PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University used a big first half to build a double-digit lead and cruise to a 67-52 victory over visiting Brigham Young University at Beasley Coliseum Saturday.
The Cougars improved to 2-3 while BYU fell to 3-3.
Freshman guard Lia Galdeira led WSU with 15 points and sophomore guard Tia Presley added 12 points and a career-high seven assists. Junior forward Sage Romberg finished with eight points and nine rebounds and redshirt-senior guard Katie Grad produced eight points, eight rebounds and three steals off the bench.
WSU held BYU to 27.5 percent shooting including 23.1 in the second half and posted a 54-40 rebounding advantage.
Washington State knocked down seven threes, all in the first half, and turned a close game into a double-digit lead by outscoring Brigham Young 25-6 over the final 7:23 of the first half.
Late in the first half, Presley sparked a 12-0 run with a three from the left wing and Galdeira followed with her own three from the left corner. Minutes later, Romberg added a three before Presley made a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layin as she was fouled and added the free throw to put the Cougs up 28-18 at the 5:54 mark. Romberg later added another three and Grad knocked down two from behind the arc to highlight the 25-6 run that closed the half and gave the Cougars a 41-24 advantage at the break.
Early in the second half, Washington State put together a 6-0 spurt that grew to a 10-3 run and gave them a 20-point advantage. WSU never looked back and held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
The Cougars will hit the road for two games next week, facing UC Riverside, Wednesday and Fresno State University, Friday.
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