Cougs claw Lady Griz to pick up a 77-57 win in Beasley
PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State women's basketball team hit 11 3-point field goals and had four player score double-digit points to help the Cougars collect a 77-57 win over Montana Friday, Dec. 2, inside Beasley Coliseum.
Junior Charlisse Leger-Walker led all scorers in Friday's contest, as the guard from Waikato, New Zealand registered 24 points. Leger-Walker hit a team-best six 3-pointers in the win over the Lady Griz, matching her career-best performance from behind the arc set last season at BYU. The guard shot an even 50 percent from the field, going 8-of-16 from the floor and 6-of-12 on 3-point field goals. The guard also dished out six assists for the fourth time this season.
The win over Montana snaps Washington State's nine-game losing streak to the Lady Griz, as the Cougars defeat them for the first time since Dec. 21, 1988, in Pullman. With the victory over Montana, Wazzu has now won 11 straight games against non-conference opponents inside Beasley Coliseum.
Senior Bella Murekatete registered her second 20-plus point performance over the last three games, as the 6-3 center put up 21 points in the win. It is the third time that Murekatete has scored 20 or more points in her WSU career, while she has now tallied double-digit points in three-straight games. Junior Johanna Teder also extended her double-digit scoring to four games, as the guard from Estonia tallied 10 points and hit three 3-pointers against the Lady Griz. Sophomore Tara Wallack rounded out Washington State's quartet of double-digit scorers by matching Teder in the scoring ledger with 10 points of her own.
Washington State took a three-point lead into the break at 40-37, but Montana came out of the break to tie things up at 46-all with 4:28 left to play in the third quarter. The Cougars would respond with a 12-0 run to open things up, as Leger-Walker hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give WSU a 10-point lead and Murekatete capped it off with a layup with 55 seconds left in the third to give the Cougars a 58-46 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Wazzu would score the first four points of the final frame to extend its scoring run to 16-straight points to take a 62-46 advantage after a Murekatete layup with 8:04 left to play. The Cougars pushed their lead to as high as 26 points in the fourth quarter before claiming the 20-point victory over the Lady Griz.
Washington State shot 47.6 percent from the floor against Montana, while sinking 11 3-point field goals. The 11 3-pointers match WSU's best performance from behind the arc this season, as the Cougs also hit 11 3-point field goals in the season-opening win over LMU.
The 20-point victory, coupled with Monday's 61-41 win over South Dakota State, marks the first time since Ethridge's first season with Washington State in 2018-19 that the Cougars have posted back-to-back 20-plus-point wins.
Coach Ethridge on the Win
"I thought Montana was so prepared and they gave us some trouble guarding them. I liked that we came out and attacked the rim and had a post presence. We were scoring the ball at a better pace than the last game, we just couldn't stop them. I love the fact that we hung in there and regrouped at half. The defensive pressure really made the difference in (Montana's) execution. It was a different way for us to succeed and have some success that we may not have had in the past. So I think that's really encouraging for us."
Coug Notes
- Washington State wins its 11-straight non-conference game at home. The streak dates back to the 2019-20 season. WSU is 10-0 inside Beasley Coliseum against non-conference teams over the last three seasons.
- Tonight's win over Montana marks WSU's first win over the Lady Griz since Dec. 21, 1988 and snaps a nine-game losing streak to Montana.
- The Cougars improve to 18-4 in non-conference home games under Coach Ethridge.
- Charlisse Leger-Walker registered double-digit points for the 53rd time in her WSU career and scored 20 or more points in a game for the 27th time at Washington State.
- The six 3-point field goals for Leger-Walker in the win over Montana matches her career-best shooting performance from behind the arc, which was originally set on Dec. 18, 2021 at BYU.
- Johanna Teder extends her double-digit scoring streak to four games with a 10-point performance. It is her 21st career game with double-digit points.
- Washington State improves to 17-4 when Johanna Teder scores 10 or more points in a game.
- Bella Murekatete extends her double-digit scoring streak to three-consecutive games with a 21-point effort. It is Murekatete's 37th career game at WSU scoring double figures, while it is her third career game with 20-plus points.
- Tara Wallack's 10-point performance gives the sophomore her fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season, while it is her ninth career game in double figures.
Up Next
Washington State returns to action next Wednesday, Dec. 7, when the Cougars head to the Rose City to take on Portland. Tip-off against the Pilots is set for 6 p.m. PT and will stream live on WCCSports.com.
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