PULLMAN, Wash. (January 19, 2024) – Washington State women's basketball moved past Arizona State, 79-64 Friday night, as a Charlisse Leger-Walker layup four seconds into the game gave the Cougars a lead they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way.

The Cougars (13-5, 2-3 Pac-12) had four scorers in double-figures for the second-straight game, while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor as a team.

Bella Murekatete led the way with 16 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.

Eleonora Villa also scored 16 and dished out four assists.

Charlisse Leger-Walker tallied 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Tara Wallack was the fourth Cougar in double-digit scoring with 10 points. She also recorded four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a career-high four blocks.

Jenna Villa had a career-high mark in the game as well with her seven boards to go along with eight points and a steal.

Beyonce Bea finished the night with nine points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Alex Covill blocked three shots, and had five points and three rebounds.

The Cougars opened the game on fire with an 18-0 run to take a commanding early lead. A 4-point play from Wallack and a Leger-Walker second-chance tip-in made it 10-0, before four Murekatete points followed by layups from Bea and Covill capped the 18-0 lead.

ASU got on the board with a free throw midway through the first, and then free throws from Murekatete and Leger-Walker at the backend of the quarter helped WSU to a 22-6 lead at the end of one.

Into the second, ASU used an 8-2 spurt to draw back to within 10, 24-14, at the 7:35 mark. Bea followed that up with back-to-back buckets, though, making it a 28-14 Cougar lead with 5:59 to go in the second.

As the clock ticked closer to halftime, teams traded blows down the stretch. Layups from J. Villa, Leger-Walker and Murekatete made it 36-23 in the final three minutes, before four points from E. Villa to close the first half would give the Cougars a 40-28 lead going into the locker room.

Out of the break, teams continued to trade buckets. A triple from Leger-Walker at 6:51 in the third made it a 49-35 Coug lead. WSU held onto a 14-point cushion with a Leger-Walker open lane layup as the score went to 52-38 with four minutes left in the third.

Nearing the end of the third, consecutive threes from E. Villa and Wallack helped WSU go into the fourth quarter with a 61-44 advantage.

A pair of Murekatete layups kept WSU rolling before E. Villa drilled a trey to make it a 70-51 Cougar lead with 5:42 to play. Four points from J. Villa and an E. Villa mid-range jumper took the game into its final two minutes, before a 3-point play from Covill sent the game final, 79-64, in favor of the Cougs.


INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Charlisse Leger-Walker

• Scored 15 points to push her career point total to 1,710, tied for third all-time in WSU career scoring
• Six made field goals pushed her career total to 594, fifth-most in WSU history
• One made three pushed her career total to 196, second-most in WSU history, 32 from breaking the school record
• Played 33 minutes to push her career total to 3,700, third-most in WSU history, 261 minutes from breaking the school record

Bella Murekatete

• Grabbed seven rebounds to push career rebound total to 864, third-most in WSU history and 36 away from breaking the school record
• Played in game number 135, tying her for the most in WSU history and can set the school record with an appearance in Sunday's game

Beyonce Bea

• Scored nine points to push career point total to 2,038
• Grabbed two rebounds to extend career rebounds total to 972
• Appeared in her 129th career game

UP NEXT
The Cougars turn around to host Arizona on Sunday, Jan. 21. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. noon on Pac-12 Washington.

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