Washington State stunned No. 8 Arizona on Sunday in a 72–67 upset that helped the Cougars continue to make their case for a NCAA tournament spot.
With the win, they are now tied for second with Oregon in the Pac-12 behind Stanford, with a matchup against the second-ranked Cardinal on Thursday. Arizona, meanwhile, slips to fourth. A bubble team, ESPN listed the Cougars as one of their “First Four Out” on Feb. 18.
Now 10-5 in conference play, the Cougars also tied the program record for most Pac-12 Conference wins in a season. Their 18 overall wins are also tied for the most in program history. Both records were set by the 1990-91 Washington State team.
It’s also the fourth-straight win for Washington State after losing to Oregon on Feb. 9 by 53 points.
“It’s such a big win,” said Johanna Teder, who led all scorers with 21 points. “I feel like that [Oregon game] was our lowest point and after this, we just want it so bad. And I feel like responding from that Oregon game like this, it just shows so much what we are capable of and how this team can grow every single day.”
Three other Cougars scored in double-digits, with Bella Murekatete scoring 16 points and adding eight assists. Charlisse and Krystal Leger-Walker each contributed 15 points and 12 points respectively while adding five assists apiece.
Despite Arizona scoring 33 bench points to the Cougars’ eight, they were outshot from 3-point range, as Washington State shot 56.3 percent to the Wildcats’ 41.2 percent.
Madison Conner led the Wildcats with 15 points while Koi Love added 12 points and four rebounds.
Arizona will look to rebound against UCLA on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.