The journey for the WSU women’s basketball team ends in Montana at the hands of the Grizzlies. Montana’s 45 percent shooting from 3-point range propelled them to 90-78 victory over the Cougars in the first round of the WNIT.

Washington State was unable to capitalize on their first opportunity of a post season win. The program has appeared in either the WNIT or NCAA tournament since 1991.

Montana took the lead early with a 6-0 run to start the game and never looked back.  Forward Jordan Sullivan and guard Kellie Cole combined to score 43 points. McCalle Feller and Kayleigh Valley of Montana also scored in double figures with 13 and 15, respectively.

Montana entered the contest with a program record 224 three pointers on the season.

For WSU, the first half hurt their chances to keep themselves in the game. They shot 25 percent from the court in the first and were 2-13 from behind the arc.

After an All Pac-12 Tournament performance in Seattle, WSU sophomore Lia Galdeira started off slow but picked up her game in the second half. Galdeira finished with a team-high  22 points and six rebounds.

With early foul trouble, juniors Shalie Dheensaw and Tia Presley were unable to make an impact early in the game. Presley fouled out and ended the game with 11 points, while Dheensaw finish with eight points and four rebounds.

In her final game as a Cougar, senior Sage Romberg finished strong with a season-high 18 points, six of which came from 3-pointers. Romberg also grabbed seven rebounds.

Although a tough way to end the season, Head Coach June Daugherty was optimistic about the future. Daugherty said the team is still young with a promising recruiting class coming in. Daugherty said she is proud of where this program has ended and is excited for more progress next year.