PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (November 19, 2023) – No. 24 Washington State women's basketball opened its four-game road trip with an impressive 81-43 victory of Prairie View A&M in the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series matchup Sunday.
 
Four Cougars scored in double figures as nine players scored for WSU who improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2015-16. Senior guard Charlisse Leger-Walker scored a game-high 17 points, sophomore guard Astera Tuhina scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds, made three steals and dished out four assists. Senior center Bella Murekatete added 10 points and nine rebounds while graduate transfer forward Beyonce Bea recorded 10 points and eight rebounds while freshman center Alex Covill scored a season-high nine points to along with four blocks, her third-straight game with four-plus blocks. Junior Tara Wallack filled up the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds, two blocks and three assists
 
Washington State shot 50 percent from the field, posted a 39-25 rebound advantage, forced 22 turnovers, made a season-high 11 steals and blocked seven shots while holding PVAM to 32.1 percent from the floor.
 
The Cougars opened the game with a 19-7 first quarter and went into the half with a 41-21 advantage. Tuhina heated up in the second half, scoring eight points in the third quarter before WSU closed the game with a 14-2 run starting midway through the fourth.
 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Charlisse Leger-Walker

• Scored 17 points to push her career point total to 1,539, passing Jenni Ruff for fifth all-time in WSU career scoring
• Made two 3-pointers to push her career total to 182, second-most in WSU history (227, Alexys Swedlund)

 
Bella Murekatete

• Grabbed nine rebounds to push career rebound total to 769, fourth-most in WSU history
• Matched career-high with three assists for second straight game
• Made career start No. 114, tying Ula Motuga for third-most in WSU history
• Blocked one shot to push career total to 155, third-most in WSU history and three away from Carly Noyes' school record of 158

 
Beyonce Bea

• Scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds
• Pushed career point total to 1,977 and career rebounds to 927, appeared in her 121st career game

UP NEXT
WSU continues its four-game road trip with three games at the Cancun Challenge in Mexico later this week. The Cougars will face No. 20 Maryland Thursday at 8 a.m. (PT), UMASS Friday at 8 a.m. and Wisconsin-Green Bay Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (PT).