LAS VEGAS – Washington State cashed in 14 three-pointers to knock out Wichita State in the Desert Division third place game of the Duel in the Desert, 85-59, Thursday afternoon at the Cox Pavilion.
Wichita State (6-6) finished the game shooting 34 percent, while Washington State torched the Shocker defense to the tune of 51 percent for the game and 14-of-27 from beyond the arc.
The 51.7 percent shooting from deep marked a season high for a Shocker opponent.
Jaida Hampton led Wichita State with 14 points and four assists, while going 4-of-9 from the field and 5-for-6 at the charity stripe.
Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Raven Prince just missed out on double-figures with nine points and eight boards.
Borislava Hristova and Alexys Swedlund scored 27 points apiece and Chanelle Molina added 19 for the Cougars. The Wazzu trio combined to score 73 of their team's 85 points.
Seraphine Bastin scored five of the first nine points for WSU, but a trio of three-pointers gave the Cougars an early 12-9 lead with 4:50 remaining in the opening quarter. The Shockers would take a one-point lead late, but five straight points gave Washington State a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
At the 7:15 mark of the second quarter, Washington State knocked down its seventh triple of the half in 13 tries to give the Cougars a 28-22 lead. Washington State's run would reach 7-0, giving them a 10-point advantage with just 3:40 to go until halftime.
Both teams would trade baskets in the final minutes before the Shockers went into the locker room trailing by nine, 40-31. Hampton scored nine points to lead Wichita State, while Chanelle Molina and Alexys Swedlund combined to score 28 of Washington State's 40 points.
The Shockers shot 40 percent in the first 20 minutes to go with 9-of-12 makes from the free throw line. The Cougars finished the half with eight three-pointers, while also forcing 10 WSU turnovers.
Washington State opened the third with scores on its first two possession to up its lead to 13. The deficit would continue to hover around the 10-point mark over the next five minutes before the Cougars splashed a three-pointer capping a 7-0 spurt with 2:30 remaining to give them a 59-42 lead.
Alexys Swedlund's seventh three-pointer of the game upped the Cougars' lead to 62-44 forcing a
Keitha Adams timeout with just 49 seconds left in the period. Prince would split a pair of free throws and Washington State would add another score at the buzzer to make it 64-45 going into the final frame.
WSU would trim the lead to 13 to begin the final quarter, but the Cougars responded with a pair of three-pointers to key an 8-0 run to make it 75-54 with 4:00 minutes on the clock. Washington State would lead by as many as 27 in the final minutes.
Up Next
Wichita State has a 10-day break in between games before returning to Charles Koch Arena on Sunday, Dec. 30 for the final non-conference matchup of the season. The Shockers host Savannah State at 2 p.m. on Cox YurView.