Leger-Walker's Career Night Leads Cougs Past Colorado

BOULDER, Colo. – Sophomore Charlisse Leger-Walker scored a career-high 30 points at Colorado on Friday, Feb. 4, to lead the Washington State women's basketball to a 63-56 win over the Buffaloes and give the Cougars their fourth-straight Pac-12 Conference victory.

Leger-Walker hit clutch-shot after clutch-shot to keep the Cougars in the contest in the third and fourth quarters, as the guard scored 20 of her career-best 30 points in the final 20 minutes of play. Leger-Walker was extremely efficient from the floor, as she shot an even 50 percent from the field by hitting 9 of her 18 shots. Leger-Walker becomes the first Cougar to score 30 points in a game since Borislava Hristova's 32-point outing against California on Jan. 31, 2020.

The Cougars shot 40 percent from the floor and limited Colorado to just 31.4 percent from the field. Washington State holds an opponent under 60 points for the 13th time this season, all of which have resulted in wins for the Cougs.

With the victory, Washington State has now won four-consecutive Pac-12 contests for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Cougars now stand at 14-6 overall on the year and 5-3 in league play. WSU moves into a third-place tie with No. 8/9 Arizona in the Pac-12 standings after tonight's victory.

Leger-Walker was one of two Cougars to score double-digit points on Friday, as junior Johanna Teder registered 14 points. Teder connected on 4-of-8 from behind the arc, as she has now hit a 3-point field goal in 14-straight games. Redshirt fifth-year senior Krystal Leger-Walker and junior Bella Murekatete also tallied eight points each.

Senior Ula Motuga pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds in the win, while Murekatete grabbed nine boards and blocked three shots. The duos performance helped Washington State post a 36-28 edge in rebounds.

Friday's contest featured seven ties and six lead changes. WSU held a three-point lead at half, 22-19, but it was short lived, as the Buffaloes came out of the locker room and hit a 3-pointer on their first possession to tie the game at 22-all. That would spark a 17-7 run for CU to open the frame and take a seven-point lead over Washington State at 36-29 with 4:33 left to play in the third.

The Cougars would get going from that point, as WSU hit three 3-point field goals over the final four minutes of the third quarter to pull within a point of the Buffaloes at 41-40. Charlisse Leger-Walker closed out the frame with a jumper in the lane to give Washington State a 42-41 lead going into the fourth.

The Cougs never trailed in the fourth quarter, as Washington State opened the stanza on a 9-3 run to take a 50-44 lead with 6:30 left in the game. Colorado was able to cut its deficit to two points on two separate occasions over the final four minutes of play, however Washington State was able to respond with a 3-point bucket each time to keep CU at bay and come out of Boulder with a seven-point victory.

Coach Kamie Ethridge on the Win
"Really thrilled for our team. It was a hard-fought game that had some highs and lows. (Colorado) is a team that is close to us in the standings. They have a better NET and we only play them once. Our team knows that every game is urgent. This was a great first step, but now we have to regroup and play a good Utah team that is fighting for the same things we are. It's going to be a real battle over there."

Coug Notes
- Washington State improves to 13-8 all-time against Colorado at 3-7 in Boulder.
- WSU has now won four-straight Pac-12 games for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
- The Cougars have now won back-to-back games in Boulder for the first time in program history.
- Charlisse Leger-Walker becomes the 16th player in WSU history to score 30-or-more points in game.
- Leger-Walker's 30-point outing establishes a new career high in points. Her previous career-high was 29 points, which she registered three times last season.
- Leger-Walker has now scored double-digit points in 39 of her 43 career games at WSU.
- Junior Johanna Teder's 14-point outing extends her double-digit scoring streak to four-straight games.
- Teder has now hit four 3-point field goals in back-to-back contests.
- Senior Ula Motuga pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds in the win.

Up Next
The Cougars will now head to Salt Lake City this Sunday to take on Utah. Tip-off against the Utes is set for 11 a.m. PT and will air live on Pac-12 Network Washington.