‘Cats Claw Out Conference Win Over Cougs
By Lew Wright
Washington State opened up Pac-12 play Friday night losing a tough game to a talented Arizona Wildcats team by a final of 71-65 in Pullman, WA.
In a game where home court should have been the edge needed to earn a victory in a close game, it wasn’t to be. There were more campus staff on hand than Cougar fans. A mere 422 folks walked through the turnstiles resulting in legions of Cougar Nation missing out on a very competitive and exciting ball game and sacrificing Friel Court in transition to a neutral site.
Coach June Daughtery watched her ball club play well in the first half, jumping out to a 34-31 lead in the first half. Early on the game looked as though it might be a blowout for WSU. The Cougs led early on by a margin of 15-3 just minutes into the game.
“I thought we came out with just both barrels blazing,” lamented Coach Daughtery during her post-game press conference.
The scoreboard showed a seesaw game throughout the second half. When freshman Lia Galdeira canned a bucket with just 49-seconds remaining for two of her 17 points, Washington State was within 2-points.
That was as close as it would come.
On the following possession by Arizona Kama Griffitts was fouled as she hoisted up a 3-point attempt. She converted all three free throws to push the ‘Cats lead back up to 5 and basically ice the game.
"“It was a game of runs and obviously Arizona had the last run” – WSU Coach June Daughtery"
Tough way to initiate conference play. The game proved to be a tough lesson for a very youthful WSU squad.
Putting the contest in perspective, Coach Daughtery said, “It’s a marathon…this Pac-12 race. We’ve got to learn from this quickly. We’ve got to rest up. We’ve got to turn it around…get ready for a game on Sunday and a very physical matchup with ASU.”
"“We made a few mistakes and it cost us the game” – WSU senior center Carly Noyes"
NOTEWORTHY
– Lia Galeira led the Cougs with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists
– Carly Noyes grabbed career rebound No. 400 and finished with a season-high 9 rebounds while pouring in 14 points while playing 34 min
– Sage Romberg scored 10 points, grabbed 7 boards while passing out 3 assists