Women’s basketball: Lia Galdeira, takeaways propel Cougars over No. 22 Dayton

Lia Galdeira made 9 of 10 free throws and finished with 21 points and eight rebounds as Washington State beat No. 22 Dayton 76-60 in a nonconferce women’s basketball opener Friday at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman.

Turnovers were the difference, and the Cougars (1-0) forced 30 of them, leading to a 28-6 points-off-turnovers differential.

WSU’s Tia Presley (Gonzaga Prep) added 18 points and Dawnyelle Awa, Shalie Dheensaw and Mariah Cooks each chipped in six.

Dheensaw also matched Galdeira with eight rebounds.

The Cougars made 24 of 32 free throws, including 14 of 18 in the second half to put away the Flyers.

Andrea Hoover led three Dayton (0-1) players in double figures with 18 points. She also had a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Cougars have three more home games before hitting the road. They’ll play Idaho State in Pullman on Sunday.

Eastern Washington 68, Utah Valley 62: Melissa Williams led a balanced attack with 18 points and 12 rebounds and the Eagles pulled away in the second half to beat the Wolverines in a nonconference season-opener in Orem, Utah.

Eastern fell behind by nine points midway through the first half, but ended the half on a 21-13 run.

EWU’s Jade Redmon had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Delaney Hodgins and Lexie Nelson added a combined 25 points.

Rhaiah Spooner-Knight tallied a team-high 20 points for Utah Valley.

The Eagles will host Wichita State in their home-opener on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

Cal State Northridge 67, Idaho 50: Janae Sharpe had 25 points and Camille Mahlknecht added 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Matadors (1-0) took advantage of the Vandals’ terrible start offensively and beat Idaho (0-1) in a nonconference season-opener in Northridge, California.

The Vandals made just 4 of 30 first-half shots, including 1 of 12 3-pointers, and trailed by 18 points at halftime.

Stacey Barr had 18 points and 11 boards to lead Idaho.

Idaho will play at UC Santa Barbara on Monday and will host San Diego in its home opener on Saturday.