PULLMAN — For the second time in less than a month, standout Washington State junior guard Charlisse Leger-Walker had to return to her native New Zealand to deal with a personal issue.
When this happened at the end of 2022, the Cougars were 0-2 without their star, and started to realize they needed more production out of the other players that surround her.
The same issues that hampered WSU before when Leger-Walker was gone reared their heads again Friday.
The Cougars never found any rhythm on offense without their leader and fell 51-44 in a Pac-12 Conference game against USC at Beasley Coliseum.
“This is a great example of the needs for guards, and even bigs, bigs being able to handle the ball good enough,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said. “So not having Charlisse, who is a primary offensive player and ballhandler for us, clearly put a lot more pressure on everybody else on the court. I think you saw it just from how we turned the ball over and how we handled their pressure.”
Kadi Sissoko had 19 points to lead the way for the Trojans (14-4, 4-3), winners of three in a row. No other players were in double figures for USC, but Rayah Marshall added nine points and 13 rebounds.
Freshman guard Astera Tuhina, starting in place of Leger-Walker, had a game-high 13 points for Washington State (13-5, 3-4), which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end. Senior post Bella Murekatete added 10 points.
However, the other six Cougar players who saw time in the game combined for 21 points on 8-for-30 shooting. Washington State also committed 18 turnovers and just couldn’t find the finishing touch.
Neither team held a lead larger than three points in the first quarter, and were tied at 13 going to the second. USC scored six unanswered about midway through the second to take a 21-16 lead, but senior forward Ula Motuga hit a 3-pointer with 5:26 to go, then two minutes later senior guard Grace Sarver made a free throw to make it a one-point game. The Trojans pushed the lead back out to four a minute later, and held a 26-23 lead at intermission.
USC tried to pull away a bit in the third quarter, using a 6-0 mini-spurt to increase a seven-point advantage to 40-27 at the 4:34 mark. Murekatete made good on a traditional three-point play that started a 9-2 to end the period as Washington State got within 42-36 to start the fourth.
USC (14-4, 4-3)
Williams 2-5 2-4 8, Littleton 0-8 3-4 3, Marshall 4-14 1-2 9, Adika 3-6 0-0 7, Sissoko 7-13 4-5 19, Miura 1-2 0-0 3, Akunwafo 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 18-49 10-15 51.
WASHINGTON STATE (13-5, 3-4)
Wallack 2-6 0-0 5, Tuhina 6-13 0-0 13, Motuga 2-7 0-0 5, Teder 2-11 0-0 5, Murekatete 4-8 2-3 10, Gardner 1-2 0-0 3, Clarke 1-2 0-0 2, Sarver 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 18-51 3-5 44.
USC 13 13 16 9—51
Washington State 13 10 13 8—44
3-point goals — USC 5-17 (Williams 2-3, Miura 1-2, Adika 1-3, Sissoko 1-3, Marshall 0-1, Littleton 0-5), Washington State 5-16 (Wallack 1-1, Motuga 1-2, Gardner 1-2, Tuhina 1-3, Teder 1-7, Sarver 0-1). Rebounds — USC 38 (Marshall 13), Washington State 29 (Motuga 7). Assists — USC 8 (Williams, Marshall, Adika 2), Washington State 10 (Sarver 3). Total fouls — USC 9, Washington State 13. A — 956.