CANCUN, MEXICO (November 23, 2023) – No. 23 Washington State women's basketball rolled past RV Maryland Thursday morning in an 87-67 win to tip off the 2023 Cancun Challenge.

Six of the Cougars eight scorers finished in double figures as WSU improved to 6-0 for the first time since the 1978-79 season when the team opened the year 10-0.

Senior Center Bella Murekatete tallied four blocks, pushing her to 159 in her career to become the new program leader in career blocks, surpassing Carly Noyes who had 158 (2010-13). Murekatete added a team-high 17 points, going 8-of-10 from the field, and six rebounds.

Senior guard Charlisse Leger-Walker recorded her first career triple-double with 11 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists. Leger-Walker becomes just the second in program history to achieve a triple-double, and the first to do so since Penny Bowden who did it twice (12/11/87, 3/3/88)

Beyonce Bea scored 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 performance from the field to go with seven rebounds and four assists.

Astera Tuhina finished with 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Eleonora Villa totaled 14 points while Tara Wallack scored 12, each draining a pair of threes.

The Cougs shot 61 percent from the field as a team and 47 percent from the arc. They finished with eight blocks and grabbed 38 boards while holding Maryland to 30 percent from the floor, and 18 percent after the first quarter.

After trailing 31-20 through one quarter of play, the Cougars outscored Maryland 21-8 in the second half to take a 41-39 lead into the locker room. They pulled away in the third using a 14-2 run on six points from Murekatete and a Wallack three to stretch to a double-digit lead, 59-47. They would go on to lead by as many as 22 midway through the fourth, 82-60, before earning the 87-67 win.


INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Charlisse Leger-Walker

• Scored 11 points to push her career point total to 1,550, passing Tia Presley for fourth all-time in WSU career scoring
• Made one 3-pointers to push her career total to 183, second-most in WSU history (227, Alexys Swedlund)
• Five made field goals push her career total to 536, eighth-most in WSU history
• Played 35 minutes to push her career total to 3,299, seventh-most in WSU history

Bella Murekatete

• Grabbed six rebounds to push career rebound total to 775, fourth-most in WSU history
• Made career start No. 115, third-most in WSU history
• Blocked four shots to push career total to 159, becoming the program leader in career blocks

Beyonce Bea

• Scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds
• Pushed career point total to 1,989 and career rebounds to 934, appeared in her 122nd career game

UP NEXT
WSU continues their three-game stretch at the Cancun Challenge on Friday morning, taking on UMass at 8 a.m. PT from the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.