Cougars Pummel Oru For Dial Crown

College women

The Washington State Cougars made the title game of the Dial Classic a showcase for Jenni Ruff, Julie Wight and Jade Hyett.

Those three led the way Saturday night as the Cougars demolished Oral Roberts University 84-54 at Friel Court.

Wight, a junior forward, made five 3-pointers and finished with six for the tourney, one short of the record set in 1992. Hyett, a freshman guard from Australia who ignited WSU’s opening-round win Friday with six steals, picked the Golden Eagles for seven more.

“You can be sure that we will meet you at halfcourt,” WSU coach Harold Rhodes said of his pressure defense, “that Jade Hyett or Jen Kerns will be there to greet you, and everybody else will be in the passing lanes.”

ORU stubbornly remained in a 2-3 zone defense as Wight rained down 3s. She was 5 of 5 from the beyond the arc.

Kristin Erickson, who led WSU with 26 points in the first-round win over Southeast Missouri State, got into early foul trouble against ORU and spent much of the game on the bench. She was replaced in the middle by Yvonne Kunze, who responded with 14 points. Kiesa also scored 14 for the Golden Eagles.

When Wight wasn’t shooting over ORU’s zone, Ruff was attacking it down the middle and along the baseline. She scored 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Cougars in both categories. She scored 19 points in the opening-round game.

“Jenni can be unstoppable. All she has to do is keep her passing simple, keep her decisionmaking simple … this is a kid that played point guard two years ago and is now playing power forward,” said Rhodes.

Bradley, trying to give the Golden Eagles (3-1) defensive help inside against Ruff, picked up three first-half fouls and was not a factor in the second half.

WSU (3-2) raced to a 9-0 lead on a pair of Wight 3-pointers and a Ruff steal, layup and foul shot and never looked back.They trailed at the half 48-24 and WSU extended the lead through the second half.WSU won its eighth Dial Classic title in the 16-year history of this tournament, and has now won four of the last five.

Erickson, Hyett, Wight, Bradley and Gray C. Harris of SE Missouri State, were named to the all-tournament team. Ruff was named MVP.

SE Missouri State, which led Western Illinois 34-33 at halftime, went on to win the consolation game 83-64 as Harris led all scorers with 34 points.

WSU 84, Oral Roberts 54

ORAL ROBERTS (54)

Riles 1-3 0-0 2, Bradley 5-14 2-3 14, Dos Santos 3-5 2-2 8, Rose 2-9 0-0 4, Magueiara 3-5 0-3 7, Collier 0-0 0-2 0, Porter 1-2 3-4 5, Hart 0-0 0-0 0, Joppert 1-2 4-4 7, Souza 0-4 1-2 1, Baptista 1-2 4-6 6. Totals 17-46 16-26 54.

WASHINGTON STATE (84)

Wight 7-11 0-0 19, Ruff 8-9 6-9 22, Erickson 3-7 1-2 7, Hyett 2-6 2-3 7, Kronberger 0-7 4-4 4, Cooper 0-1 0-0 0, Fode 0-0 0-0 0, Kerns 1-2 4-4 6, Evans 0-2 1-3 1, Wilder 0-4 0-0 0, Whaley 2-4 0-0 4, Kunze 3-5 8-8 14, Keith 0-3 0-1 0. Totals 26-61 26-33 84.

Halftime - WSU 48, Oral Roberts 24. 3-point goals - Oral Roberts 4-11 (Bradley 2-7, Magueiara 1-2, Porter 0-1, Joppert 1-1); WSU 6-16 (Wight 5-6, Erickson 0-2, Hyett 1-2, Kronberger 0-5, Whaley 0-1). Rebounds - Oral Roberts 35 (Bradley 8); WSU 40 (Ruff 9). Assists - Oral Roberts 5 (Rose, Souza 2); WSU 13 (Hyett 4). Total fouls - Oral Roberts 22, WSU 18. Technicals - none. Att. - 783.

CCS 69, Highline 43

Camelia Bloom tossed in 16 points to lead the Community Colleges of Spokane to a road win over Highline.

Kelly Gaines added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Sasquatch (2-2). Highline shot just 29 percent from the floor.

CCS (69)

Mackin 1-1 0-1 2, Shepherd 2-6 0-0 5, Zahrowski 2-8 2-4 6, Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Bloom 7-13 0-0 16, Humphrey 2-5 2-2 7, Lawler 1-2 0-0 2, Davies 3-8 0-2 6, Gaines 5-12 2-2 12, Greenside 2-7 2-5 6, Brandt 2-5 3-5 7. Totals 27-69 11-21 69.

HIGHLINE (43)

Watson 7-16 7-7 21, White 0-0 0-0 0, Figuerog 1-4 0-1 2, Cornell 0-0 0-0 0, Redman 0-0 0-0 0, Brumfield 0-6 2-2 2, Madsen 0-7 2-2 2, Dunham 4-5 1-3 9, Stockton 2-6 0-0 4, Colby 0-4 3-7 3. Totals 14-48 15-22 43.

Halftime - CCS 38, Highline 15. 3-point goals - CCS 4-12 (Shepherd 1-2, Zahrowski 0-4, Moore 0-1, Bloom 2-4, Humphrey 1-1), Highline 0-6 (Watson 0-2, Brumfield 0-2, Madsen 0-2). Fouled out - none. Rebounds - CCS 47 (Davies 10), Highline 25 (Colby 6). Assists - CCS 14 (Mackin 4), Highline 3 (Madsen 2). Total fouls - CCS 21, Highline 22.