PULLMAN, Wash. – A short-handed Washington State women's basketball team took a 51-44 loss to Southern California in Pac-12 Conference action Friday, Jan. 20, at Beasley Coliseum.

The Cougars, who were playing without All-Pac-12 guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, were engaged in a defensive battle against Southern California as both teams shot under 37 percent from the floor in a game that featured 37 turnovers. Washington State struggled to get into an offensive flow without its leading scorer on the floor, as WSU was held to a season-low 44 points against Southern California on Friday. The Cougars shot 35.3 percent from the floor against the Trojans, while the Cougs managed to sink just 31.3 percent from behind the arc.

With the loss to the Trojans, Washington State's three-game winning streak comes to an end, as the Cougars are now 13-5 overall on the year and 3-4 in Pac-12 games.

All eight Cougars that played against USC on Friday scored. Freshman Astera Tuhina led Washington State in scoring, as the guard from Kosovo tallied 13 points, just one point shy of her career-high in the scoring column. Senior Bella Murekatete joined Tuhina with a 10-point performance to extend her double-digit scoring streak to six games.

The two teams were tangled at 13-all at the end of the first quarter. The Cougars took a one-point lead at 16-15 after freshman Kyra Gardner sank a 3-point field goal with 7:53 left in the second quarter. Southern California would take the lead back on the next possession and the Trojans maintained their advantage for the rest of the frame, taking a 26-23 over Washington State heading into halftime.

USC found more separation in the third quarter, as the Trojans took a game-high 13-point lead with 4:34 remaining in the third. Washington State chipped away at the Southern Cal lead to close out the third quarter, as the Cougars trailed the Trojans 42-36 entering the final quarter.

Washington State found itself back down by 13 points with 7:22 left to play in the game. The Cougars pulled to within five points of the Trojans with 3:16 after back-to-back 3-pointers from Tuhina and sophomore Tara Wallack capped off an 8-0 run for WSU. Those would be Washington State's final two baskets of the game, as Southern California walked out of Beasley Coliseum with a seven-point win.

The Cougars were missing their leading scorer Charlisse Leger-Walker in Friday's matchup against Southern California due to a personal family matter in her home country of New Zealand. Her status is day-to-day.

Head Coach Kamie Ethridge on the Result
"I want to give a ton of credit to USC. That is a unique team that we haven't played against this year. They are a big, strong, athletic team. It was really hard for us to gain an advantage in running our stuff, setting our screens, and trying to attack them off the bounce. We didn't really have a good answer for them getting us out of our rhythm and that is a credit to them. USC and UCLA are similar in how they guard, so it's going to be a challenge for us to be ready to play another team that plays aggressive defense."

Coug Notes
- Washington State's two-game losing streak to USC comes to an end after Washington State swept the two-game season series last year.
- Washington State is now 20-56 all-time against Southern California.
- The Cougars fall to 6-3 at Beasley Coliseum this season.
- Senior Bella Murekatete extends her double-digit streak to six games with a 10-point performance.
- With 10 points, Murekatete records her 45th career game at WSU with 10 or more points.
- Washington State was held under 45 points for the first time since Jan. 1, 2022, when they scored 44 points against Stanford.
- WSU was held to under 40 percent shooting in a game for the first time since the loss at Washington earlier this season back on Dec. 11.
- Freshman Astera Tuhina leads the Cougars in scoring for the first time in her career with a 13-point effort.
- Tuhina's 13 points mark the fourth time in her career that she has scored 10 or more points in a game this season.

Up Next
Washington State wraps up its brief two-game homestand this Sunday, Jan. 22, as the Cougars host No. 9/13-ranked UCLA. Tip-off against the Bruins is set for 12 p.m. PT and will air live on Pac-12 Network Los Angeles.

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