PULLMAN, Wash. (February 4, 2024) – Washington State women's basketball went back-and-forth with No. 20 Utah for three quarters Sunday afternoon, but ultimately fell, 73-61.
 
The Cougars (15-8, 4-6 Pac-12) shot well, going 23-of-49 (.469) from the floor, and 7-of 16 (.438) from beyond the arc, but Utah shot at a 51.9 percent clip and scored 25 points on 16 forced turnovers.
 
Bella Murekatete and Eleonora Villa each paced the team with 15 points on the day.
 
Murekatete added four rebounds, setting the WSU program record for most career rebounds in the process, to go along with three assists, a block and a steal.
 
E. Villa scored a very efficient 15 points with just six attempts from the field as she went 4-of-6, including 3-of-4 from deep, and also had three assists and a steal.
 
Tara Wallack recorded her first double-double of the season with 10 points, a season-high 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals.
 
Astera Tuhina played nearly 30 minutes in her second game since back returning from a foot injury, and led the team with three steals to go with seven points and three rebounds.
 
Jenna Villa finished with six points, four rebounds, an assist and a block.
 
A trio of early Utah threes had them ahead 9-5, until E. Villa hit a three of her own to make it a one-point game, 9-8, midway through the first. A 9-2 run from Utah put them up 18-10, but buckets from Tuhina and Murekatete made it an 18-14 game at the end of one.

Wallack kept it a 4-point game, 20-16, early in the second before another spurt from the Utes extended their lead to 29-16 with under five to play in the second quarter. Bea worked through traffic for a layup, and then back-to-back Wallack threes made it 32-24 with 2:41 left in the first half.

The Cougars turned it on in the final minutes before halftime, using a Murekatete layup and an E. Villa three to help rattle off a 10-0 run in the final seconds and draw back within one, 32-21. After a quick score from Utah, Tuhina nailed a shot from three-quarters of the court out in the final seconds of the first half to send the game into halftime tied at 34-34.

Out of the locker room, Murekatete gave WSU its first lead of the game on the first play of the third quarter, 36-34. Utah would move back on top in the back-and-forth game, but a Wallack steal and E. Villa three kept WSU within a possession, 42-39.

The Cougs continued to fight, and after a J. Villa three, the team scored eight unanswered, capped by layups from Covill and Wallack to re-take a lead, 50-49.

Utah outscored WSU 9-2 to start the fourth, though, and pushed their lead back to 10, 64-54. The Utes locked it down from there as they went on to take the game, 73-61.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Bella Murekatete

• Grabbed four rebounds to push career rebound total to 903, as she now holds the program record for total career rebounds, surpassing Kate Benz who had 899 (2003-07)
• 15 points today puts her at 1,441 career points, 10th most in program history
• One block extended her program lead in career blocks to 175
• Played in game number 140, and started her 132nd game, extending her program lead in both categories

Beyonce Bea

• Grabbed three rebounds to extend career rebounds total to 991
• Appeared in her 134th career game

UP NEXT
The Cougars continue their homestand, hosting Cal on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m., and Stanford on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m.

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