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WSU Men's Basketball

Washington State claims win on senior day, powers past Oregon State

PULLMAN – During the late stages of Sunday’s game, Washington State forward Ula Motuga came up with an offensive rebound – which led to a clutch, second-chance basket – and tallied a steal that deflated Oregon State’s chances of a comeback.

Those are the kinds of “hustle plays” that have defined Motuga’s long WSU career. So, it felt like a fitting home finale for the senior, who wore a big smile as she hit game-clinching free throws with 30 seconds left.

The Cougars claimed a win on Senior Day, powering past the Beavers 67-57 at Beasley Coliseum.

WSU (18-9, 8-8 Pac-12) honored Motuga, backup guard Grace Sarver and reserve center Emma Nankervis before tipoff. The group has taken part in 63 wins – the most for any class in program history.

“Her class and the class before her really built something special in Pullman,” guard Charlisse Leger-Walker said. “Ula’s a huge part of our team. A lot of the stuff she does won’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet, but she’s one of the biggest leaders out there.”

Motuga, a fifth-year Cougar from Australia, has appeared in 128 games, starting 107, during the most successful period in program history. She is two games away from breaking the program record for career appearances.

“She’s so committed and loyal to our program and our coaching staff and her teammates,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said of Motuga, who totaled seven points, five rebounds and four steals against OSU. “That’s so attractive to a coach. You never have to worry about her doing something she shouldn’t be doing.

“She’s always going to be on the court because of her IQ and all the ways she can help us win without scoring.”

WSU completed its first season sweep of the Oregon schools since 1991.

“Another big ‘first’ for (Ethridge’s) tenure here,” Motuga said.

Center Bella Murekatete paced the Cougars with 19 points (8 of 14) and nine rebounds. Leger-Walker contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists as WSU controlled the lead for nearly 38 minutes.

Murekatete tallied three steals in a 2-minute stretch early in the fourth quarter and added a nifty assist to Leger-Walker, whose layup put WSU ahead by 12 points with under 8 minutes to play. The Cougars’ offense went stagnant late, hitting 1 of its last 10 field-goal attempts, and Oregon State cut the deficit to five points with 1:30 remaining. But WSU regrouped defensively, got a boost from Motuga, and held the Beavers off.

“Sometimes, Senior Day can bite you,” Ethridge said. “You’re so emotional that you can mess things up, but we handled the emotion of it and I’m proud that we can walk off this floor with another ‘first-time in a lot of years.’

“Our response was great,” Ethridge added. “That’s what it’s all about – finding people that can help and figuring it out when it’s not pretty.”

The Cougars used pressure to harass OSU’s shooters and went ahead by 12 points midway through the second quarter, but WSU shot 0 for 6 over the last 3:28 of the half and went into the break with a 31-27 lead. The teams traded baskets out of intermission before WSU stopped three consecutive Beaver possessions with takeaways to restore a double-digit advantage heading into the final quarter.

“I told them that I hated them in the second and fourth quarters, but I loved them in the first and third,” Ethridge said.

Guard Tara Wallack chipped in 10 points for the Cougars, who shot 37.3% from the field and 7 of 24 on 3-pointers, and committed a season-low five turnovers. Forward Timea Gardiner had 15 points to lead the Beavers (11-16, 3-13), who shot 40% from the field but surrendered 15 turnovers.

The Cougars close their season on the road next week against the Los Angeles schools before the Pac-12 tournament, which begins March 1 in Las Vegas. WSU is looking to finish strong and earn a berth to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season.

“What has meant the most is growing relationships with the fans who supported us during my freshman year when, no offense, we sucked,” Motuga said. “We didn’t win games and those were long seasons, but to see what we’ve been able to accomplish, it’s special for us players, for (Ethridge) and especially for those people that have been invested in us from the start.”