LOS ANGELES, Calif. - linktr.ee/womensbasketballall...
Washington State women's basketball defeated No. 2/4 UCLA, 85-82, Sunday afternoon in the highest-ranked victory in program history.
The Cougars (15-6, 4-4 Pac-12) win their third-straight against the Bruins and earn just their second-ever win in Pauley Pavilion, also getting a win there last season.
WSU shot 54 percent from the floor as a team, including 50 percent from deep, and held a lead for over 36 minutes of the ballgame.
Bella Murekatete led the team with 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks, and tied for the team lead with two steals.
Tara Wallack finished with 14 points, 12 of those coming from the free throw line where she went 12-of-14. She also had two rebounds and two assists.
Eleonora Villa scored 18, and dished out three assists.
Charlisse Leger-Walker was the final of four Cougs in double-digit scoring, finishing with 17 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals before exiting with an injury midway through the third quarter.
Kyra Gardner made some big buckets late, adding seven points and two rebounds, while Jenna Villa also had seven points to go with three rebounds, a steal and an assist.
Four early points from Murekatete helped the Cougars get out to an early 8-5 lead midway through the first before Leger-Walker drove up the lane to make it 10-5 and force UCLA to take a timeout.
Both teams traded punches from there, and a Leger-Walker kickout to Gardner for a three helped WSU hold a 19-17 lead at the end of the first.
The Cougs extended their lead to 27-20 in the second with trey and a 3-point play from Leger-Walker before E. Villa splashed a triple to give WSU its first 10-point lead, 30-20, with 5:57 left in the half.
In the final minutes of the second quarter, big takeaways from Leger-Walker and J. Villa helped WSU go on an 11-2 run and take a 46-30 lead into halftime.
Out of the locker room, a layup from Leger-Walker and free throws from J. Villa and Wallack extended the Cougar lead to 20 points, 52-3,2 with 6:47 to go in the third.
The No. 2 Bruins started to come to life after that, using a 7-0 spurt midway through the third to cut the WSU lead to 13 points, 52-39. Six unanswered from the Cougs stretched their lead back out to 58-39 with 4:09 left in the third, but UCLA kept chipping away as the game would enter the fourth quarter with WSU up by 12, 65-53.
In the fourth, UCLA continued to inch back, hitting a three to make it 65-58, but Wallack free throws lifted the Cougar lead back up over 10, 69-58, as the game ticked under seven minutes to play.
Gardner sank a layup and made it 72-64, but UCLA hit another three with under five minutes to play to cut the lead to two possessions, 72-68.
While UCLA kept trying to chip away, the Cougs continued to have answers as a J. Villa layup and one more Wallack free throw put WSU ahead 77-70 with under three to play.
The Bruins drew back to as close as one point, 83-82 down the stretch, but Murekatete sank a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the 85-82 Cougar win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Charlisse Leger-Walker
Scored 17 points to push her career point total to 1,743, third all-time in WSU career scoring
Seven made field goals pushed her career total to 607, fourth-most in WSU history
Two assists put her career total at 389, fourth-most in WSU history
Played 19 minutes to push her career total to 3,793, third-most in WSU history, 168 minutes from breaking the school record
Bella Murekatete
Grabbed seven rebounds to push career rebound total to 889, second-most in WSU history and 11 away from breaking the school record
20 points tonight puts her at 1,418 career points, 10th most in program history
Three blocks extended her program lead in career blocks to 173
Played in game number 138, and started her 130th game, extending her program lead in both categories
Beyonce Bea
Scored two points to push career point total to 2,048
Grabbed three rebounds to extend career rebounds total to 982
Appeared in her 132nd career game
UP NEXT
The Cougars return to Beasley next weekend as the team takes on another pair of top-25 teams, hosting Colorado on Friday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. and Utah on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 12 p.m.
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