Dons fall behind big early, lose to Cougars

Chanelle Molina scored 28 points and Borislava Hristova added 20 as host Washington State overwhelmed visiting USF on Thursday night, winning 91-61 at Beasley Coliseum.

The Cougars (3-4) led by 15 points after the first quarter and extended their edge to 61-26 at halftime against the Dons (2-4), who were held to 28 percent shooting in the first quarter.

Julia Nielacna scored 21 points, Marta Galic added 14 and Kia Vaalavirta 11 for USF, which won the rebound battle 37-35.

Mistakes played a big role in the outcome, as Washington State converted USF’s 28 turnovers in 37 points. Conversely, the Dons had just five points off of the Cougars’ 11 giveaways. St. Mary’s 80, UC Santa Barbara 55: The visiting Gaels (3-3) stormed to a 47-28 halftime lead in defeating the Gauchos (1-6). Sydney Raggio led St. Mary’s with 17 points and nine rebounds, and Taycee Wedin contributed 14 points. Bri Anugwom had 15 points for UCSB. Pacific 91, San Jose State 67: Jessica Blakeslee scored 21 points to lead five Tigers in double figures as Pacific (4-1) beat the host Spartans (1-4). Fieme’a Hafoka scored 17 points for San Jose State. #1 Notre Dame 105, #14 Iowa 71: Arike Ogunbowale scored 30 points and her fellow starters all finished in double figures as the host Irish (7-0) routed the Hawkeyes (4-2). The game was the final tuneup for Notre Dame before a showdown with No. 2 UConn on Sunday afternoon. Ogunbowale was 13-for-21 from the field. Brianna Turner added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Marina Mabrey had 18 points in her second game after missing five contests because of a quad injury. #5 Louisville 85, Nebraska 68: Asia Durr scored 25 points to lead the Cardinals (7-0) past the visiting Cornhuskers (2-4). Playing a team that has four starters returning from an NCAA Tournament trip last season, Louisville didn’t dominate in the first three quarters, but it wasn’t really threatened either. After the first quarter, Nebraska failed to trim its deficit below five. MEN Santa Clara 81, Jackson State 70: Trey Wertz scored 33 points and Josip Vrankic added 19 points and eight rebounds as the host Broncos (2-5) defeated the Tigers (1-7) for their second win in three games. Arizona 100, Georgia Southern 70: Chase Jeter scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the host Wildcats (5-2) beat the Eagles (5-2).