Sunday, December 16, 2012
Associated Press
PULLMAN, Wash.
Lia Galdeira scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half to help Washington State upset No. 20 Ohio State 62-55 on Saturday.
Washington State’s defense forced 21 Ohio State turnovers — leading to 16 Cougars points — and held the Buckeyes to 1 for 17 from 3-point range.
“Exciting day for Washington State, after a tough road trip and back-to-back losses, the girls responded and came out and played physical, and aggressive,” Cougars coach June Daugherty said. “Tonight we had some hustle plays that really mattered I give all the credit to our defense.”
Washington State (3-5) led 28-23 at halftime. Ohio State came back to lead 36-32, but the Cougars’ defense forced three straight turnovers. Taylor Edmondson’s 3-pointer put the Cougars ahead to stay at 40-37.
The Cougars never led by more than five points after that, but maintained the lead with strong defensive play in posting their first win over a ranked team since 2001. It was also the most points scored against the Buckeyes all season.
“We gave this team a lot of different looks on defense which created turnovers and they were just not comfortable with it,” Daugherty said.