BOULDER, Colo. — Eleonara Villa scored 20 points, Astera Tuhina added 14 points and Washington State closed with a 14-0 run to beat 13th-ranked Colorado 72-63 on Saturday in the Pac-12 season finale for both teams.
Bella Murekatate and Tara Wallack each scored 12 points for the Cougars (18-13, 7-11).
Jaylyn Sherrod scored 18 points, shooting 11 for 12 from the foul line but just 3 of 16 from the field for Colorado. Aaronette Vonleh scored 15 points, Frida Formann 10 and Quay Miller grabbed 10 rebounds for the Buffaloes.
Vonleh’s layup with 2:56 left put the Buffaloes ahead 63-58 but they never scored again. Villa made a 3-pointer and shot 3 of 4 from the foul line in the final 21 seconds and scored six of WSU's final 14 points.
The loss was Colorado’s (21-8, 11-7) first to an unranked team this season. The Buffaloes started the season ranked No. 20 and established overwhelming high hopes beating defending champion LSU 92-78 in Las Vegas. The Buffaloes rose to as high as No. 3 in the rankings on three-different occasions but now find themselves limping into post-season play having lost five of their last six games.
Washington State continues to turn the tide heading to post-season play with its third win in its last five contests following a five-game losing streak, three of which were against ranked teams. The Buffaloes were ranked sixth when they beat the Cougars 63-57 one month ago in Pullman, Washington, to start the Cougars' five-game skid.
Both teams play again Wednesday to start the Pac-12 Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.
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