SEATTLE, Wash. (January 14, 2024) – Washington State women's basketball went into Seattle Sunday afternoon and left with a 72-59 win over the Huskies.

The Cougars (12-5, 1-3 Pac-12) shot 50 percent from the field, connecting on 30-of-60, including a 60 percent effort in the fourth quarter.

WSU tallied 13 offensive boards, contributing to 17 second chance points compared to just 2 from UW.

Eleonora Villa led the scoring attack with 16 points to go with three rebounds and an assist.

Beyonce Bea recorded her first WSU double-double with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. She also had two steals, a block and two assists.

Bella Murekatete and Jenna Villa each finished with 10 points. Murekatete added five boards, a block and a steal.

Charlisse Leger-Walker put up eight points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.

Tara Wallack tallied nine points and five rebounds, with a block and a steal.

UW opened fast, starting 5-of-5 from the floor, but a triple from E. Villa held the Huskies to a manageable 12-5 lead before jumpers from Leger-Walker and Gardner made it an 18-11 game at the end of one.

WSU began to chip away in the second with three straight treys, two from J. Villa and one from Gardner, to take their first lead of the game, 22-20. Buckets from Bea, J. Villa and Murekatete to end the first half gave the Cougars a 28-26 advantage going into the locker room.

Out of the break, shots from Wallack and E. Villa, followed by a Leger-Walker three, extended the WSU lead to 39-33 midway through the third. Bea pulled up for a jumper at 3:05, making it 45-35 for the team's first 10-point lead before WSU moved into the fourth with a 47-43 lead.

Momentum remained in the Cougar's favor with an E. Villa second chance point that would kickstart a 9-0 run. Wallack splashed a three before an E. Villa floater and a layup by Wallack gave WSU its largest lead of the game, 60-47 with under five to play.

Murekatete and Bea layups down the stretch kept the Cougar lead in double-figures, 66-56 entering final minute. And in the closing seconds, free throws from Leger-Walker and E. Villa sealed the 72-59 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Charlisse Leger-Walker

• Scored eight points to push her career point total to 1,695, fourth all-time in WSU career scoring
• Two made field goals pushed her career total to 588, fifth-most in WSU history
• One made three pushed her career total to 195, second-most in WSU history, 33 from breaking the school record
• Played 39 minutes to push her career total to 3,667, third-most in WSU history, 294 minutes from breaking the school record

Bella Murekatete

• Grabbed five rebounds to push career rebound total to 857, third-most in WSU history and 43 away from breaking the school record
• Played in game number 134, second-most in WSU history and two games away from breaking the school record

Beyonce Bea

• Scored 12 points to push career point total to 2,029
• Grabbed 10 rebounds to extend career rebounds total to 970
• Appeared in her 128th career game

UP NEXT
The Cougars are back in Pullman next weekend to host Arizona State on Friday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. and Arizona on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 12 p.m. Both games will air live on Pac-12 Washington.

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