PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State used a strong second half performance to pull away from Arizona and top the Wildcats 67-46 Friday night at Beasley Coliseum.

Leading by just seven at halftime, the Cougars outscored the Wildcats by 14 in the second half to earn the victory. Destiny Graham led the way for the Wildcats with 11 points. LaBrittney Jones added nine points and six rebounds. JaLea Bennett added six.

“The thing that stands out to me is we had 24 turnovers compared to their 14,” assistant coach Sean LeBeauf said after the game. “We did not execute the way we needed to and it showed with the turnovers.

Leading 36-30 early in the third quarter, the Cougars went on a 22-8 run to end the period to take a 20-point lead into the final quarter. Washington State outscored Arizona 25-12 in the third quarter to take charge. The Cougars went 10 of 18 from the floor in the third and 3 of 5 from 3-point distance. The Wildcats were just 3 of 11 in the third.

The Cats trailed the Cougars 33-26 after the opening quarter. Freshman post Destiny Graham, making her fourth straight start, had a team-high seven points in the frame. Arizona posted 10 assists in the first half on 13 made baskets. Malena Washington and Michal Miller each had a pair.

The Cougars started the game hot from the floor and built an early lead. Leading 5-4, the Cougars went on a mini 6-0 run to extend their lead to 11-4 four minutes into the game. That lead ballooned to 19-9 when Washington's State Nike McClure hit a layup with 2:43 to play in the half.

But the Wildcats went on a 5-0 run to end the quarter to cut it to 19-14. LaBrittney Jones and Farrin Bell each had layups in the final minute of the quarter to cut into the lead.

The Cats continued their hot play to open the second quarter and scored the first six points of the period to take a 20-19 lead. JaLea Bennett, Taryn Griffey and Breanna Workman all had buckets during the stretch. Washington State responded with a bucket just less than a minute later to take a 21-20 lead and led the rest of the half.

Graham had a layup with 57 seconds left, but Washington State's Ivana Kmetovska scored with four seconds left to give the Cougars their seven-point lead at half.

The Wildcats will look to rebound Sunday afternoon at Washington. The Wildcats and Huskies will tip off at 3 p.m., MST.

“We have another game, and we have to move on with the right mindset,” LeBeauf said. “You can't dwell on the loss, you focus on the things you need to correct and improve on.”