PULLMAN, Wash. - The Washington State women's
basketball team beat Idaho Thursday night, 82-53.
The Vandals struggled from the outset. By the second media
timeout the Cougars had rolled to a 23-8 lead.
From that point on, the Cougars did fall from their
soaring 78.6 field goal percentage (they finished at
.442, compared to the Vandals' .345). Nevertheless,
the Cougars never allowed the Vandals back in the game.
By halftime, the Vandals were down 47-24, thanks
largely to a 27-13 rebounding deficit. Forward
Bianca McCall had scored 13 points and grabbed eight
rebounds. She finished with 16 and 10. She also had
four blocks.
A letdown, obviously, for the Vandals and head coach
Mike Divilbiss.
"We chose not to play," Divilbiss said. "They had 13
missed shots in the first half. 10 rebounds. That's
called throw it up, fetch it."
Guard Jessica Perry led the Cougars with 20 points.
Of those, 13 came in the first half, when the game
was still competitive. Four of her five steals also
came in the first half.
Autumn Fielding scored 20 points on 7-17 shooting.
Heather Thoelke was the only other Vandal in double
figures. She scored 10 and added five assists and
seven rebounds.
"I don't think we came in with the right mindset,"
Thoelke said. "We just weren't as focused as we
should be."
Divilbiss hopes this loss will serve as some kind of
message for his players, who are facing the final
week of the Big West regular season. They play
Pacific on the road Thursday.
"I'm not going to let one setback make me doubt this
team," Divilbiss said. "They gave when a lot of
teams were checking in."