WSU women give No. 3 Stanford a scare

Washington State has taken the floor 56 times against Stanford in women’s basketball, and 56 times the Cougars have lost.

But No. 3 Stanford’s 77-69 victory Friday night in Pullman was one of the closest in the series that began in 1983.

“We’re going to keep building on our confidence,” Washington State coach June Daugherty said. “We’ve got a lot of weapons.”

The Cougars managed to tie it with less than 6 minutes left. But in the end they had no answer for Stanford star Chiney Ogwumike, who scored 36 points and had 17 rebounds.

“She’s got amazing hands,” Daugherty said about Ogwumike, who scored most of her points inside. “We were trying to force them not to get it inside.”

The Cougars got big games from guards Lia Galdeira, who scored 21 points, and Tia Presley, who scored 20. Galdeira scored 17 of her points in the second half

“I think if we had played better defensively, it would have been a different game,” Ogwumike said. “But they were scoring left, right and center.”

Taylor Greenfield and Amber Orrange scored 11 points each for the Cardinal. Stanford (22-1, 11-0 Pac-12) has won 21 straight games since losing to No. 1 Connecticut.

Washington State (12-11, 6-5) has lost five of its past six games after a 5-0 start to conference play.

The Cougars shot 56.7 percent in the second half and kept it close most of the way.

But Stanford had a 46-30 rebound advantage, and the Cougars managed to hit just 10 of 20 from the free-throw line.

“We spread the floor and were more aggressive getting to the basket,” Ogwumike said about the second half.

Ogwumike scored eight quick points as Stanford jumped to a 17-8 lead. With Stanford leading 26-16 late in the first, Washington State went on an 8-0 run. Presley’s layup cut Stanford’s lead to 26-24.

Ogwumike sank a jumper at the buzzer to give Stanford a 28-24 lead at halftime.

Washington State kept it close despite shooting just 28 percent (9 of 32) in the first half, while Stanford made 13 of 30 for 43 percent.

Galdeira sank a couple of baskets to bring Washington State to within 43-41 midway through the second half, but Karlie Samuelson replied with a 3-pointer for Stanford. Ogwumike added a layup and two free throws as Stanford built a 50-41 lead.

Galdeira scored eight points as Washington State cut Stanford’s lead to 54-52. Dawnyelle Awa’s 3-pointer gave Washington State its first lead at 55-54.

Stanford scored the next seven points for a 61-55 lead.

But Presley and Sage Romberg hit consecutive 3-pointers as the Cougars tied it at 61 with 5:25 left.

Ogwumike sank a pair of baskets during an 11-4 run that put Stanford ahead 72-65 with 2:26 left.

(23) California 70, Washington 65: Reshanda Gray had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Golden Bears (15-7, 7-4 Pac-12) over the Huskies (12-10, 5-6) in Seattle.

Gray’s jumper extended the Golden Bears’ lead to 68-65 with 1:01 to go, and both teams failed to score on their next possessions.

With 5 seconds left, Washington worked the ball to Kelsey Plum for a tying 3-point attempt. Cal’s Brittany Boyd stripped the ball before Plum could get a shot and Boyd made two free throws to cap the scoring.

Jazmine Davis and Talia Walton led Washington (12-10, 5-6) with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Plum added 16 points and nine assists.

Whitworth 83, Puget Sound 71: Kayla Johnson scored a career-high 31 points and the Pirates (15-5, 9-2) used a hot start to get past the Loggers (13-7, 6-5) in a Northwest Conference game in Tacoma.

Johnson made 13 of 19 shots and Whitworth shot 52.9 percent from the floor.

K.C. McConnell added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Pirates, who play at Pacific Lutheran today.

CC Spokane 67, Blue Mountain 57: Riley Holsinger scored 33 points and grabbed eight rebounds and the Sasquatch (12-10, 4-5) excelled in the second half in an NWAACC victory over the Timberwolves (16-6, 5-4) at Spokane Community College.

Holsinger made 9 of 18 shots, including 3 of 4 3-pointers and 12 of 14 free throws. CCS trailed by five at halftime but outscored Blue Mountain 40-25 in the second half.

Morgan Freeman added eight points and 12 rebounds for CCS.

CCS coach Bruce Johnson will be seeking his 500th career win when the Sasquatch host Treasure Valley tonight.