Astera Tuhina leads WSU into the semis.
Another trademark third quarter helped lead the Washington State Cougars past the Pacific Tigers 73-62.
WSU outscored Pacific 20-10 in the third frame, taking the lead with 6:18 remaining and never reliquinishing it. Veteran guard Astera Tuhina led the Cougs with a season-high 18 points. Freshman forward Dayana Mendes contributed 15 of her own.
The Cougars survived an early onslaught from Anaya James, who scored 14 of Pacific’s first 18 points. WSU’s 10 first-half turnovers also didn’t help their case, as the Tigers took a two-point lead into the half.
But like clockwork, the Cougars turned it up in the third quarter. WSU used a 13-4 run, anchored by six points from Mendes, to flip a two-point deficit into a seven-point lead. The Cougar defense also locked up the Tigers in the third frame, forcing seven turnovers and holding them to just 33.3% from the field.
While the Tigers tried to claw themselves back in it with a 5-0 run to open the fourth to pull within five, the fourth quarter belonged to the veteran Tuhina. The junior scored six with a three-pointer and a three-point play the old-fashioned way. Mendes tacked on two more buckets to help push the lead out to a game-high 13 to help seal a spot in the WCC semi-finals for WSU.
The difference for WSU was the return of Ele Villa returning to the floor after dealing with foul trouble early. She only played in five minutes in the first half, but all 20 in the second. She ended up with a quiet seven points and a +/- of +11.
Kyra Gardner also scored 10 points of her own off the bench with a pair of treys.
The Cougars will now take on the Portland Pilots on Monday at 2:30pm.