Making their return to the NCAA women’s basketball tournament for the first time in 30 years, the No. 9 seeded Washington State Cougars’ stay was a short one, as they lost a heartbreaker to the No. 8 seeded South Florida Bulls, 57-53.
WSU ends arguably its best season ever with a final record of 12-12. USF advances to face No. 1 seeded North Carolina State in the second round.
As has become de rigueur for WSU, the game was a tight one that came down to the wire.
After USF took a 9-point lead into halftime and WSU erased it with a 17-3 run in the first five minutes of the third quarter, the remaining 15 minutes were a slugfest between a pair of tough, physical teams.