WSU women hold on to beat Ducks

EUGENE – Tia Presley scored 29 points, Lia Galdeira added 22 and Washington State held on to beat Oregon 79-76 in Pac-12 women’s basketball on Sunday. The Cougars improved 3-0 this season and 7-1 in their careers when both Presley and Galdeira reach the 20-point mark. Washington State led 77-71 with 2:08 remaining when Jillian Alleyne scored and Drea Toler converted a three-point play to pull Oregon within 77-76 with 35 seconds to play. Galdeira made a pair of free throws with 7 seconds to go. Oregon’s Katelyn Loper shot a 3 with a second left, but it banged off the back of the rim to seal it for Washington State (11-6, 2-4 Pac-12). Oregon outshot Washington State 48 to 40 percent but the Cougars scored 26 points off 21 Oregon turnovers and had a 45-38 rebounding advantage. The Cougars played without senior guard Shalie Dheensaw, who suffered a right knee injury in Friday’s game against Oregon State and had started in 50 straight games. Dheensaw is WSU’s third-leading scorer and leading rebounder and shot-blocker. Alleyne had 23 points and 16 rebounds to lead Oregon (8-9, 1-5 Pac-12).