No. 9 UCLA women hold on to beat Washington State 73-66

From staff reports

PULLMAN – UCLA gave Washington State multiple chances to earn an upset win on Sunday, turning the ball over twice with a three-point lead inside the final two minutes.

The Cougars returned the favor, with a pair of their own turnovers, leading to desperation fouls during a 73-66 loss to the No. 9 Bruins at Beasley Coliseum.

WSU’s Bella Murekatete made a layup with 2:06 left to give the Cougars a 10-2 run and cut UCLA’s lead to 69-66, but neither team made another field goal.

The Bruins (17-3, 6-2 Pac-12) made four game-clinching free throws inside 20 seconds.

UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez, sister of the Bruins men’s star Jamie Jaquez Jr., was one of five players in double figures with 13 points in 18 minutes off the bench.

The Bruins opened the game on a 9-2 run and led 20-12 at the end of the first quarter, before shooting 28% from the field in the second.

The Cougars (13-5, 3-4) closed the lead and trailed 32-30 at halftime.

WSU briefly took a 43-42 lead midway through the third quarter on consecutive 3-pointers from Astera Tuhina, who scored a team-high 15 points.

UCLA’s Charis Osborne answered with back-to-back 3s of her own to retake the lead. The Bruins led for the remainder of the game.

The Cougars were without leading scorer Charlisse Leger-Walker for a second straight game, as the All-Pac-12 guard returned to her home country of New Zealand to deal with a family matter.

It is the second time this season Leger-Walker has missed time due to a family matter in New Zealand.

All four of WSU’s conference losses have come with Leger-Walker out of the lineup. The Cougars are 3-0 in Pac-12 games she started.

WSU has road games at Arizona State and Arizona this week on Friday and Sunday, respectively.