The Washington State women’s basketball team had a historic win over No. 7 UCLA on Friday night with an 82-73 victory against the Bruins.
The win - the Cougars’ second in a row to improve to 2-2 in Pac-12 play - was the biggest upset in program history and is an impressive add to their NCAA Tournament resume.
Freshman guard Chanelle Molina scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the Washington State to its first top-10 win since the Cougars defeated the Maryland Terrapins 70-64 back in November 2014. Sophomore Pinelopi Pavlopoulou and senior Ivana Kmetsovka added 14 and 12 points, respectively.
If you haven’t been following the women’s team closely, know this: Molina is a baller. She committed to the Cougars the summer going into her senior year of high school at Konawaena High School in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. ESPN ranked Molina as a five-star recruit and I can’t recall any former five-star recruits committing to WSU in any sport, which unofficially makes her the only five-star athlete in Washington State history. Konawaena produced former guards Lia Galdeira and Dawnyelle Awa, so just as Cougar football has the American Samoa pipeline, women’s hoops has an Hawaiian connection.
We knew the Cougars could compete. Despite two losses to #9 Washington and #15 Oregon State that resulted in a combined final score of 174-121, the team has been competitive against top-25 teams this season. During the non-conference schedule, the Cougars lost to No. 5 Maryland by ten points and fell by two points against No. 18 Kentucky. It was nice to see Washington State get a top-25 win against a conference opponent.
Wazzu will go for the sweep against the southern California schools when USC (1-2) comes to Beasley Coliseum at noon on Sunday. The Trojans fell to Washington 77-67 on Friday night.
Women's Basketball:
Chanelle Molina scores 33 points as Washington State beats 9th-ranked UCLA | The Seattle Times
The Cougars, who shot 80 percent in the fourth quarter, knocked off visiting UCLA 82-73 for one of the biggest victories in program history.
Student Conduct Board:
A closer look at WSU conduct board stats involving Cougars athletes; conduct board task force continues its work | The Seattle Times
Of the 3,314 cases processed by WSU's Office of Student Conduct in the last year, only 86 involved student-athletes