TUCSON, Ariz. – For the second time in three weeks, the Washington State women's basketball team picked up a road win over a ranked opponent on Sunday, Jan. 29, as the Cougars knocked off No. 19/14 Arizona 70-59 at the McKale Center.
The win gives Washington State two victories over a top-25 opponent on the road this season. It marks the first time in program history that the Cougs have collected two road wins against multiple ranked teams in the same season. The win over the No. 19/14-ranked Wildcats, coupled with Friday's victory at Arizona State, completes the road sweep of the Arizona schools, marking the first time since the 2012-13 campaign that the Cougars have swept the Arizona road trip.
The Cougs had four players score double figures in the win over the No. 19/14-ranked Wildcats, led by senior Bella Murekatete's 18-point performance. Fifth-year senior Ula Motuga followed with 16 points, while sophomore Tara Wallack posted her second career double-double with a 12-point, 12-rebound effort, while freshman Astera Tuhina chipped in 10 points off the bench.
The victory over the Wildcats improves WSU's overall record to 15-6, while the Cougars are now an even 5-5 in Pac-12 Conference play. The 15-6 start marks the best start to a season in the NCAA Era for the Cougars. Washington State also improves to 8-1 on the road this season, which is the program's best record ever through nine road games in a season.
Wallack was a beast on the defensive glass against the Wildcats, as she pulled down 10 defensive caroms. She ends the Arizona road trip with two double-doubles, as she picked up her first career double-double in Friday's win at Arizona State. She is the second Coug to record back-to-back double-doubles this season, joining Bella Murekatete who accomplished the feat against Troy and South Dakota State.
Junior Charlisse Leger-Walker also pulled down double-digit rebounds, as the guard collected 10 rebounds to go along with seven assists. Murekatete also had a strong rebounding performance against Arizona, as pulled down nine rebounds. The trio of Wallack, Leger-Walker, and Murekatete helped Washington State post a 43-35 edge in rebounds in the win.
The Cougars outscored the Wildcats 36-18 in points in the paint, as Washington State shot 41 percent from the floor. Defensively, WSU forced Arizona into only nine turnovers in the game, but they made shooting tough on UW, as Washington State held Arizona to 30.8 percent from the floor.
Washington State got out to a fast start at the McKale Center, as 3-pointers from Wallack and Motuga gave WSU a 10-2 advantage less than five minutes into the game. Washington State maintained its lead for the remainder of the first quarter, as the Cougars held a 15-14 lead. Arizona would continue its charge in the second quarter, as they took a seven-point lead over the Cougars with 6:30 left before halftime. WSU counterpunched the Wildcats with an 11-2 run to take back a one-point lead at 26-25 after Tuhina sank a 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining in the second. Washington State build a four-point lead in the closing seconds of the stanza, but Arizona drew a foul on a 3-point attempt with 0.1 seconds left on the clock and went 2-of-3 at the line to make it a 29-27 game at the break.
Washington State came out of the locker room on a mission, as the Cougars opened the third on a 7-0 run to take an 11-point lead. At 38-27 with 7:16 remaining in the third. Motuga sank a 3-pointer in the corner to give WSU a game-high 12-point lead at 41-29, forcing Arizona to call a timeout at the 5:55 mark of the quarter. The No. 19/14-ranked team in the nation would not go down quietly in their home arena, as the Wildcats erased Washington State's 12-point lead and pulled even at 46-46 with 42 seconds left to play. Wallack would give the Cougars the lead back with a layup, as WSU took a 48-46 advantage into the fourth.
Arizona pulled even with the Cougs on the first shot of the fourth, but Washington State responded with a Wallack layup. After the Wallack layup, Arizona was assessed with an intentional foul to give WSU two free throws and the ball back. WSU converted on both free throws and got a layup to give Washington State a six-point possession and a 54-48 lead. The six-point possession gave Washington State enough separation from Arizona, as the Wildcats were never able to make it closer than a two-possession game, as WSU collected the 11-point win at the McKale Center.
WSU Head Coach Kamie Ethridge on the Win
"I'm so excited for this team for walking into this place and getting a hard-fought win. We didn't play a great game at Arizona State and we needed to clean up some things to even have a chance against Arizona. Our team was focused and didn't panic at any time. They kept taking punches and we kept hitting back and kept our poise. We kept it simple to put us in a position to win the game and we pulled away from them in the fourth quarter. The poise we played with today was exceptional and again it's one of the reasons I keep saying that this team is getting better and not only have a chance to win every night, but also go a long way."
Coug Notes
- Washington State picks up its first win at Arizona since Feb. 2, 2018.
- The win gives WSU back-to-back wins over Arizona for the first time since the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
- The Cougars post back-to-back road wins against ranked teams for the first time in program history.
- Today's win at No. 19/14 Arizona is the second win for WSU over a ranked opponent this season. It is the second time in the last three seasons that Washington State has won multiple games against ranked teams in the same season.
- Washington State has won six games against ranked teams under head coach Kamie Ethridge.
- Tara Wallack recorded her second-straight double-double with a 12-point, 12-rebound effort.
- Wallack's 12 rebounds establish a new personal best in rebounds for the sophomore, while it is the 16th time in her WSU career she has scored 10-or-more points.
- Senior Bella Murekatete's 18-point performance marks the 48th career game with double-digit points.
- Fifth-year senior Ula Motuga records her 36th career game in double-digits with 16 points.
- Freshman Astera Tuhina has now scored double-digit points in three of her last four games with today's 10-point outing.
- Junior Charlisse Leger-Walker's 17-game scoring streak came to an end, as she failed to hit a field goal in a game for the first time in her WSU career.
Up Next
Washington State returns to Beasley Coliseum this Friday, Feb. 3, as the Cougars host No. 3/2 Stanford. Tip-off against the Cardinal is set for 7 p.m. PT and will air live on Pac-12 Network Bay Area.
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