Washington State women drop to 0-3 in Pac-12 play with overtime loss at California

From staff reports

BERKELEY, Calif. – Washington State breezed through much of its nonconference schedule, but Pac-12 opposition is proving to be far more formidable.

Cal’s Ugonne Onyiah scored a go-ahead bucket on a putback with eight seconds left in overtime, and the Bears sent WSU to its third consecutive defeat with a 73-72 victory at Haas Pavilion on Sunday.

Charlisse Leger-Walker, who paced the Cougars (11-5, 0-3 Pac-12) with 20 points, knocked down a jumper with 1:21 left in the extra period to give WSU a 72-71 edge. The teams traded missed shots before Cal’s Marta Suarez had her layup attempt blocked by the Cougars’ Tara Wallack. Onyiah was there to clean up the miss, however, and give the Bears (12-3, 2-1) the lead for good.

Mia Mastrov stole the ball from Leger-Walker in the final moments and denied the Cougars an opportunity to score on their final possession.

WSU trailed 16-9 after the first period but controlled the next two quarters to take a 54-53 lead into the fourth quarter. Leger-Walker drilled a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation to knot the score at 65 and force OT.

Ioanna Krimili led all scorers with 21 points for Cal. Suarez contributed a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Onyiah produced 14 points off the bench.

Bella Murekatete added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Beyonce Bea had 11 points for WSU, which has lost four of five dating back to a 60-55 home loss to Washington on Dec. 10. The Cougars travel to Seattle on Sunday to play the Huskies at noon at Alaska Airlines Arena.