LAS VEGAS – History awaits the Washington State women's basketball team this Sunday, March 5, as for the first time in program history the Cougars are set to play in the Pac-12 championship game. The Cougs will take on No. 19/16-ranked UCLA for a chance to win the 2023 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament title. Tip-off against the Bruins is set for 2 p.m. PT and will air live on ESPN2.
WASHINGTON STATE (22-10, 9-9 Pac-12) vs. No. 19/16 UCLA (25-8, 11-7 Pac-12) | Sunday, March 5, 2023 | 2:00 p.m. PT | Michelob ULTRA Arena
Live Stats | Click Here
Watch | ESPN 2 (Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty)
Listen | Click Here (Steve Grubbs)
Game Notes | To Come
STARTING FIVE
>> The Cougars, the No. 7 seed at the 2023 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament, advanced to the Pac-12 championship game after collecting a 61-49 win over No. 3 seed Colorado in Friday's semifinal round. It was the Cougs' third win in three days in Las Vegas, as Washington State opened the tournament with a 61-49 win over No. 10-seed California in the first round, then upset No. 2-seeded Utah 66-58 in the Pac-12 Quarterfinals.
>> Washington State is the first No. 7 seed to advance to the Pac-12 championship game. The previous lowest seed to make the championship round at the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament was the No. 6 seed, which happened in 2009 (USC) and 2022 (Utah).
>> WSU will take on its third-straight ranked team over a span of four days when they challenge No. 19/16-ranked UCLA. The Cougars are 5-6 against top-25 teams this season. The Cougs have won back-to-back games against ranked foes for the first time in program history heading into the Pac-12 championship game, knocking off No 3/4-ranked Utah in the quarterfinals and No. 20/21 Colorado in the semifinals. The five wins against ranked opponents for the Cougars this season establishes a new program record for most wins against top-25 teams in a season.
>> The Cougars and Bruins will meet for just the second time at the Pac-12 Tournament. The two previously met in the first round during the 2007 Pac-12 Tournament in San Jose, California, where UCLA won 72-58.
>> Washington State and UCLA will meet for the third time this season. The two split a pair of games during the regular season, with the road team winning each game. The Cougars defeated the Bruins last Thursday, Feb. 23, in Pauley Pavilion, 62-55. It was Washington State's first win at UCLA in program history. The Bruins lead the all-time series 60-11, though WSU has won three of the last five contests against UCLA.
Game Coverage
Sunday's Pac-12 championship game will air live on ESPN2 with Christy Thomaskutty and Eric Frede on the call. Fans can listen to Steve Grubbs call all the action locally at 1150 AM or anywhere at WSUCougars.com.
School Record Win
The Cougs collected their 22nd win of the regular season in the Pac-12 semifinal win over No. 20/21 Colorado. This season's win total breaks the 1978-79 team's school record for most wins in a season, as their record of 21 wins stood for 44 seasons.
NET Ranking
Washington State enters the Pac-12 championship game with a NET ranking of 33.
Bella's Balling
Senior Bella Murekatete is in the midst of one of the best stretches of her WSU career, as the 6-3 post player is riding a career-best eight-game double-digit scoring streak coming into Sunday's championship game. Murekatete is averaging 16.3 points per game during the stretch. The Butare Huye, Rwanda native is shooting 53.1 percent from the field during the eight-game double-digit scoring streak.
An Effective Starting Lineup
Washington State is 22-6 this season when starting Charlisse Leger-Walker, Johanna Teder, Tara Wallack, Ula Motuga, and Bella Murekatete. The Cougars went 0-4 when Leger-Walker went back home to New Zealand for a personal family matter. One of those games came against UCLA in Beasley Coliseum back on Jan. 22.
The Teder Effect
Washington State is 25-7 all-time when Teder scores 10 or more points in a contest.
A Walking Bucket
Charlisse Leger-Walker has scored double-digit points in 88% (72-of-82) of her games as a Coug. Leger-Walker's career scoring average of 17.5 is the fourth-highest in program history.
The Ironwoman
Senior Grace Sarver has a Ripken-like streak of consecutive games played. Sarver has played in 101-straight games as Cougar dating back to the 2019-20 season. Sarver is one of three WSU players that has played in every game over the last two-plus seasons.
Scouting the Bruins
The Bruins come into Sunday's championship game with a 25-8 record overall. UCLA, who is the No. 5 seed in the tournament, has knocked off No. 12-seed Arizona State 81-70 in overtime in the first round, then followed that up with wins over No. 4-seed Arizona (73-59) in the quarterfinals and No. 1-seed Stanford (69-65) to advance to the finals.
Senior Charisma Osborne leads the Bruins in scoring at 15.3 points per game. The guard is one of two double-digit scorers for UCLA this season, as freshman Kiki Rice is putting up 11.7 points per game. Redshirt sophomore Emily Bessior leads the team in rebounding at 5.8 caroms per game, while she is putting up 9.4 points per contest.
UCLA is averaging 70.5 points per game this season, while the Bruins are shooting 39.5 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from behind the arc. Teams are putting up 61.8 points per game against UCLA and hit 38.1 percent from the floor against the Bruins.
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