Women's Basketball Rounds Out Homestand this Sunday vs. USC
PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State women's basketball team concludes its season-long four-game home stand this Sunday, Feb. 6, as the Cougars host Southern Cal. Tip-off from Beasley Coliseum is set for 12 p.m. PT and will stream live on Pac-12 Plus via the WSU live stream.
WASHINGTON STATE (9-6, 7-6 Pac-12) vs. Southern California (8-7, 6-6 Pac-12) | Sunday, Feb. 7 | 12 p.m. | Beasley Coliseum
Live Stats | WSUCougars.com
Watch | Pac-12 Plus (Steve Grubbs)
Listen | WSU IMG Radio Network (Steve Grubbs)
Game Notes | Click Here
STARTING FIVE
>> The Cougs come into the Sunday's matchup against the Trojans fresh off a 67-63 victory over No. 5/4 UCLA at Beasley Coliseum. Washington State currently stands at 9-6 overall on the year and 7-6 in Pac-12 Conference play. Southern Cal enters this Sunday's matinee against WSU winners of two-straight, which has pushed its overall record above .500 at 8-7. The Women of Troy holds an even 6-6 record against Pac-12 foes this season.
>> Washington State will be looking to avenge an 81-77 loss in overtime to the Trojans back on Jan. 15 at the Galen Center. The Leger-Walker sisters had one of their best collective-performances in the loss to the Trojans, as Charlisse scored a career-high 29 points, while Krystal tallied 23 points against the Women of Troy.
>> WSU will look to snap a seven-game skid against Southern Cal. The last time the Cougars knocked off the Trojans came back on Jan. 8, 2017, with a 74-57 win in Pullman. USC holds the advantage in the all-time series against the Cougs, 54-18.
>> Sunday's matchup will bring close to Washington State's current four-game homestand. With a win, the Cougars will conclude their extended stay in Pullman at an even 2-2. Washington State is 5-3 on Friel Court this season, with wins over then-No. 7/10 Arizona (71-69 OT; Jan. 10) and No. 5/4 UCLA (67-63; Feb. 5).
>> Freshman Charlisse Leger-Walker's 28-point performance in Friday's win over No. 5/4 UCLA marked the eighth time this season that the freshman has scored 20-or-more points in a game. She is one-game off of Borislava Hristova's WSU freshman record for most 20-point games in a season. Bobi Buckets collected nine 20-point performances in 30 games during her freshman campaign back in 2015-16.
Leading the Pac
Freshman Charlisse Leger-Walker Enters this week's slate of games leading the Pac-12 in Points Scored (279), Field Goal Attempts (266), Minutes played per game (38.0), steals (39) and steals per game (2.6).
Leger-Walker is also third in the Pac-12 in scoring at 18.6 points per game, just 0.9 points off UCLA's Charisma Osborne' league-leading 19.5 points per game. No freshman has ever ended the season leading the Pac-12 in scoring.
Cleaning the Glass
Junior Ula Motuga and sophomore Bella Murekatete each rank inside the top 10 in the Pac-12 in total rebounds and rebounds per game. Motuga has pulled down a team-leading 103 rebounds this season, which is the sixth-most in the league, while Murekatete's 101 caroms is the seven-best total in the Pac-12. Motuga and Murekatete are just one of two sets of teammates in the conference that have pulled down 100-or-more rebounds this season.
Cougar Prowess vs. Ranked Teams
Washington State knocked off the highest-ranked opponent in program history this past Friday, as the Cougars collected a win 67-63 over No. 5/4 UCLA in Beasley. It marked the first time in program history that WSU has collected multiple wins over a top-10 opponent in the same season, as they previously defeated then-No. 7/10 Arizona, 71-69 in overtime, on Jan. 10.
Making It Rain
Washington State has shown a keen-eye from behind the arc of late, as the Cougars have made five-or-more 3-point field goals in seven-straight games. Freshman Charlisse Leger-Walker is third in the Pac-12 in made 3-point field goals with 33. Her sister redshirt senior Krystal Leger-Walker is 10th in the conference with 29 made trifectas.
Scouting the Trojans
Southern Cal is coming off a 63-54 at Washington this past Friday to collect its second win in a row. The Trojans come into Pullman with an 8-7 overall record and stand at an even .500 in Pac-12 play at 6-6. The Women of Troy collected an 81-77 win in overtime against the Cougars back on Jan. 15.
Sophomore Endyia Rogers leads the Trojans in scoring at 17.2 points per game, which is the fourth-highest scoring average in the Pac-12. Roger has scored 10-or-more points in 11-straight games, which included a 16-point effort against WSU at the Galen Center. Graduate transfer Jordan Sanders follows Rodgers at 13.9 points per game. The forward scored a season-high 24 points against the Cougars back on Jan. 15. Reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Alissa Pili is coming off her best performance of the season with a 17-point effort at Washington this past Friday. Pili made her 2020-21 debut against Washington State back on Jan. 15 after battling injuries during the early portion of the season.
Southern Cal is averaging 65.7 points per game, while they are posting a 43.3% field goal percentage. The Trojans are giving up 66.6 points per contest to the opposition, while teams are shooting 39.1% from the floor against them.
To stay up-to-date on all the latest information on the Washington State women's basketball team, follow WSUCougarWBB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.