Cougs crush Dawgs by 33 points

WSU shot 60.7 percent from field in dominating performance

JACK LEWIS-CLARK | THE DAILY EVERGREEN

WSU junior guard Chanelle Molina dribbles past UW players Friday night at Beasley Coliseum.

AVERY COOPER, Evergreen reporter

WSU women’s basketball routed UW 94-61 on Friday night in Beasley Coliseum to earn a season-sweep over the Huskies for the first time since 2014.

The Cougars (9-16, 4-10) had their fourth-best shooting effort in history, outshooting UW (8-17, 1-12) 60.7 percent to 37.1 percent.

WSU had 29 assists in the game, tied for the second most in program history and the most since 1997.

“I loved how we shared the basketball,” WSU Head Coach Kamie Ethridge said. “We made great decisions … it’s a beautiful thing.”

Six Cougars finished in double-digits. Junior guard Chanelle Molina had a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists and redshirt junior forward Borislava Hristova added 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Redshirt junior forward Jovana Subasic and freshman forward Ula Motuga had 12 points while senior guard Alexys Swedlund and senior center Maria Kostourkova had 11 points.

“It was really fun today,” Hristova said. “If we follow the offense, if we play good defense… that’s how we’re going to win games and that’s how we’re going to build our culture.”

Ethridge had high praise for Molina.

“I think how [Molina] goes is kind of how we go,” Ethridge said. “As important as [Hristova] is really important for us, I think when we’ve struggled, [Molina] has had a bit of a lesser game. She’s just got a complete game. She’s a very well-rounded scoring point guard and we need her scoring.”

The Huskies jumped out to an early 9-4 lead in the first quarter, before the Cougars went on a 15-4 run over 4:33 to finish the opening period on top 19-13.

That’s when the Cougars picked up steam.

After narrowing the deficit to two points to start the second quarter, the Huskies surrendered an 11-0 run to give WSU a 32-19 lead with 3:58 remaining in the first half. The Cougars outscored the Huskies 24-14 in the second quarter to end the half up 43-27.

The Cougars shot an efficient 59.4 percent in the first half, while the Huskies shot just 32.3 percent to open the game.

WSU carried its momentum into the third quarter where they outscored the Huskies 23-13 and extended its lead to 26 to start the final period.

In the fourth quarter, the Cougs outshot the Huskies 72.7 percent to 53.3 percent to secure the victory.

The Cougars 33-point win over the Huskies was their largest in the series in the NCAA era.

WSU will now hit the road to face Colorado 6 p.m. Friday in Boulder.

“People look at us and think we’re, very much, a winnable game,” Ethridge said. “The good news for us … it just feels like our team has a chance to keep getting better, and it is getting better.”