SEATTLE - The Washington State women's basketball team set a Pac-12 Conference tournament single-game record for points in a 107-100 victory over Oregon in the opening round at KeyArena Thursday.
The Cougars advance to the quarterfinals for the third straight season and will face No. 2 seed California 6 p.m. today. Washington State improved to 16-15 while Oregon dropped to 15-15.
Junior guard Tia Presley and sophomore guard Lia Galdeira each posted 31-point games, the first time in program history that two Cougars scored 30 points in the same game. Galdeira surpassed the 1,000-career point milestone, becoming the second-fastest player in school history to reach the mark
Junior center Shalie Dheensasw notched her fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds while sophomore guard Taylor Edmondson provided a huge boost off the bench with a season-high 14 points while hitting a career-best four 3-pointers.
WSU finished the game shooting over 46 percent including 10 3-pointers. WSU tallied 18 points off of 19 Oregon turnovers and dished out 22 assists led by sophomore guard Dawnyelle Awa's eight, matching her career high. The Cougars held Oregon to 39 percent shooting and 9-of-34 behind the arc.
The Cougars set a Pac-12 tournament record with 59 points in the first half after shooting over 47 percent from the floor including six 3-pointers. Presley had 19 points and Galdeira tallied 18 in the first 20 minutes. Oregon shot 45 percent the field but surrendered 11 points off of 11 turnovers.
The Ducks cut the lead to three with 2:11 remaining but Galdeira came up with a huge shot, knocking down a wide open three in the left corner. Dheensaw then connected on a baseline jumper after the Cougar defense came with a couple of stops and WSU sealed things up at the free throw line.
OREGON (15-15)
Daniell Love 2-8 2-2 7, Jillian Alleyne 11-21 6-11 28, Ariel Thomas 5-16 5-5 16, Katelyn Loper 4-10 3-4 13, Lexi Petersen 1-6 3-3 5, Laura Stanulis 0-1 2-2 2, Chrishae Rowe 4-4 10-21 29, Megan Carpenter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-83 25-31 100.
WASHINGTON STATE (16-14)
Sage Romberg 3-9 0-0 6, Shalie Dheensaw 6-11 3-4 11, Lia Galdeira 12-22 4-6 31, Tia Presley 11-24 6-9 31, Dawnyelle Awa 1-2 2-4 4, Alexas Williamson 2-5 0-0 2, Taylor Edmondson 5-12 0-0 14, Brandi Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Mariah Cooks 1-3 0-0 2, Hana Potter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 41-88 15-23 107.
Halftime - WSU 59, Oregon 55. Three-point goals - Oregon 9-34 (Love 1-4, Thomas 1-6, Loper 2-7, Petersen 0-3, Stanulis 0-1, Rowe 5-13); WSU 10-26 (Romberg 0-2, Galdiera 3-7, Presley 3-8, Williamson 0-2, Edmondson 4-7). Total fouls - Oregon 20, WSU 23. Rebounds - Oregon 61 (Alleyne 21); WSU 42 (Dheensaw 11). Assists - Oregon 11 (Petersen 6); WSU 22 (Awa 8). Fouled out - Love. Technical fouls - none.
Idaho 91, Chicago St. 41
MOSCOW - Alyssa Charlston became the fifth Idaho Vandals to reach 1,500 career points, netting 20 points and 10 rebounds in Idaho's Western Athletic Conference rout of Chicago State at the Kibbie Dome.
Rarely used freshman Agueda Trujillo Fernandez came off the bench for 21 points and Stacey Barr added 16 as the Vandals nearly produced a carbon copy of their 92-42 win at Chicago earlier this season.
The same teams clash in the first round of the WAC tournament Wednesday at Las Vegas.
"I liked that (we were able to run)," Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. "Last time we played them we did that and tonight I thought we did it again."
Ali Forde came off the bench for 10 points and nine rebounds for Idaho. She was replaced in the starting lineup by Maren Austgulen, who added nine boards. Every Vandal who saw action nabbed at least two rebounds, and Christina Salvatore passed for six assists.
Charlston, a senior forward, moved her career point total to 1,512.
CHICAGO STATE (3-25, 0-15)
T. Williams 1-4 2-3 4, P. Williams 2-7 2-4 6, Harris 1-11 3-4 6, Nix 0-4 1-2 1, Murphy 7-9 0-0 14, Sanders 1-2 4-4 6, Brown 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 14-53 12-17 41.
IDAHO (21-8, 14-1)
Salvatore 3-11 0-0 9, Barr 5-11 3-5 16, Austgulen 2-4 0-0 4, Charlston 8-12 3-4 20, Ballestero 3-5 0-0 8, Forde 4-4 2-2 10, Schivo 2-7 0-0 5, Trujillo 8-12 1-2 19. Totals 35-66 9-13 91.
Halftime - Idaho 41-22. 3-point goals - Chicago State 1-14 (T. Williams 0-7, Harris 1-6, Nix 0-1), Idaho 12-31 (Salvatore 3-9, Barr 3-7, Charlston 1-2, Ballestero 2-4, Schivo 1-4, Trujillo 2-5). Fouled out - none. Rebounds - Chicago State 29 (Murphy 7), Idaho 47 (Charlston 10). Assists - Chicago State 8 (T. Williams 3, Sanders 30), Idaho 22 (Salvatore 6). Total fouls - Chicago State 143, Idaho 15. A - 501.
MEN
Idaho 79, Chicago St. 76
CHICAGO - Connor Hill may have gunned the Vandals into a more advantageous pairing for next week's conference tournament.
The junior guard shot 7-for-9 from long range as Idaho took an early lead and beat Chicago State for a satisfying road win in Western Athletic Conference men's basketball play.
The Vandals are trying to avoid a No. 7 or 8 seed for the WAC tournament at Las Vegas, because it would probably mean a first-round pairing against one of the league leaders, Utah Valley or New Mexico State.
"I'm happy as heck to get a win," Idaho coach Don Verlin said. "What we've got to do now is recharge our battery and get another one at Kansas City. We're starting to play better. We've got to keep being aggressive and keep moving the ball."
He was referring to the Vandals' regular-season finale Saturday night at Missouri-Kansas City.
Hill tallied 27 points and three steals, Stephen Madison added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Sekou Wiggs came off the bench for 16 points and 10-of-13 shooting at the foul line for the Vandals (13-17, 6-9), who led 44-30 at halftime.
The Cougars (12-18, 7-8) got 25 points from Matt Ross, who had hit a game-winning basket against Idaho at Moscow.
"I thought we played with a lot of energy and intensity, especially in the first half," Idaho coach Don Verlin said. "Our ball really moved well tonight, we got a lot of easy looks in transition. For about 30 minutes of this game we really dominated them."
Idaho had 18 assists on 25 field goals but also committed 19 turnovers, allowing the Cougars to hang around. Hill's seventh and final 3-pointer gave the Vandals a 51-34 lead with 17:13 to play. From there, the Cougars outscored the Vandals 42-28.
"Hill hit a number of open shots and we did a very nice job early in the game executing our offense," Verlin said. "We were ready for everything they threw at us with their traps and different defenses."
CSU pulled within 72-71 with 2:13 to play. After Wiggs hit one of two free throws, the Cougars missed four consecutive freebies. Idaho hit six free throws in the final 30 seconds to clinch the victory.
IDAHO (13-17)
Seck 1-1 0-0 2, Madison 5-13 6-9 17, Kammerer 3-4 0-0 6, Hill 9-11 2-2 27, M. Scott 2-8 2-2 7, Dean 0-4 0-0 0, Wiggs 3-7 10-13 16, Callandret 1-1 0-1 2, Mpawe 0-0 0-1 0, Egbert 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-50 20-28 79.
CHICAGO ST. (12-18)
Denard 2-4 0-2 4, Pippen 4-12 6-6 16, Ross 10-13 4-6 25, Muhammad 0-0 0-0 0, Rosenberg 2-7 0-0 4, Gray 5-9 2-5 14, Griffin 1-4 2-4 4, Dimakos 2-3 1-2 6, Duhon 1-3 1-4 3. Totals 27-55 16-29 76.
Halftime-Idaho 44-30. 3-Point Goals-Idaho 9-18 (Hill 7-9, Madison 1-3, M. Scott 1-4, Dean 0-2), Chicago St. 6-19 (Gray 2-5, Pippen 2-8, Dimakos 1-2, Ross 1-4). Fouled Out-Seck. Rebounds-Idaho 36 (Madison 10), Chicago St. 28 (Ross 8). Assists-Idaho 18 (M. Scott 9), Chicago St. 14 (Duhon 4). Total Fouls-Idaho 25, Chicago St. 23. A-926.
TRACK
Leighton doesn't make finals
GENEVA, Ohio - Chelsey Leighton of Lewis-Clark State set a personal record but failed to qualify for the finals of the women's 5,000-meter run Thursday at the NAIA indoor track meet.
The senior from Lapwai was timed in 18 minutes, 13.54 seconds, the 18th-best clocking in the prelims.
The top four placers in each of two heats advance to the finals, along with four next-fastest times.
Leighton had only a week to recover from a half-marathon that qualified her for the NAIA Outdoor in May.
"It was an awesome effort, but just not enough recovery time to have the pop necessary to get to the final," Warriors coach Mike Collins said. "Pretty proud of her. I always talk to them about how every championship race helps you get better for the next. Her first comment coming off the track was how this will help her in May."
Still to compete for the Warriors are Kaytlyn Coleman in the women's weight throw and shot put, Rachel Cundy in the women's 3,000-meter, Sam Atkin in the men's 3,000 and Pauric McLaughlin in the men's mile.
EVENT
Seattle sports editor to speak at UI
MOSCOW - Don Shelton, sports editor of The Seattle Times and a 1976 graduate of the University of Idaho, will speak at the school today about the newspaper's coverage of the recent Super Bowl.
The public talk is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in Room 102 of the J.A. Albertson Building. Admission is free.
The Times sent a staff of 16 to New York and New Jersey to cover the Seahawks' victory over the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl last month.