SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (February 29, 2024) – Washington State women's basketball fell to No. 18 Utah Thursday afternoon, 82-67.

The Cougars (17-13, 6-11 Pac-12) shot the ball at a 43.5 percent clip from the field, but got only 5-of-18 to fall from beyond the arc.

Bella Murekatete led the offense with 14 points to go along with three rebounds, a block and an assist.

Kyra Gardner scored a career-high 13 points, going 2-of-3 from deep, and tallied four rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Tara Wallack was also in double-digit scoring with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

Astera Tuhina finished with nine points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Eleonora Villa dished a team-best four assists, and had eight points, two rebounds, and a steal.

Beyonce Bea grabbed four boards to go with six points and two assists, while Jenna Villa had three rebounds, two assists and a block.

Utah came out and made 4-of-4 from deep to take a 14-2 lead three minutes into the game. Six straight Cougar points made it 14-8 midway through the first, but it was all Utah the rest of the quarter as they took a 25-10 lead into the second.

WSU used a 6-0 spurt to open the second quarter and start to inch back before a reverse layup from E. Villa brought it back to a 10-point game, 28-18. Minutes later, the Cougs rattled off a 10-0 run behind a pair of threes from Wallack to draw back to within six, 38-32, with 1:25 to play in the first half.

Utah put up a quick five points in the final seconds of the second quarter, though, and the Cougs went into the locker room trailing 45-34.

Teams went back-and-forth out of the break with buckets from Bea and Murekatete to keep pace, but Utah would outscore WSU 11-2 the rest of the third quarter to lead 66-44 going into the fourth.

The Cougars tried to work their way back with a pair of E. Villa jumpers and a Tuhina trey, and trailed 74-56 entering the final five minutes of play. A pair of Gardner triples and a Murekatete layup made it 80-64 as the game entered its final minute, but the Cougs would ultimately fall, 82-67.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Bella Murekatete

• Grabbed three rebounds to extend her program lead to 949 career rebounds
• Totaled one block to extend her program lead to 183 career blocked shots
• 14 points today puts her at 1,503 career points, moving her up to seventh most in program history
• Played in game number 147, and started her 139th game, extending her program lead in both categories

Beyonce Bea

• Scored six points to extend her career points total to 2,097 points
• Grabbed four rebounds to extend career rebounds total to 1,043
• Appeared in her 141st career game

UP NEXT
The Cougars continue their road trip at Colorado for their final regular season Pac-12 bout on Saturday, March 2 at 12 p.m.

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