The defending Pac-12 tournament champion Washington State Cougars used a dominant third quarter to get past the Cal Poly Mustangs in a 78-61 victory in the season opener.
WSU (1-0) didn’t get out to the fastest start, entering the second half trailing Cal Poly (0-1) 34-31. The halftime adjustments paid off when the Cougs broke the game wide open on a 14-0 run that held the Mustangs scoreless for nearly six minutes. Fifth year center Bella Murekatete lead the game in scoring with 18, 11 of which came in the final quarter.
The Mustangs refused to miss early on, hitting 9 of their 14 first quarter shots, including a pair of threes from Mary Carter off the bench to close the first quarter with a six-point lead.