with a 3-pointer to extend its lead back out to 12 points and maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest.
The loss moves Washington State to 11-19 overall, as they conclude the regular season with a 4-14 mark in Pac-12 play to earn the No. 11 seed in next week's Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.
A rematch with Oregon State awaits the Cougs in Vegas, as the Beavers will open the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed. The Cougars will battle the Beavers this Thursday, March 5, at 8:30 p.m. from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Fans can purchase tickets for the 2020 Pac-12 Tournament by clicking the link here.
COUG QUOTES
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge on Today's Result: "We found out in warmups that we would be playing a little shorthanded and our team responded in such an incredible way. The team played with such poise and obviously answered a lot of Oregon State's (made shots) early in the game. When you lose your starters, you lose your way at times. Their press kind of raddled us a little bit and got us out of rhythm and forced us into some not-great possessions. The way we competed in the first half was something that we can really build on. I think this matchup (against Oregon State) and I think we can play with them, but we need to make a few adjustments and play a better tournament game."
COUG NOTES
- With the loss, Washington State ends its 2019-20 regular season with an 11-19 overall record. The 11 wins marks a two-win improvement from year one to year two under head coach Kamie Ethridge.
- Washington State falls to 0-14 against ranked opponents this season after Sunday's loss at No. 17/18 Oregon State. No team in the nation has played more ranked opponents than the Cougars this season, as the 14 games played against top-25 opponents during the 2019-20 campaign sets a school record.
- The 12 points scored by senior Borislava Hristova against Oregon State extends her double-digit scoring streak to 24-straight games, which is the second-longest streak by a senior in Washington State history.
- Hristova moved into 11th on the Pac-12 women's basketball all-time scoring list on Sunday with 2,250 career points, as she surpassed USC's Tina Thompson (1994-97). Bobi Buckets needs 28 points to move into the top-10 on the conference's all-time scoring list.
- Sophomore Cherilyn Molina picked up the first start of her career on Sunday and responded with a career-best 12-point performance. This marks the first double-digit scoring performance at Washington State for the guard.
