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WSU Men's Basketball

Charlisse Leger-Walker sparks Washington State’s second-half rally in 61-49 win over Cal at Pac-12 tournament

WSU’s Johanna Teder goes up for a shot Wednesday. (Courtesy of Pac-12 Conference)
By Colton Clark coltonc@spokesman.com(208) 627-3209
WSU’s Johanna Teder goes up for a shot Wednesday. (Courtesy of Pac-12 Conference)

From staff reports

LAS VEGAS – Guard Charlisse Leger-Walker sparked Washington State’s rally after halftime and the Cougars dominated the final 10 minutes to claim a first-round victory at the Pac-12 Tournament.

Leger-Walker scored 11 of her game-high 23 points in the third quarter as seventh-seeded WSU outscored No. 10 seed Cal by 18 points in the second half of a 61-49 win Wednesday night .

The Cougars (20-10) clinched their first 20-win season of the NCAA era. They advance to face No. 2 seed Utah at 6 p.m. Thursday.

In the first half against Cal, the Cougars shot 8 of 31 (25.8%) from the field and 0 of 11 from 3-point range. But Leger-Walker took control after halftime and WSU overcame its shooting woes to erase a nine-point, third-quarter deficit.

Leger-Walker scored 12 points in the first half to keep the Cougars afloat, then flipped the momentum to WSU’s side in the third quarter. The All-Pac-12 junior made two midrange jumpers and a transition layup in a span of less than 3 minutes, then made the Cougars’ first 3 of the game at the 3:03 mark of the quarter. WSU hit seven of its last nine field-goal attempts in the third quarter to take a 44-42 lead .

WSU held Cal (13-17) without a field goal during a 4-minute stretch in the fourth quarter. The Cougars’ offense, meanwhile, found its footing.

Cougars center Bella Murekatete connected on back-to-back layups early in the quarter and guard Astera Tuhina hit a 3 and a midrange jumper a couple of minutes later to cap an 11-3 run that ended with 3:32 to play and WSU ahead by 10 points.

The Cougars shot 16 of 27 (59.3%) from the field and committed just four turnovers in the second half, during which they outscored Cal 40-22. WSU finished the game shooting 41.4% overall and 2 of 19 on 3-pointers.

Leger-Walker went 8 of 15 from the field and 6 of 8 from the foul line, and contributed six rebounds.

Foul trouble limited Murekatete to 23 minutes, but she still had a productive outing with 13 points (6-of-10 shooting from the floor) and 12 rebounds. Murekatete was a force in the paint late, scoring eight points in the fourth quarter. Tuhina added nine points and four assists.

WSU had 11 of its 16 offensive rebounds in the first half to offset some of its shooting struggles.

Cal guard Jayda Curry slashed inside for several layups and led the Bears with 16 points. Cal shot 39.2% from the field – 32% in the second half – and finished 1 of 10 from beyond the arc.