UCLA awaits its NCAA bid while Washington State earned the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 23 points and Bella Murekatete added 21 to help Washington State earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament by beating No. 19 UCLA 65-61 in the Pac-12 Championship on Sunday.
It was the first-ever tournament championship for the Washington State women’s basketball program.
Up by three with just nine seconds left, Washington State Astera Tuhina got a piece of UCLA guard Charisma Osborne’s 3-point attempt to tie the game. With the arrow pointing their way, the Cougars took possession after a held ball on the rebound, and Tara Wallack hit one of two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to give Washington State a four-point lead to ultimately seal the victory.
Tuhina had six assists and Wallack added eight rebounds for the Cougars (23-10).
Osborne led the Bruins (25-9) with 19 points. Kiki Rice chipped in with 13 points, while Emily Bessoir added 11 for UCLA.
Washington State’s sustained its red-hot offense for the tournament by shooting 53.
