PHILADELPHIA — The No. 5 Washington State Women's Basketball team's magical run is over. The Cougars lost to No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament by a score of 74-63.
FGCU pulled away in the second half while the Cougs battled foul trouble. The Eagles outscored the Cougs by 14 points in the third quarter to take a big lead.
Sha Carter led the way for the Eagles with 24 points and 6 rebounds. Tishara Morehouse added 16 points for FGCU. The Eagles shot 57.7% from the field for the game.
The Cougars faced foul trouble most of the game. Charlisse Leger-Walker fouled out midway through the 4th quarter, while Bella Murekatete and Johanna Teder also played in foul trouble.
Tara Wallack led WSU in scoring with 16 points, while Teder added 11 points and Murekatete scored 10. Leger-Walker was held to 5 points before fouling out.
FGCU will face the winner of No. 4 Villanova vs No. 13 Cleveland State on Monday.
First Half
The first half was tight with neither team able to break away. Washington State took a 32-31 lead into halftime. The Cougs were led by guard Johanna Teder who scored 9 points on 3-3 shooting from three-point range. Astera Tuhina added 7 points.
The Cougs were forced to go with a smaller lineup after center Bella Murekatete picked up two fouls early into the second quarter.
Sha Carter led FGCU with 12 points. The Eagles entered the game as the top 3-point-shooting team in the country but went just 1-7 from behind the arc in the first half.
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