Cougs Cruise to a 71-49 Win at UC Davis
DAVIS, Calif – The Washington State women's basketball team picked up its sixth win of the season Saturday, Dec. 4, as the Cougars used a balanced attack to knock off UC Davis on the road, 71-49.
The Cougar had four players score double-digits, while eight different WSU players scored in the 24-point road victory. Junior Bella Murekatete led the way for Washington State against the Aggies, as she scored 14 points and pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.
Sophomore Charlisse Leger-Walker followed Murekatete with 13 points, while her sister redshirt fifth-year senior Krystal Leger-Walker chipped in 11 points. Redshirt junior Michaela Jones came off the bench to score a career-high 11 points, as she and the elder Leger-Walker sister each hit a team-best 3 shots from behind the arc. Senior Ula Motuga filled out the stat sheet against the Aggies, as she scored seven points, pulled down four rebounds and dished out three assists in 27 minutes of action.
With the win, Washington State improves to 6-1 on the year. It marks the second-straight season that WSU has began the year with a 6-1 record. The last time Cougars began back-to-back seasons with a 6-1 record was back during the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.
The Cougars shot 45.2 percent from the floor against UC Davis, as they hit a season-high 10 3-point field goals. WSU forced UCD into 20 turnovers, which the Cougs turned into 25 points off turnovers. Washington State also held a 12-point advantage in points in the paint, as WSU outscored the Aggies 32-20 down low.
Washington State led for 37:37 of game time in Saturday's win. The Cougars jumped out to an 18-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. WSU hit five 3-point field goals in the second quarter to take a 20-point lead at 39-19 going into the half. The Cougs led by as many as 27 points over the final two quarters of play before securing the 22-point victory on the road.
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge on the Win
"I'm really happy for our team on getting this win. I thought we played a complete game. We had a lot of spread-out scoring and I thought Ula was really great for us. Krystal had a great game, and the bench did much better. I felt good about bringing people in and out of the game. It's a dominating win on the road against a very good team."
Coug Notes
- Washington State collects its first win at UC Davis with this afternoon's victory.
- The Cougars move to an even 3-3 all-time against UC Davis.
- Washington State is now an even 3-3 in true non-conference road games under head coach Kamie Ethridge. WSU has now won three-straight road games against non-conference foes.
- WSU led for 37:37 of today's contest, which is the second-longest amount of time the Cougars have led in a game this season.
- Redshirt junior Michaela Jones scored a career-high 11 points and made a career-best three 3-point field goals.
- Redshirt fifth-year senior Krystal Leger-Walker dished out five assists against the Aggies. She now has passed out at least one assists in each of her last 46 games.
- Senior Ula Motuga made her first start since the Nov. 12 contest against Northern Arizona.
Up Next
Washington State now returns to eastern Washington to prepare for a contest against Gonzaga on Dec. 8. Tip-off against the Bulldogs is set for 6 p.m. from the McCarthy Center and will air live locally on SWX.