WSU women's basketball advances in Pac-12 tournament

The Washington State women's basketball team guaranteed themselves at least one more game in the 2017 season Thursday night, with a win over Colorado. The Coug’s opening round game of the Pac-12 tournament featured big runs from both teams and ended up coming down to the wire.

WSU led 79-78 with 8.9 seconds remaining after Colorado missed a free throw. It appeared that the Cougs had come away with possession, however, an inadvertent whistle was blown, and the possession arrow pointed toward the Buffs. Colorado had one final opportunity to win, but Ariana Freeman's shot was off and Calia Hailey secured the rebound for Washington State.

UN REAL @WSUWomensHoops digs deep for a MONSTER stop to seal the W for the @OpusBank #12Best Moment! https://t.co/LXk6Aqec36

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 3, 2017

While WSU had an excellent offensive game overall, that wasn’t apparent early on. Colorado took an early 17-4 lead and was up 25-13 at the end of the first quarter. Roles were reversed in the second quarter though, as WSU went on a 17-0 run to start the period and outscored CU 24-8.

The second half was a more back and forth affair, but with 2:18 to go in the fourth the Cougs held a 76-68 lead. That evaporated quickly, but the Buff’s late run came up just short.

Alexys Swedlund led the way for the Cougs with a career high 23 points on 9-14 shooting. On the defensive end, Nike McClure stood out with three blocks, nine rebounds and two steals. McClure now has 60 blocks this year, a WSU single season record.

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Women's Basketball:

WSU women’s basketball sneaks by Colorado | The Seattle Times
Even the 79-78 final score doesn’t accurately convey the dramatic way by which Washington State snuck by Colorado Thursday night, in the opening round of the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament at Key Arena.

Survive And Advance, Cougs Monster Second Sends WSU To The Second Round - WSUCougars.com | Washington State University Athletics
Survive and advance is all that matters come March and the Cougars did just that as Washington State erased a 14-point first quarter deficit to defeat Colorado, 79-78, in the first round of the 2017 Pac-12 Championship tournament.

Cougs gear up for loaded Pac-12 Tournament | Sports | dailyevergreen.com
After capping off the regular season with a win on Senior Day against Colorado, the Cougar women’s basketball team found out on Sunday that they would be playing a rematch

Men's Basketball:

WSU Closes Regular Season at No. 3/2 UCLA Saturday - WSUCougars.com | Washington State University Athletics
WSU split the two meetings with UCLA last year, beating the then-No. 25 Bruins, 85-78, at Pullman the opening weekend of Pac-12 play, Jan. 3, 2016, before falling to the Bruins at Los Angeles, 83-50, Jan. 30, 2016.

Football:

Pac-12 QB positions ranked from best to worst - Orlando Sentinel
The Pac-12 quarterback positions ranked from best to worst heading into spring football practice.