PULLMAN, Wash. — Bella Murekatete scored a team-high 17 points to become the 21st member of the 1,000 career points club as Washington State (17-9, 7-8 Pac-12) finished off its first multi-game season sweep over Oregon (14-12, 5-10 Pac-12 ) since 2001 in a 64-57 win Friday night at the Beasley Coliseum.
Washington State improves to 8-5 on its home court this season with Friday's win officially clinching its third-consecutive winning record at home, the first three-year stretch with a home winning record since 1989-92.
Murekatete added a pair of blocks and seven boards to go along with her milestone evening while Johanna Teder (13 points) and Charlisse Leger-Walker (11 points) also made it into double figures. Astera Tuhina finished at plus-eight in the plus/minus column after capitalizing on her two steals with fastbreak layups, finishing with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting overall.
The Cougs' defense put relentless pressure on the Ducks from start to finish, tallying 13 fast-break points and finishing with an 18-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
Washington State held onto slim two-possession lead going into the fourth but put the foot on the gas to pull away with an 11-of-16 (69 percent) quarter shooting from the field as a team in the fourth.
The Cougars responded from a sluggish first quarter with three-straight made buckets to begin the second quarter. WSU caused two early second-quarter turnovers to force an Oregon timeout less than a minute into the period after going back in front, 16-13. The Cougs never trailed again the rest of the way, taking a four-point lead in the halftime break after earning a 12-2 edge in points off turnovers during the opening half.
WSU held Oregon to just 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) shooting in the final frame while forcing another three turnovers. Oregon cut the Cougs' lead to seven at the 4:10 mark of the fourth quarter after a made three, but Washington State answered back with a three on the ensuing possession and held a double-digit lead into the final minute before closing out the seven-point win on defense.
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge on the Win
"I'm very proud of our team. I thought our players really understood the scout and how to guard (Oregon's) personnel. They are a very tough team to guard and for them to only score 57 points, I think our defense established us in a way that allowed us to win the game. Because we were so active on the defensive end, I think that turned our offense up a little bit and we made some good decisions. I'm very proud of our team and how we performed and we are very proud of Bella (Murekatete) reaching 1,000 career points. This needs to be springboard for us and we'll need to come back on Sunday (vs Oregon State) and have another good performance."
Coug Notes
- Washington State finished a season sweep over Oregon for the first time since 2001.
- Bella Murekatete became the 22nd member of the 1,000 career points scored on a made layup at 8:22 to play in the fourth quarter.
- Bella Murekatete led the Cougars in scoring for the seventh time this season.
Up Next
Washington State will host its 2022-23 home finale on Sunday when it welcomes the Oregon State Beavers into the Beasley Coliseum. Sunday's game, slated for a 12:06 p.m. tip-off on Pac-12 Washington, will be preceded by the Cougars' 2023 Senior Day ceremony where they will recognize seniors Ula Motuga, Emma Nankervis, and Grace Sarver.
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