Washington State University women’s basketball defeated Saint Mary’s College Gaels 68-64 after going into overtime last night. Bringing the Cougs rank from No. 9 up to No. 7 in the West Coast Conference.
Right off the bat the Cougs lost the tip off and the first point to the Gaels. They scored twice but the Cougs picked up a strong offense coming in hot with Eleonora Villa scoring a three-pointer for the Cougs.
Villa scored a game total of 16 points with a steal, three rebounds and six assists. According to the WSU Athletics Villa is currently at 1,285 career points and sitting at No. 15 for program history. Villa only needs three more points to take the No. 14 spot.
In the first quarter the Cougs brought the intensity for both offense and defense. Villa had a total of 7 points in the first quarter. Malia Ruud a freshman forward with 4 points total and Alex Covill with a total of 4 points in the first quarter and 9 for the whole game.
Going into the second quarter the Cougs kept up the pace on offence with Tanja Valancic recording a layup and immediately followed up with a three-pointer for the Cougs. Lauren Glazier came in for the second quarter earning the Cougs 4 points total. Keandra Koorits had a layup that tied up the first half 30-30 and had 15 total points.
Going into the third quarter the Cougs started off slow allowing the Gaels to catch up in points and apply a full-court press. Mackenzie Chatfield earned the first point for the Cougs in the second half scoring two free-throws and a basket earning a total of 3 points and a game total of 8 points. Villa came back and scored a three-pointer for the Cougs. Covill also made both of her free-throws and Koorits scored 5 points with the Cougs, one being a three-pointer.
In the fourth quarter Valancic had a layup and gained the Cougs two more points and a game total of 9 points and 10 rebounds. The Cougs came back and started leading by 2 points from Koorits scoring a three-pointer. The Gaels come back taking the lead towards the end of the fourth quarter with a four point lead against the Cougs.
Charlotte Abraham in total of the whole game had seven rebounds with four assists, four steals and 3 points.
The Cougs and Gaels go into overtime 57-57. The Cougs keep the intensity up throughout overtime with a 7-point lead. The Gaels put up 4 points in the last minute of overtime. In the last 3.2 seconds The Gaels foul on the Cougs, allowing Vila to go one for two at the free throw line and end the match 68-64.
In a press conference from WSU Athletic, head coach Kamie Ethridge said that they have to keep fighting and keep trying to find ways. She said they dominated the boards when they needed to and made some big plays when needed and came back in the fourth.
“Got to really like our team and how they kind of persevered in this one” said Ethridge.
The Cougs return home at 6 p.m. Saturday Jan. 16 at Beasley Coliseum against the University of San Francisco.
