Cougars overcome 15 point deficit to win by 10
Chanelle Molina scores 23 points in second half
Leading the fourth quarter comeback, WSU’s senior guard Chanelle Molina attacks the gap in Colorado’s zone defense, driving to the hoop in the matchup against Colorado Friday evening at Beasley Coliseum. Chanelle Molina became the first player in WSU basketball history to collect over 1000 points, 400 rebounds, and 400 assists by the end of the first quarter of the match.
February 9, 2020
The WSU’s women’s basketball team came back to defeat the Colorado Buffaloes 69-59 in Pullman on Friday night.
The Cougars (11-12, 4-7) trailed by 15 points early in the third quarter. Senior guard Chanelle Molina led the way with 27 points for the game and 23 points in the second half.
“Every possession we had to dig down deep,” Molina said. “Every possession counted and it came down to boxing out because they were rebounding really well.”
Senior forward Borislava Hristova added 17 points as well and connected on two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help extend the Cougar lead.
The Cougars gave up 38 points in the first half and held the Buffaloes (14-8, 3-8) to 21 points in the second.
“We made mistakes in the first half,” head coach Kamie Ethridge said. “We were soft in the first in defending the post, and we got better as the game went on.”
Mya Hollingshed, junior guard and forward, grabbed seven rebounds and led the Buffaloes with 18 points. She led her team in the first half with 14 points on five for eight shooting and two for three from behind the arc.
The Cougars scored 18 points in the first quarter, but a seven point second quarter had WSU down by 13 with a halftime score of 38-25.
For the Cougars, only the starters scored in the first half with junior forward Jovana Subasic leading the charge with eight points, and Hristova led the team with eight rebounds.
The Cougars shot 10 for 31 from the field in the opening half while the Buffaloes shot 17 for 35 from the field.
A 16-8 advantage in the third quarter brought the game back to single digits as the Cougars trailed by five entering the fourth quarter. Molina had nine points in the third quarter to lead the comeback for the Cougars.
With 1:19 left in the game, Hristova hit a 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 61-55 lead, and Colorado called a timeout three seconds later.
WSU finished the game shooting 41.4 percent from the field, 40 percent from the 3-point line and went 13 for 14 from the free-throw line.
Colorado finished shooting 37.1 percent from the field, 25 percent from behind the arc and went 10 for 22 from the free-throw line.
The Cougars play again at noon Sunday against the Utah Utes in Beasley Coliseum. The game can be viewed on the Pac-12 Networks.
