Cougar women rally from 14-point deficit to beat USC

Jan. 14, 2022 Updated Fri., Jan. 14, 2022 at 11:06 p.m.

From staff reports

Washington State couldn’t have dug itself into a deeper hole on Friday.

After the first quarter, the Cougar women trailed 17-3 on the road against USC – a team that beat No. 4 Arizona on Sunday – but rallied to beat the Trojans 71-63 for their first win of the new year.

WSU (10-5, 2-2 Pac-12) shot 1 of 14 from the field in the first quarter, but went 8 for 12 in the second to cut the deficit to seven points at halftime.

Johanna Teder and Ula Motuga combined for 19 of the Cougars’ 30 first-half points, as the team’s leading scorer – Charlisse Leger-Walker – scored two points on 1-of-8 shooting.

Teder made a corner 3-pointer in transition to put the Cougars ahead 50-48 for their first lead of the night with 2:03 remaining in the third quarter.

The Trojans (8-5, 1-2) regained the lead on a 3-pointer from Bella Perkins to open the fourth quarter.

Leger-Walker scored five of her 13 points in a 1-minute span to give WSU a seven-point lead .

Teder led WSU with 20 points, and Motuga added 14, shooting 4 of 5 on 3-pointers. Both scoring totals were season highs.

USC held statistical advantages in field-goal percentage (40 to 38) and 3-point percentage (50 to 32), but the Cougars scored 10 more points on free throws and had a 17-3 advantage in second-chance points.

The Cougars won their first game since beating California on Dec. 31, being rolled by No. 2 Stanford 82-44 on Jan. 2 and falling short against Arizona 60-52 on Jan. 7.

WSU will remain in Los Angeles this weekend for a noon meeting with UCLA on Sunday.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.