PULLMAN, Wash. (December 17, 2023) – Washington State women's basketball rolled past Houston Sunday evening, 95-48, behind big performances from Charlisse Leger-Walker and Tara Wallack.

Leger-Walker recorded her second triple-double of the season, and of her collegiate career, with a final line of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. The only other two triple-doubles in program history were also recorded in the same season by one person, Penny Bowden in the 1987-88 season,

The Cougars (11-2, 0-1 Pac-12) saw big numbers all around, as Wallack and Jenna Villa each posted career-best scoring totals with 21 points and 18 points, respectively.

Wallack also tied career-highs with five assists and nine made field goals, while J. Villa added four rebounds and a career-best six made field goals.

Bella Murekatete put up her third double-double of the season, and 16th of her career with 10 points and 14 rebounds, as she went a perfect 3-of-3 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

Alex Covill made an impact on defense with five blocks, matching her career-high, and once again tying the program freshman record for blocked shots in a game. She also grabbed five boards.

Eleonora Villa was the fifth Cougar in double-figure scoring, as she finished with 11 points.

Kyra Gardner and Astera Tuhina each scored nine on the day.

Both squads went back-and-forth to open game until the final two minutes of the first. Tied 16-all, the WSU offense found a rhythm, using back-to-back buckets by Wallack and a triple from J. Villa to help the Cougs rattle off nine straight points and move into the second with a 25-16 lead.

In the second quarter, a Wallack three sent the lead into double-figures, 30-20, before a 15-2 run to end first half, including nine from Leger-Walker, sent the Cougars into the locker room with a 47-24 lead.

Out of the break, a Wallack layup and a Tuhina steal-and-score continued to increase the lead to 53-26. Minutes later, a Tuhina three and a 3-point play from Gardner gave WSU its first 30-point lead of the game, 66-36.

J. Villa would splash a three to end the third, sending the game into the fourth with a 73-38 WSU lead. It was all add-on from there, as a pair of threes from Gardner, and one each from E. Villa and J. Villa would help close things out in the Cougars' 95-48 victory.


INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Charlisse Leger-Walker

• Scored 15 points to push her career point total to 1,633, fourth all-time in WSU career scoring
• Seven made field goals pushed her career total to 568, seventh-most in WSU history
• Played 32 minutes to push her career total to 3,521, fourth-most in WSU history, 440 minutes from breaking the school record
• Tied the program record for career triple-doubles (2), and currently leads the nation with the pair

Bella Murekatete

• Grabbed 14 rebounds to push career rebound total to 837, fourth-most in WSU history and 63 away from breaking the school record
• Made career start number 122, second-most in WSU history and three starts from breaking the school record
• Was also game number 130, tied for second-most in WSU history and six games away from breaking the school record
• Recorded her 16th career double-double, ranking fourth in WSU history

UP NEXT
The Cougars head south to Alabama where they will play Auburn on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at noon PT to wrap up non-conference play. WSU will settle into Pac-12 competition after the holidays with a trip to California where they will face Stanford on Friday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. and Cal on Sunday, Jan. 7 at noon.

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