Cougs Fall to No. 2/3 Stanford on Sunday
PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State women's basketball team was handed its first Pac-12 Conference loss of the season, as the No. 2/3-ranked Stanford Cardinal knocked off the Cougars, 82-44, in Beasley Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 2.
Sophomore Charlisse Leger-Walker extended her double-digit scoring streak to eight games with a team-best 15 points against the defending national champions. Redshirt fifth-year senior Krystal Leger-Walker followed with 12 points, while pulling down seven rebounds and three assists.
With the loss, Washington State falls to 9-4 overall on the year and 1-1 in Pac-12 play. No. 2/3 Stanford improves to 9-3 and 1-0 in league play.
The Cougars went toe-to-toe with the defending national champs in the first quarter, as WSU held a 13-7 lead after a bucket from junior Emma Nankervis with 2:18 remaining in the opening frame. Stanford closed out the first on an 11-2 run to take a 17-15 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Stanford scored the first 10 points of the second quarter to take a 27-15 lead. The Cardinal never looked back from that point. Washington State trailed 38-28 at the half and scored to first bucket of the third quarter to pull within eight points. Stanford went on a 9-0 run from that point to take a double-digit lead they would never relinquish.
Washington State shot 31.1 percent from the field on Sunday, while Stanford shot 45.6 percent from the floor. The Cardinal outrebounded the Cougars 48-34 and outscored WSU 44-24 in the paint.
Head Coach Kamie Ethridge on the Result
"Stanford is really good, and we put up a disappointing effort and that's too bad. We we're bad in every phase today. We need to work on offense. We're not getting consistency in the post and it's putting us behind the eight ball. We didn't have a go-to presence in the post, and it effected how we ran our offense. We hung around in the first half without it, but it came crashing down."
Coug Notes
- With the loss, Washington State's seven-game winning streak at home comes to an end. It was the longest winning streak inside Beasley Coliseum in program history.
- Sophomore Charlisse Leger-Walker extends her double-digit scoring streak to eight games with a 15-point effort against Stanford. Leger-Walker has now scored double figures in 34 of her 37 career games.
- Redshirt fifth-year senior Krystal Leger-Walker extends her assists streak to 72 games with three assists against the Cardinal.
- Washington State falls to 0-70 all-time against Stanford.
- Freshman Tara Wallack led Washington State in rebounds for the first time in her career with eight caroms.