BOULDER, Colo. (March 2, 2024) – Washington State women's basketball used a huge fourth quarter to roll past No. 13/15 Colorado, 72-63, Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars (18-13, 7-11 Pac-12) ended the game on a 14-0 scoring run to outscore Colorado 25-13 in the fourth quarter behind an 8-of-12 showing in the final 10 minutes.
Eleonora Villa matched a career-high with her third 20-point game of the year, and added five rebounds and two assists.
Astera Tuhina finished with 14 points, six boards, three assists and a steal.
Tara Wallack dished five assists and had two blocks and a steal to go with 12 points and two rebounds.
Bella Murekatete tallied 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
Beyonce Bea had eight points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal, and
Alex Covill finished with four points, five rebounds, and two blocks.
The Cougs took an early lead behind six quick points from E. Villa, before Covill connected from mid-range to cap a 6-0 WSU run and make it 10-4 midway through the first. The Buffs came back, though, and made it a 1-point game as the Cougs led 16-15 at the end of the first.
Colorado moved on top in the second quarter and stretched to a 26-18 lead with four minutes left in the half. However, buckets from Wallack, Murekatete and Covill down the stretch cut the CU lead to five, 31-26, at halftime.
After CU stretched out to a 36-26 lead to start the third quarter, big threes from Tuhina, Wallack and E. Villa brought the Cougs back to within one point, 40-39.
With 3:24 left in the third, Bea pulled up for a jumper to put the Cougs back ahead 43-42, and then sank a second-chance layup on the next possession to make it 45-42 and force a Colorado timeout.
Teams continued to go blow-for-blow, and a Colorado three to end the third put them ahead 50-47 entering the final quarter of play.
Tuhina hit back-to-back threes to start the fourth quarter and put WSU back ahead, 53-50, but Colorado used a couple threes of their own to re-take a lead, and continued to hang around as they held a 63-58 lead with 2:56 to play.
The Cougs flipped a switch from there, as treys from Wallack and E. Villa put them ahead for the last time, 64-63. A layup from Murekatete extended the Cougar lead before a deep trey from Tuhina with 45 seconds left all but sealed the win as WSU went on to win 72-63.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Bella Murekatete
- Grabbed three rebounds to extend her program lead to 952 career rebounds
- Totaled one block to extend her program lead to 184 career blocked shots
- 12 points today puts her at 1,515 career points, seventh most in program history
- Played in game number 148, and started her 140th game, extending her program lead in both categories
Beyonce Bea
- Scored eight points to extend her career points total to 2,105 points
- Grabbed seven rebounds to extend career rebounds total to 1,050
- Appeared in her 142nd career game
UP NEXT
WSU will head to the 2024 WBB Pac-12 Tournament as a 9-seed in Las Vegas, Nev. March 6-10 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Cougs will open against 8-seeded California on Wednesday, March 6 at 2:30 p.m. PT.
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