Charlisse Leger-Walker shines in return, Washington State rolls past Washington
From staff reports
PULLMAN – Charlisse Leger-Walker returned to Washington State’s lineup and guided the Cougars to a runaway victory over their rivals.
WSU’s standout junior guard, who missed the team’s past two games, led all scorers with 26 points in WSU’s 66-52 win over Washington on Sunday at Beasley Coliseum.
Leger-Walker flew home to New Zealand in late December to tend to a family matter. Without their best player, the Cougars lost games to Utah and Colorado. Leger-Walker got back to Pullman on Friday, according to the Pac-12 Network broadcast, and participated in one practice this week.
She started slow against the Huskies but caught fire after the break.
“Maybe a little bit of rust in the first half,” Leger-Walker said. “But in the second half, I just got those open looks. People found me and I managed to knock them down.”
Leger-Walker poured in 22 points in the second half, including 15 in the fourth quarter. She torched the Huskies on drives to the basket and pull-up jumpers from midrange, finishing 11 of 17 from the field to go with five rebounds and four assists.
“There’s no question that she got in the gym (in New Zealand) and shot some,” coach Kamie Ethridge said. “The speed of the game, it’s hard to mimic that when you’re on your own. … I wasn’t sure how it’d play out today.
“It may have taken her a minute to get a little bit more aggressive offensively. But the hard 2s she makes, it’s kinda otherworldly. Not very many players out there can make those kinds of shots consistently and shoot a great percentage. It’s a good sign for us to get her in that zone. … It’s a really good sign that, consistently, she can put up these kinds of numbers.”
WSU (11-4, 1-3 Pac-12) avenged an 82-66 loss to the Huskies in Seattle on Dec. 11. Leger-Walker, the Pac-12’s leading scorer, piled up a career-high 40 points in that game.
In the Apple Cup rematch, the Cougars led the Huskies throughout the last three quarters. WSU built a double-digit lead late in the second quarter and Washington never seriously threatened.
Cougar center Bella Murekatete scored 12 of her 20 points in the first half and totaled a game-high eight rebounds. Forward Ula Motuga added 11 points for WSU, which shot 53.6% from the field against 33.3% for the Huskies (9-5, 1-3). The Cougars outscored Washington 50-26 in the paint.
WSU visits Oregon State for a 7 p.m. tipoff Friday.