WSU Sinks Arizona With A Bomb, Prayer Lamb Banks In 30-Footer To Beat No. 10 Wildcats

Tricia Lamb’s coach wasn’t sure she had a prayer as she fired a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer Thursday night.

It went in, giving Washington State a 64-61 upset of No. 10 Arizona.

“I just prayed it would go in,” Washington State coach Harold Rhodes said. “This is probably the most dramatic ending we’ve had.”

After Arizona’s Marte Alexander missed a shot inside the lane, Lamb, who had made only one other field goal, got the outlet pass and banked in a 30-footer.

She immediately was mobbed by her teammates, setting off a wild celebration on the floor.

About the same time, across the state in Tempe, Michelle Tom was sinking a 3-pointer as time expired to give Arizona State a 77-76 upset of No. 7 Washington.

“It was a great way for them to win and a horrible way for us to lose,” Arizona coach Joan Bonvicini said.

Washington State (7-4 overall, 1-1 Pac-10) was led by Alke Dietel, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Yvonne Kunze added 13 points.

Monika Crank led Arizona (8-3, 2-1) with 12 points, followed by Alexander with 11. Adia Barnes and Lisa Griffith each had 10.

“We played lackadaisical for most of the game. We let them control the tempo,” Barnes said. “We didn’t overlook them. We just didn’t use our quickness and our quickness is why we were 8-2.”

Arizona led 60-58 with 35 seconds remaining but missed three crucial free throws down the stretch, and Dietel tied the game at 61-61 with about 10 seconds left.

The Cougars held Barnes, Arizona’s leading scorer with an average of 22.9 points per game, to a season low.

“We knew Adia would outquick us. We wanted to run as many people as we could at her,” Rhodes said. “We were hoping our size would alter her shots inside. Our inside people did a great job.”

Washington St. 64, Arizona 61

Washington State (7-4) - Dietel 7-13 0-0 17, Evans 2-3 0-0 4, Kunze 6-15 1-2 13, Nyseth 0-1 0-0 0, Lamb 2-9 0-0 5, Harrod 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 2-3 0-0 6, McNeely 0-0 0-0 0, Kerns 3-7 0-0 6, Volkman 2-3 0-0 6, Quinton 0-1 0-0 0, Rubio 3-5 1-2 7. Totals 27-60 2-4 64.

Arizona (8-3) - Bristol 0-7 1-2 1, Barnes 4-13 2-2 10, Alexander 3-5 5-8 11, Griffith 2-7 4-6 10, Crank 5-7 2-4 12, Hambrick 0-0 0-0 0, Willis 2-6 0-0 5, Minter 1-6 2-2 4, Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Giordano 1-4 6-6 8. Totals 18-56 22-30 61.

Halftime - Washington State 31, Arizona 26. 3-Point goals - Washington State 8-19 (Dietel 3-6, Smith 2-3, Volkman 2-3, Lamb 1-5, Kerns 0-2), Arizona 3-13 (Griffith 2-7, Willis 1-3, Bristol 0-1, Minter 0-2). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Washington State 38 (Dietel 11), Arizona 38 (Barnes 10). Assists - Washington State 13 (Kerns 4), Arizona 8 (Crank 3). Total fouls - Washington State 20, Arizona 12. A - 1,474.