Leger-Walker Picks Up a Double-Double in a Loss to Colorado

Game Highlights | Kamie Ethridge Postgame | Charlisse Leger-Walker Postgame | Boxscore

PULLMAN, Wash. – Freshman Charlisse Leger-Walker collected her second double-double of the season on Friday, Feb. 19, against Colorado, as the first-year guard scored 21 points to go along with 13 rebounds Leger-Walker's performance wasn't enough to lift the Cougars to victory, as WSU fell to the Buffaloes, 60-57, at Beasley Coliseum.

Leger-Walker's double-double on Friday marks the second time this season that the Waikato, New Zealand native has posted a double-double against Colorado. The first occurrence came back on Jan. 3 with a 16-point, 10-assist effort in Boulder. Leger-Walker's 21-point performance also marked the 11th time this season the guard has scored 20-or-more points in a game, which extends her WSU freshman record for most 20-point games. Meanwhile, the 13 rebounds against Colorado establishes a new career-high in caroms for the Waikato, New Zealand native.

Washington State's offensive woes continued on Friday against Colorado. The Cougars shot 32.8 percent from the floor (19-of-58), while connecting on 25 percent (7-of-28) of their shots from behind the arc. WSU managed to shoot only 18.2 percent from the field in the third quarter, as the Cougars scored eight points in the third stanza.

WSU has now dropped four-straight games to slip to 9-10 overall on the year and 7-10 in Pac-12 play. Meanwhile, Colorado improves to 9-9 overall on the year and 7-8 in Pac-12 games.

The Cougars found themselves trailing Colorado by 10 points near the midway-point of the fourth quarter. WSU got off the mat after a timeout and used a 10-2 run to make it a one-possession game at 53-51 with 3:49 left to go. The two teams traded blows from there, as Colorado held a 57-55 lead after a Ula Motuga layup with 32 seconds remaining in the game.

The Buffaloes left the door open for WSU by going 1-for-2 at the charity stripe with 26 seconds left. The Cougars missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 15 ticks left on the clock, but redshirt sophomore Michaela Jones was able to keep the possession alive, as her offensive rebound led to a free throw to make it 58-56 with 12 seconds remaining.

Washington State had another chance to pull even with CU after the Buffaloes went 0-of-2 at the line. The Cougars were able to grab the rebound off the CU missed free throw, drawing a foul in the process to go to the line for two shots with nine seconds remaining. Unfortunately, WSU went 1-of-2 at the line to remain at a one-point deficit. The Buffaloes went 2-of-4 from the line over the final nine seconds to come out of Pullman with a 60-57 win over the Cougars.

Washington State will be back in action this Sunday, Feb. 21, when they host Utah. 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.

Cougs Quotes
Coach Ethridge on Today's Result: "I'm sad for our team and I'm sad we couldn't figure this out. Too many of our key players had a bad game collective. Colorado's zone bothered us and we couldn't get good looks. I feel like we have digressed some in the post, and while you don't need a ton of points from the post against a zone, you need to have someone in there to make a hole and get baskets in some way. When you don't do that, (teams) sit outside more, they get longer and wider and its harder to get good looks. We have players who play unbelievably hard and try like-crazy, but we just aren't scoring enough points to beat Pac-12 teams right now."

Coug Notes

• Washington State falls to 12-8 all-time against Colorado, while the Cougars are now 8-2 all-time against the Buffaloes in Pullman.
• The Cougars made seven 3-point field goals on Friday against Colorado, which now makes for 11-straight games with five-or-more 3-pointers.
• Charlisse Leger-Walker's two double-doubles this season leaves her one shy of the WSU freshman record for most double-doubles. The current record is shared by Angie Miller (1987-88), Kristal Stahl (1988-89), Kate Benz (2003-04) and Marisa Stotler (2006-07) with each collecting three double-doubles during the freshman season.
• With 21 points, Charlisse Leger-Walker has now scored 10-or-more points in 17 of her 19 career games with Washington State.