PULLMAN, Wash. (February 9, 2024) – Washington State women's basketball had a strong second half performance but fell to Cal 66-59 Friday night.

The Cougars (15-9, 4-7 Pac-12) had four in double-digit scoring and shot 42.1 percent from the floor as a team.

Eleonora Villa led all scorers with 17 points to go with her three rebounds and an assist.

Bella Murekatete scored 11 points, while totaling four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

Beyonce Bea finished the night with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and a block.

Tara Wallack also scored 10, along with five boards and three assists.

Jenna Villa tallied seven points, three rebounds and a steal, and Alex Covill had four points, three boards, a block and a steal.

Down 7-0 to open the game, a Bea second-chance layup and Murekatete layup made it a one-point game for the Cougs, 7-6, midway through the first. Buckets from E. Villa, Wallack and Covill to end the first quarter, though, put WSU ahead 14-10.

Cal used another 7-0 spurt to move back out front 17-14 to start the second. They would lead by as many as 13 in the quarter, but a Bea Jumper and E. Villa layup kept WSU in striking distance and a J. Villa triple before the half made it 33-23 going into the locker room.

Back-to-back buckets from E. Villa and Bea early in the third quarter helped the Cougs draw back to within six, 35-29. However, Cal would answer with five straight and extend their lead to 40-29 as time ticked under five in the third.

Layups from Wallack and E. Villa made it 45-34 as both teams went blow for blow late in the third. Four straight Murekatete points in the closing minutes of the period sent the game into the fourth with Cal ahead 52-38.

Covill hit a shot from mid-range to open the fourth, but an 8-2 Bears run from there made it an 18-point game, 60-42.

Wallack sank a three and Bea followed up with a layup to draw WSU back to 60-47 with under five to play, giving the Cougars some life, late. As the game entered its final minutes, five points from E. Villa brought the WSU deficit back to single digits, 66-59, but the Cougs ran out of time as the game would go final by that score.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Bella Murekatete

• Grabbed four rebounds to extend her program lead to 907 career rebounds
• 11 points today puts her at 1,452 career points, 10th most in program history
• Two blocks extended her program lead in career blocks to 177
• Played in game number 141, and started her 133rd game, extending her program lead in both categories

Beyonce Bea

• Grabbed six rebounds to extend career rebounds total to 997
• Appeared in her 135th career game

UP NEXT
The Cougars continue at home in Beasley Coliseum, hosting Stanford on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m.

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