Four quarters were not enough for WSU women’s basketball as they took on bitter rival University of Washington. After leading three straight quarters, the Cougars were able to hold on long enough to grab an overtime victory over the Huskies 78-75.

Redshirt sophomore forward Borislava “Bobbi Buckets” Hristova scored the first seven points in overtime to propel the Cougars (9-10, 2-5) to a win. Hristova finished the night with 25 points, making 10 of her 22 attempts completed shots, including four three-pointers.

“It’s great because I feel like my team needed it, so I had to make it,” Hristova said.

Redshirt junior forward Nike McClure had career highs in both points and rebounds, with 16 apiece. The performance was her first double-double on the season.

“Being able to do that and having all that fluid movement was great,” McClure said. “It was awesome.”

McClure also recorded a season high of six blocks, breaking her previous season high of five that she repeated five times this season. McClure is second in the Pac-12 in blocks. She was averaging 2.3 per game coming into last night’s contest.

“I like to think that’s my paint and my teammates really depend on me in there for that help,” McClure said. “So defensively, I like to talk and help my teammates out as much as possible and they try to help me out as much as possible.”

Mike Daugherty, associate head coach and interim, commented on what McClure’s defensive presence means to the team.

“She’s an intimidator. She’s probably the biggest intimidator in the conference,” Daugherty said of McClure. “She blocks shots, she comes out of nowhere to block three-point shots. She changes shots in the paint even more than she blocks them. She makes our defense go.”

With 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter, UW (6-12, 0-7) sophomore guard Amber Melgoza hit a mid-range jump shot to give the Huskies a two-point lead.

WSU sophomore guard Chanelle Molina responded with a three-pointer to give the Cougars a one-point lead with 20 seconds remaining following an offensive rebound and assist from McClure.

McClure said once she got the rebound the paint was crowded, and she could not take on three UW defenders at once. That’s when she found Molina open for the three-pointer.

A successful free-throw by Mengoza would tie the game for the Huskies with four seconds left, which ultimately sent the game to overtime.

After the first seven points in overtime by Hristova, UW would narrow the Cougars’ lead to two. A layup by McClure and a free throw by Molina would seal it for the Cougars.

“I think Bobbi Hristova hit some clutch shots,” Daugherty said. “Her hitting seven points right there gave us a little room.”

Daugherty said that the tough win will help boost the team’s confidence.

“Every win in this league is like you’re climbing a mountain,” Daugherty said. “You’ve got to scratch and claw, and hope at the end of the day that you end up with two more points than the other team. I’m sure the players feel good about [that].”

WSU will travel to face the Huskies again Sunday. Daugherty thinks, despite the win, UW will have the edge heading into a second consecutive matchup.

“They will have the mental edge,” Daugherty said. “Whoever lost this game has the mental edge going into the next one. They’re pissed. They think they should have won. That’s something we’ll have to fight.”