The WSU Women’s basketball team finished their pre-season play and had a successful start in the Pac-12 during winter break.  The Cougars went 3-3 and now have a record of 9-7 overall and 3-1 in the Pac-12.

 WSU lost their first game of the break against Louisville 75-71 Dec. 19. During the game, redshirt sophomore guard Ireti Amojo scored a total of 22 points for the Cougars.

 The Cougars finished the first half with a nine-point lead and the scoreboard showing 35-26. Coming out into the second half the Cardinals closed the gap in points and brought the score to 46-46 with 11:10 remaining.

The rest of the half showed both teams going back and forth. With Louisville pulling away from WSU in the final minute of play and a successful free throw by the Cardinals sealing their victory.

For the next game the WSU women went on the road Dec. 22 to face Ohio State.  The Cougars lost to the Buckeyes 79-57. However, redshirt senior guard Jazmine Perkins achieved WSU’s first double-double of the season with 11 points and 15 rebounds during the course of the game.

The Cougars launched a successful 7-0 run against the Buckeyes early in the first half, putting WSU in the lead 11-5.  Ohio State stopped the WSU momentum with a 6-0 run that placed them in the lead 12-11 with 14:00 remaining in the first half.

 The rest of the half featured baskets scored almost evenly by each team. With 0:54 remaining in the first half, the Buckeyes pulled away and went into halftime with the scoreboard showing 40-35 Ohio State.

Early in the second half, the Buckeyes had an 11-5 run that sounded the early warning alarm for a Cougar defeat. The scoreboard gap between Ohio State and WSU was one that the Cougars, despite their three-point shots, jumpers and rebounds, could not close. 

 The WSU women bounced right back from the defeat at Ohio State when they emerged victorious in their game against the University of Oregon on Dec. 29. The score for the Pac-12 opener was 75-47 WSU.

The Cougars forced the Ducks into 24 turnovers and kept their shooting percentage to 25.8 for the game. Perkins was also able to achieve her second double-double of the WSU season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

WSU finished the game with a shooting percent of 42.3 and had a season high of 10 successful three-point shots.

The Cougars were then victorious in their double overtime match against Oregon State on Dec. 31. The final score of the game was 61-54 WSU.

The Cougars forced 17 Beaver turnovers, with the WSU bench outscoring the OSU 23-7 and kept the OSU shooting percentage down to 32.7 for the game. Perkins had her third straight double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.

To begin 2012, WSU returned to Pullman on Jan. 5 and won in their game against the University of Utah 60-43.

The Cougars forced 12 Utes turnovers while being held to a 27.3 shooting percent in the first half. WSU rose their shooting percent to 50 in the second half and with a 23-0 run sealed their victory against the Utes.

 In their last game of winter break, WSU lost its first Pac-12 game against University of Colorado with the scoreboard showing a final score of 57-56. The Buffalos scored a free throw in the final 11 seconds of play to cement their victory over the Cougars. WSU was held to a shooting percent of 25.4 for the game.

WSU will tip-off next against the University of Washington at 7:30 p.m. in Beasley Coliseum.