PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State women's basketball team returns to Beasley Coliseum this Sunday, Nov. 13, as the Cougars host Prairie View A&M as part of the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series. Tip-off against the Panthers is set for 12 p.m. PT and will air live on Pac-12 Washington.
WASHINGTON STATE (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12) vs. Prairie View A&M (2-0, 0-0 SWAC) | Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022 | 12 p.m. | Beasley Coliseum
Live Stats | Click Here
Watch | Pac-12 Network Washington (Cindy Brunson & Angela Taylor)
Listen | WSU Radio (Steve Grubbs)
Game Notes | Click Here
Starting Five
>> Less than 48 hours after picking up a 69-66 win at San Francisco this past Friday, the Cougars jump back into action to take on Prairie View A&M. The game is part of the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series, which is an allyship between the Pac-12 and SWAC pertaining to basketball scheduling between the Autonomy 5 and HBCU leagues but also places crucial emphasis on raising awareness for anti-racism and social justice initiatives. Washington State will be making the return trip to Prairie View A&M next season.
>> Sunday's matchup will be the second time that Washington State and Prairie View A&M have faced off. The two squads last met on Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands at the Paradise Island Jam where the Cougars scored the 90-52 victory.
>> Washington State will be seeking its ninth-straight non-conference win at home this Sunday. The nine-game winning streak dates back to the 2019-20 season. WSU is 15-4 against non-conference foes inside Beasley Coliseum under Head Coach Kamie Ethridge.
>> WSU will be seeking its fourth straight 3-0 start to open a campaign. If the Cougs were to pick up a win over the Panthers on Sunday, it would mark the first time in program history that Washington State has begun four-straight seasons with three-straight wins.
>> Junior Charlisse Leger-Walker enters Sunday's contest just 14 points away from joining the 1,000-point club. She will become the 21st WSU women's basketball player to score 1,000 career points as a Cougar. She will become the first player to score 1,000 career points at Washington State since Chanelle Molina, who accomplished the feat against Baylor in the Virgin Islands on Nov. 28, 2019.
Game Coverage
Sunday's Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series game will air on Pac-12 Networks Washington. WSU alum Cindy Brunson and Angela Taylor will be on the call. Fans can also listen to Steve Grubbs call all the action on 1150 AM locally or by clicking the link here.
A Top-10 Scoring Performance
Junior Charlisse Leger-Walker scored a career-high 35 points in Friday's win at San Francisco. The 35-point performance for Leger-Walker is tied for the 10th-most points scored in a single game in WSU women's basketball history, matching Jenni Ruff's 35-point effort against UCLA back on March 9, 1996
Leading the Pac-12
Charlisse Leger-Walker enters Sunday's contest as the Pac-12 Conference's leading scorer at 25.5 points per game. Her 25.5 ppg average ranks 21st in all of NCAA Division I. Meanwhile, Leger-Walker's 51 total points scored are the seven-most in NCAA.
Making It Tough on the Opponent
Washington State has held the opposition to a 30.5 percent shooting percentage through two games. That mark is the second-best in the Pac-12 heading into Sunday's slate of games, while it is 47th-best in all of the NCAA.
Lending a Hand
Junior Charlisse Leger-Walker and freshman Astera Tuhina have each been dishing out the assists at a high rate through the first two games of the 2022-23 season, as each play ranks inside the top five in the Pac-12 in assists. Leger-Walker's 10 assists are the fourth-most in the Pac, while Tuhina's nine helpers are the fifth-most collected by a Pac-12 player. Washington State is the only school to have two players rank inside the top five in assists in the Pac-12.
Scouting the Panthers
Prairie View A&M comes to the Palouse on a two-game winning streak after picking up wins against Huston-Tillotson and Wiley. Sunday's game will be the first time PVAMU will play against an NCAA Division I team this season. Prairie View A&M was predicted to finish seventh in the Southwestern Athletic Conference after going 13-16 and 10-8 in SWAC play.
The Panthers are led by senior Diana Rosenthal, who is averaging 21.5 points per game. She is shooting 65.4 percent from the floor and has scored 21-or-more points in each of her first two games of the season. Junior Destiny Jenkins is also averaging double-digit points at 16.5 points per game. Both Rosenthal and Jenkins are shooting above 50 percent from behind the arc this season, as Rosenthal is hitting 54.5 percent of her 3-point field goals and Jenkins is sinking an even 50 percent of her shots.
Prairie View A&M is averaging 96.5 points per game while shooting 48.3 percent from the floor. PVAMU is giving up 55.5 points per game to the opposition through two games. Foes are hitting 34.8 percent from the floor against them. The Panthers are forcing teams into 30 turnovers per game through two contests.
