Trojans slip past Cougars in LA
WSU scores 30 points in first quarter, shoots over 50 percent from field in eight point road loss to USC
JACK LEWIS-CLARKE | DAILY EVERGREEN FILE
Junior forward Borislava Hristova looks to pass the ball as an Oregon State player defends her Jan. 27 at Beasley Coliseum.
February 3, 2019
WSU women’s basketball lost its sixth straight game Sunday in Los Angeles against USC 81-73 in a back-and-forth contest.
The Cougars (7-15, 2-9) got off to a hot start thanks to junior guard Chanelle Molina who hit a trio of three-pointers in the first three minutes.
Molina ended the first quarter with 12 points as WSU tied a program record with 30 points in the first quarter. WSU led 30-24 after 10 minutes. The Cougars also scored 30 points in the first quarter against Boise State on Dec. 1.
WSU went silent offensively in the second quarter. The Cougars failed to score a single point in the six minutes of the quarter which allowed the Trojans (13-8, 3-7) to go on an 11-0 run.
The Cougars wouldn’t hit their first field goal of the quarter until there was 1:28 left. Despite this, WSU would finish the half on an 8-2 run to take a 40-39 lead into halftime.
In the second quarter, redshirt junior forward Borislava Hristova knocked down a pair of free throws to move into sole possession of third place on the WSU all-time scoring list. She would finish the day with 1,559 career points.
WSU shot 51.9 percent from the field in the first half and 46.7 percent from behind the three-point line. The Cougars were able to hold USC to 25 percent shooting from three-point range.
Hristova scored 10 quick points to open the second half as the Cougars grabbed an eight-point lead. However, the Trojans used free-throws to crawl back into the game.
Despite 14 points from Hristova in the quarter, WSU trailed 64-59 at the end of 30 minutes of action.
The Cougar offense failed to show up in the fourth quarter as USC slowly grew its lead over WSU.
Molina tried to pull the team back in the game with her fifth three-pointer to cut the deficit to just four points, but it was too little, too late, as the Cougs fell 81-73.
Hristova finished the game with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Swedlund had 18 points and five rebounds and Molina added 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. The rest of the team only scored 14 points in the game.
Senior guard Aliyah Mazyck led the Trojans with 27 points. USC shot 52.3 percent from the field in the game while WSU hit 50.9 percent.
WSU will look to end its losing streak 7 p.m. Thursday when they return home to face Arizona State at Beasley Coliseum.
