PULLMAN, Wash. (December 1, 2023) – Washington State women's basketball led from start to finish Friday night in the team's 77-52 win over UC Davis.

The Cougars improve to 9-1 on the year for the program's best start since going 10-0 to open the 1978-79 season.

Leading by just three with 1:11 left in the third, WSU went on a tear in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Aggies 28-10 to pull ahead and seal the 25-point victory.

Sophomore guard Astera Tuhina scored a career-high 19 points, going 8-of-14 from the field and connecting on a trio of 3-pointers. She also added five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Senior center Bella Murekatete finished with 15 points and nine boards to go along with four assists, three steals and a block.

Senior guard Charlisse Leger-Walker had a double-double in her second consecutive game, scoring 10 and hauling in 10 rebounds.

Freshman guard Eleonora Villa continued to shoot, recording 14 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Junior guard Tara Wallack tallied six points and six boards, while Alex Covill finished with four of each.

The Cougs shot 31 percent from deep, but made 45.1 percent from the floor with 40 points in the paint, while outpacing UC Davis 17-0 in fast-break points and 23-6 in points off turnovers.

WSU saw plenty of back-and-forth in the first half as they led 16-10 at the end of the first quarter, before taking a 30-19 lead into the break. The Aggies would get hot in the third, using 23 points to draw as close as one possession, 45-42. But the Cougars halted any momentum UC Davis had, using an 11-0 run in the fourth to propel themselves to a 77-52 win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Charlisse Leger-Walker

• Scored 10 points to push her career point total to 1,603, fourth all-time in WSU career scoring
• Four made field goals push her career total to 557, seventh-most in WSU history
• Played 32 minutes to push her career total to 3,416, fourth-most in WSU history

Bella Murekatete

• Grabbed nine rebounds to push career rebound total to 810, fourth-most in WSU history
• Made career start number 119, tied for the second-most in WSU history
• Was also game number 127, tied for fifth-most in WSU history

UP NEXT
The Cougars hit the road again, this time to Brookings, S.D. to take on South Dakota State on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. PT.