Washington State women open Pac-12 play by beating Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. — Tia Presley and Lia Galdeira combined for 51 points and Washington State opened Pac-12 play on Saturday with its sixth-straight win, 81-70 over Arizona. Presley had 26 points and Galdeira 25, 14 more than their combined average. The Cougars (10-2), who never trailed after a Galdeira 3 four seconds into the game, led 37-30 at halftime. They were on the verge of a blowout with an 11-0 run when Arizona had five turnovers, putting them putting them up by 20 with 6:54 to play. The Wildcats (7-5) followed with a 12-0 run to close within 68-60 as the Cougars missed seven straight shots. Galdeira had seven rebounds and seven assists as WSU had its best start since going 10-2 in 1989-90. Shalie Dheensaw had 11 rebounds for the Cougs. Charise Holloway hit all four of her 3-pointers and had a career-high 20 for Arizona.