Cougs Open the Pac-12 Tournament Thursday

Mar 2, 2022

LAS VEGAS – The Washington State women's basketball team opens the 2022 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament presented by New York Life Thursday, March 3, at the Michelob ULTRA Arena. The No. 3-seeded Cougars will play the winner of No. 6 Utah and No. 11 California at 8:30 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.

STARTING FIVE
>> Washington State heads into the 2022 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament as the No. 3 seed. It is the best seed that WSU has earned at the Pac-12 Tournament in program history. The Cougars won a program-record 11 Pac-12 games this season to finish in a second-place tie with Oregon.

>> WSU sits at 19-9 overall this season and is seeking its first 20-win season in the NCAA era. The program record for most wins in a season is 21, which happened during the 1978-79 campaign.

>> The Cougars were well-represented in the Pac-12 Conference postseason awards. Junior Bella Murekatete was named Most Improved Co-Player of the Year by the league's coaches. Sophomore Charlisse Leger-Walker earned All-Pac-12 honors from both the coaches and media for the second-straight season. Redshirt fifth-year senior Krystal Leger-Walker named All-Pac-12 honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Defensive team honorable mention by the coach.

>> Head Coach Kamie Ethridge was named the 2021-22 Pac-12 Coach of the Year by media that covers the league. Ethridge is the second WSU head coach to win the Pac-12 Coach of the Year, as Harold Rhodes was given the award by the league's coaches in the 1990-91 season.

>> Washington State is 8-19 all-time at the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament, which began in 2002. Last season, the Cougars went 1-1 in Las Vegas, picking up a first-round win over No. 10-seeded Utah, 57-48.

Looking to Build Their Resume
Washington State heads into Las Vegas looking to put the finishing touches on its NCAA Tournament resume. The Cougars are currently 58 in the NET, while ESPN's Charlie Creme is projecting WSU as one of the 68 teams in this year's NCAA Tournament. The Cougars has played the sixth toughest schedule in the NCAA this season according to the Massey Ratings, while their Her Hoops Stats has WSU with an RPI of 35.

Kiwi Domination
Washington State's New Zealand sister duo has once again taken the Pac-12 by storm this season. Sophomore Charlisse Leger-Walker currently leads the conference in points scored with 457, which is the 76th-most points scored in the NCAA this season. Meanwhile, redshirt fifth-year senior Krystal Leger-Walker paces the Pac in assists with 131. Her 131 assists are the 42nd-most collected by a player in NCAA Division I this season.

Receiving Votes
Washington State picked up votes in both national polls this week. The Cougars earned 13 votes in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll, while WSU earned three votes in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll.

Leading the Conference
Sophomore Charlisse Leger-Walker leads the Pac-12 in points scored (457), field goals attempted (437), Field Goals Made (167) and 3-point field goals attempted (179). Redshirt fifth-year senior Krystal Leger-Walker is first in total assists with 131, minutes played (1,008:51) and minutes played per game (36.03).

Letting It Fly
Guards Charlisse Leger-Walker and Johanna Teder have been throwing up shots from behind the arc at a rapid rate this season. Leger-Walker currently leads the Pac-12 and ranks 55th in the NCAA in 3-point field goal attempts at 179. Teder heads into the week with the third-most 3-point attempts with 158. Teder is sixth in the Pac-12 in 3-point field goals made per game at 2.1, while Leger-Walker is ninth in the league in 3-pointers made per game at 1.82.

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