Washington State extends winning streak to three, holds off Arizona State

From staff reports

PULLMAN – Washington State’s women’s basketball team continued its late-season surge with another gutty win – the Cougars’ third in a row.

WSU moved a step closer to securing a bye in the Pac-12 Tournament, holding off Arizona State 65-58 on Friday night at Beasley Coliseum.

“This was big for our resume,” coach Kamie Ethridge said. “We want to keep building on it.”

The Cougars (17-8, 9-5) came into the game fourth place in the conference standings after tight wins against UCLA and USC. With three games remaining, they have a chance to climb as high as second. The top four teams in the Pac-12 receive byes in the tourney.

“We locked in and knew what this game meant for us,” guard Krystal Leger-Walker said.

According to college hoops experts, the Sun Devils (12-11, 4-6) entered the night on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

ASU trailed by eight early in the game and nine midway through the third quarter, but its deficit never got out of reach. WSU made enough stops in crunch time and hit 5 of 6 free-throw attempts over the final 36 seconds.

The Cougars played the final 2 minutes without star guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, who had been in foul trouble all night. Guard Johanna Teder and post Bella Murekatete stepped up. Teder led all players with 20 points, shooting 7 of 12 from the floor, and Murekatete added 12 points. Leger-Walker scored 13. Krystal Leger-Walker tacked on five points to surpass the 1,000-point mark on her career.

“I just love how this team is finding different ways to win,” Ethridge said.

WSU shot 52% against 43.6% for the Sun Devils. Both teams committed more than 20 turnovers.