WSU (16-12, 11-6) continues to struggle to execute and close out in critical matches, as the Cougs dropped a high-scoring affair to the Portland Pilots (24-3, 13-3) on the road in a 84-79 win.
The Pilots’ win was largely fueled by the performance of the team’s leading scorer, senior guard Maisie Burnham, who scored 31 points on 13-20 shooting. The total was a career-high for Burnham and came right when Portland needed it.
In a game where WSU had five double-digit scorers, the Cougs still could not do enough to combat the firepower of the Pilots. After giving up 83 to Portland in their first matchup, the Pilots’ offense continued to flow in the second game as Portland wrapped up the season series.
While both teams started off hot in terms of scoring, WSU fell behind by seven at the end of the first quarter and could never make up that ground as Burnham continued to torch the defense. After scoring seven in the first, she added 10 in the second as the Pilots went up by 12 at one point before the Cougs closed it back down to a seven-point lead at halftime. WSU used 44.4% three-point shooting and 61.5% shooting from the field to keep the game competitive.
The third quarter saw both teams continue to trade buckets and the Cougs attempted to push the pace on multiple occasions, even cutting their deficit to as low as three. But the Pilots’ relentless attack continued to be the difference-maker as Portland went back up by eight to end the third.
WSU would put up a last ditch effort in the fourth as the game remained within reach as guard Eleonora Villa and forward Dayana Mendes put up strong efforts, combining for 14 points in the quarter. But again, the clear star of the game would overwhelm the Cougs’ defense, with Burnham scoring 10 points in the final frame.
Portland went up by 14, the biggest lead of the game, early in the fourth. But as WSU again tried to dig itself out of a whole, Burnham responded by scoring the final three baskets for the Pilots. WSU head coach Kamie Ethridge pulled her starters in the final minute as Portland successfully kept the Cougs’ at arm’s length for the entire game.
After attempting 23 three-pointers in the first game, the Pilots only attempted 10 in this game and used 56 paint points to bully the Cougs down low. The teams were an even split in the rebounding department, but the sheer energy of Portland and the relentless of Burnham is what put the Pilots over the top.
Burnham’s 31 lead the team, but forward Alexis Mark and guard Emme Shearer also added 16 and 11 points, respectively. The Pilots continue to set the bar high in nearly every offensive category in the West Coast Conference, leading in scoring offense, scoring offense, field goal percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio among others. The team’s ability to limit mistakes was highlighted against WSU, recording 26 assists to just 12 turnovers.
Villa led the Cougs in scoring with 16 and forward Tara Wallack added 15 as all of the team’s double-digit scorers were in the starting lineup. Wallack had a career-high eight assists to go along with five rebounds, while Mendes’ 11 points and 8 rebounds put her at a near double-double as she continues to see increased action.
Despite the loss, Ethridge said she had few complaints with her team and liked what she saw on the offensive side of the ball.
“I think whether it is fatigue or not quite getting us into the right things and getting a little sloppy on the defensive end, that is the only bad thing I can think of,” Ethrdige said. “I thought we did a lot of great things and really [had] some good stuff to build on.”
WSU has now been swept by both of the conference’s top two teams, rendering the team’s bid for a top two seed to be nearly impossible with just three games left to go. While the Cougs can say they fought hard in both their matchups against Gonzaga and in this game against Portland, these losses have still limited the team’s mobility in the standings.
WSU is 11-2 against the rest of the conference, but 0-4 against the top two. The Cougs now sit 3.5 games back from Gonzaga and 2.5 behind Portland.
WSU will return to the Palouse for back-to-back home games and a chance to solidify their spot in the standings, with games against San Francisco on Thursday and Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
“It is all about the [WCC] tournament now and and we’ve got a lot to play for,” Ethridge said. “It’s senior night coming up and we need a lot of people out to support that. These teams that are coming in are are hungry to beat us and improve their standing, so we definitely need to finish this season out great.”
