Washington State women build big lead, stop Oregon State’s late rally in 65-57 win

From staff reports

Washington State avoided losing its third straight game for the second time this season on Monday.

The Cougars had to survive a frenetic fourth quarter after building a 25-point lead as Washington State capped a sweep of Oregon State 65-57 in a West Coast Conference game in Corvallis.

Astera Tuhina made two free throws with 38.9 seconds left to thwart the Beavers’ comeback bid.

WSU (13-10, 8-4 WCC) led 48-23 in the third quarter.

The Cougars, who lead the nation in blocked shots, had 12 - led by sophomore Alex Covill, who had six.

WSU led from start to finish. They led 15-12 after the first quarter and used back-to-back 3-pointers from lone senior Tara Wallack to start to pull away.

Wallack’s 3-pointer with 45 seconds left in the second gave the Cougars a 42-21 lead at halftime.

Oregon State (9-13, 5-6) fought back after falling behind by 25 points. A driving basket by Catarina Ferreira pulled the Beavers within 59-56. But that’s as close as they would get.

Wallack led a balanced WSU attack with 12 points, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range. She also had six rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals.

Teammate Eleonora Villa had 11 points and four assists and Tuhina added 10 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Ferreira led OSU with 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

WSU returns home to Beasley Coliseum on Thursday against Pacific.