In a game that felt more like stop-and-go traffic due to the number of fouls called, Washington State outlasted Gonzaga in a tight match.

The Cougars (7-2) were able to buckle down in the final five minutes to secure a 59-58 victory over rival Gonzaga (5-3).

“This will be an exciting game. Gonzaga is well coached and they are very talented,” Head Coach June Daugherty said in the week leading up to the game with the Bulldogs. “They have an unbelievable women’s basketball fan base, but I expect that we will have a lot of fans there too.”

Daugherty was correct on all accounts, and Cougars were able to leave Spokane with a victory.

The Cougs went into halftime trailing the Bulldogs by 10 points, but were able to outscore the Bulldogs 39-28 in the second half to secure the victory.

The Cougars opened the second half with seven straight points which tied the game with 15 minutes remaining in the half.

The final minute was not one for the faint of heart. With a minute remaining in the game Gonzaga was leading 56-55. The Bulldogs came out of a timeout shooting two from the line. Both attempts were missed, which would come back to hurt GU, who prior to this game had been fifth in the country for free throw percentage.

WSU came down the court and moved the ball around looking for an open shot. The Cougars could not find that open shot from beyond the arc, but senior Tia Presley did find a lane she could drive and make the easy layup to take the one point lead.

Gonzaga called a timeout with 19 seconds remaining in the game to draw up their go to play. This play was snuffed by the Cougars defense when junior guard Lia Galdeira wrestled the ball away from GU senior forward Sunny Greinacher. As Galdeira came away with the ball, Greinacher fell on Galdeira’s right ankle. The junior from Hawaii was down on the court for a couple of minutes before she was helped to her feet by her Cougar teammates.

Galdeira limped to the charity stripe with WSU up by one point, 57-56. In an awe-inspiring show of grit Galdeira made both free throws on one leg. The Cougs lead sat at 59-56.

Gonzaga in bounded the ball with one more chance to tie the game, but instead of shooting a three-pointer, senior Keani Albanez drove the lane and looked to draw a foul. The layup was made, but no foul was called. The Washington State bench spilled onto the court, beating their eastern Washington foes for only the second time in six years. WSU finished on a 14-4 run over the final 7:35, thanks to timely take-a-ways and clutch free throw shooting.

Presley finished with a game high 21 points, while senior Shalie Dheensaw added a team high seven rebounds.

The Cougars return to Beasley Coliseum next Saturday at 1 p.m. to face off against Montana State.

Reporting by Ian Korzeniecki