Washington State rally falls short in loss at Seton Hall

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – A furious fourth-quarter rally ran out of steam in the final minute, and the nonconference struggles continued for Washington State’s women’s basketball team.

The Cougs erased most of a 25-point deficit, but the comeback bid fell short and they slipped to a 74-65 loss Tuesday to Seton Hall at Walsh Gymnasium.

WSU (1-11) trailed 14-0 after the first four minutes of the game and went down 30-10 at the end of the first period. The Pirates (7-3) extended their lead to 56-31 about three minutes into the third period.

But the Cougars surged back, starting late in the third. They opened the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run to make the deficit manageable. Keandra Koorits and Charlotte Abraham hit 3s to cut the Seton Hall lead to 68-65 with 1:17 remaining. But WSU stumbled from there, missing a 3 and committing a turnover on the ensuing possessions, allowing Seton Hall to put it away.

The Cougars, off to their worst start since their two-win 2002-03 season, have suffered five straight losses.

Guard Eleonora Villa had 17 points to lead WSU. Koorits added 14 and forward Lauren Glazier had 12 as the Cougs shot 41.5% from the field and 7 of 22 (31.8%) on 3s.

Guard Zahara Bishop logged 19 points to pace the Pirates, who shot 38.8% from he field and 7 of 25 (28%) from deep, but went 15 of 17 from the foul line.