Football
21y

Washington State loses 36th game in a row

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) -- It wasn't pretty, not with 22 turnovers by
No. 18 Arizona. But it was a win, and that's all Wildcats coach
Joan Bonvicini wanted.

Dee-Dee Wheeler scored 20 points, and Aimee Grzyb added 18 as
Arizona beat Washington State 86-65 Thursday night, handing the
Cougars their 36th straight defeat.

Arizona (10-3, 4-1 Pac-10) shot 56 percent and had four players
in double figures. Shawntinice Polk added 16 points and Krista
Warren had 12.

"I thought we played hard, I don't think it was our best
performance," Bonvicini said. "It was a little sloppy for us.

"This is a tough place to play. Any time you come into Pullman,
it's good to come away with a win."

Bianca McCall had 17 points for Washington State, 0-12 under
first-year coach Sherri Murrell. The Cougars haven't won since
beating Gonzaga on Nov. 29, 2001.

Polk, the Pac-10 leader in rebounding at 12.2 a game, was held
to just six boards.

The Wildcats went on a 14-0 run late in the first half, and held
a 14-point lead at the break. Arizona connected on 20-of-32 shots
in the second half, and led by as many as 30 points.

"I told their coach that they look a lot better on tape than
their record would indicate," Bonvicini said of the Cougars.
"They're a scrappy team."

The Cougars had an injury-depleted bench, suiting up just nine
players.

"We were sucking air at the end," Murrell said. "We really
utilize our top seven kids. We had two freshmen out there for quite
a bit. Not having a full bench hurts a lot.

"We're not playing to win," she added. "We're just playing to
hang with people. Arizona's press is one of the best in the nation.
Only having 19 turnovers is pretty good for our team."

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