LAS VEGAS – Junior Charlisse Leger-Walker earned an All-Pac-12 selection for the third time in her career, Tuesday, Feb. 28, as the Pac-12 Conference announced its postseason awards, as voted on by the league coaches. Leger-Walker was one of three Cougars selected for a postseason honor from the Pac-12 coaches, as senior Bella Murekatete picked up an All-Pac-12 honorable mention nod and freshman Astera Tuhina earned an All-Pac-12 Freshman Team honorable mention selection.
Leger-Walker becomes just the second player in program history to earn All-Pac-12 honors for a third time in their career, as she joins WSU's all-time leading scorer Borislava Hristova as the only Cougs to accomplish the feat.
The 5-10 guard from Waikato, New Zealand led the Cougars in scoring and assists this season, as she averaged 18.0 points and 4.4 assists per game in 25 games. Leger-Walker's 18.0 points per game average is third-best in the Pac-12 Conference this season, while her 4.4 assists per contest is second-best in the league. Leger-Walker is just one of two Power 5 players to rank inside the top three of their league in both points and assists. Leger-Walker shot a career-best 40 percent from the field this season and connected on a personal-best 33.7 percent from behind the arc, and scored 20 or more points in nine games this season. Leger-Walker had a career-high 40-point performance at Washington back on Dec. 11, which made her just the second WSU player in the NCAA era to score 40 or more points in a game. Leger-Walker also had a 35-point outing at San Francisco back on Nov. 11, making her just one of three players in the NCAA this season to have posted each a 35-point and a 40-point scoring game. as the guard scored 35 points at San Francisco on Nov. 11.
In addition to her All-Pac-12 selection, Leger-Walker also picked up an All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention nod. It is her first career All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention selection. Leger-Walker tied for the team lead in steals with 37 on the year and her 1.5 steals per game paced the Cougars.
Murekatete, who was named the Pac-12 Conference Co-Most Improved Player last season, picked up the first All-Pac-12 honorable mention nod of her career. The 6-3 post player from Butare Huye, Rwanda had a career year for the Cougars, as she averaged a career-best 13.6 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game in 2022-23. Murekatete ranked fifth in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage at 47.6 percent, while her 161 field goals were the fifth most collected by a player in the Pac-12 this season. Murekatete scored 17 or more points in a Pac-12 game eight times this season. The 6-3 post player has collected a career-high seven double-doubles this season, which tied for the sixth most double-doubles by a Pac-12 player this season.
Tuhina made an immediate impact off the bench for the Cougars in her first year, as she averaged 7.0 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in a reserve role. Tuhina appeared in 27 games this season and made four starts while shooting 44.2 percent from the field. Tuhina's 44.2 field goal percentage which is tied with Maria Kostourkova for the seventh-best freshman field goal percentage in program history. The Pristina, Kosovo native began her career by setting the WSU freshman record for most assists in a debut game by handing out eight assists against LMU in the season opener back on Nov. 7,
The Washington State women's basketball team begins postseason play at the 2023 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament Wednesday, March 1, as the No. 7-seeded Cougars are set to take on No. 10-seed California. Tip-off against the Golden Bears is set for 6 p.m. PT and will air live on the Pac-12 Network.
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