PULLMAN, Wash. (December 13, 2024) – Washington State women's basketball fell to BYU 72-57 Friday night in Beasley Coliseum.
 
The Cougars (4-6, 0-0 WCC) held a lead for the majority of the first half, but BYU found their shot when they needed to and closed the second half out for the win.

Tara Wallack led the team with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Alex Covill scored eight points and matched a career-high with eight rebounds while securing her third-straight game with three blocks.

Astera Tuhina scored eight points to go with four assists and a block, and Eleonora Villa added seven points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Charlotte Abraham added seven points off the bench, while Candace Kpetikou totaled six points, two steals and a block.

In a first quarter in which everything seemed to go Washington State's way, Wazzu was up 11-6 thanks to a four-minute BYU scoring drought. BYU still found a way to exit the half up 12-11, thanks to a 7-0 run fueled by two Amari Whiting jumpers.

Washington State responded however, going on an 11-2 rally to recapture a 22-14 lead. With BYU facing another deficit, they responded just like they did in the first quarter, though, scoring eight unanswered points to enter halftime with a 26-24 lead.

With both teams trading blows, Wazzu looked to their star-senior, Wallack. She came alive for the Cougs offense nailing a triple and hit two turnaround jumpers to give her seven points in the quarter. Wallack wasn't the only one to find their rhythm, however, as BYU's Delaney Gibb caught fire. The BYU freshman scored 14 points in the third quarter and helped close out another end-of-quarter run to give BYU a 53-42 lead heading into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, BYU pulled away and went on to lead by as many as 19 before the final buzzer sealed their 72-57 win.

 
RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS
•    Tara Wallack's 16 points put her at 998 for her career, two points away from 1,000.
•    Wallack's eight rebounds put her over the 500-career milestone, now with 502 career rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
The Cougars are back in action to host Saint Martin's on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 12 p.m. noon live on ESPN+.
 
FOLLOW US
For more information on the Washington State women's basketball team, follow @WSUCougarWBB on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.