No. 2 UCLA falls, Pac-12 chaos and more highlight a wild women’s basketball Sunday

The Pacific Northwest brought its familiar rain to a number of top-16 parades Sunday as Washington State led the way with an upset over No. 2 UCLA from Pauley Pavilion while Washington and Oregon State bested No. 11 USC and No. 16 Utah respectively. 

Here’s a look back at the biggest storylines from the final women’s basketball Sunday of January. 

Sharp-shooting Washington State stuns No. 2 UCLA

2nd, 2:28 | CHARLISSE LEGER-WALKER!

41-24 COUGS!#GoCougs | #CougsVsEverybody pic.twitter.com/EcM4NEDmvt

— WSU Cougar Women’s 🏀 (@WSUCougarWBB) January 28, 2024

Emboldened by a triumph in Tinseltown last season, Washington State’s first-ever win at Pauley Pavilion, and the absence of UCLA’s dominant rim protector Lauren Betts, WSU pursued its highest-ranked victory in program history with supreme confidence Sunday night. The Cougars would convert better than 54 percent of their field goals, including a scintillating 6-12 mark from three, and grow their lead to as much as 20 early in the second half, ultimately navigating some dodgy late-game execution to escape as 85-82 victors. 

Without Betts, who stands as an elite shot-blocking presence and currently ranks second nationally with a 68.3 percent rate from the field, the Cougars targeted the painted area, converting layups on three of their first five possessions to build a 9-5 lead. Washington State would lead the rest of the afternoon, as Bella Murekatete paced the Cougs in the first quarter with eight points before handing the reins to Charlisse Leger-Walker. The Kiwi guard led the way with 11 during a scorching WSU second quarter —  the visitors shot 10-15 from the floor — and closed the first half with a clutch steal to send the Cougs into the locker room leading by 16.

Murekatete and Leger-Walker continued to shine for Wazzu, combining for 37 points on 14-22 shooting, and a pair of free throws from Tara Wallack capped a 6-2 Cougar spurt out of the locker room to give her squad its largest lead of the night. Charisma Osborne would immediately embody her namesake, however, converting a gritty and-one opportunity before drilling a turnaround jumper and cleaning up the offensive glass, as UCLA continued to knife into a lofty deficit.

Londynn Jones, UCLA’s most consistent perimeter threat, nailed one of her five threes to pull the Bruins within single digits early in the fourth quarter, and a pair of missed free throws in the final minute gave the home team a chance at the tie in the final seconds. Kiki Rice, who led all scorers with 25 after a six-point first half, would short-arm her attempt at glory, Osborne’s effort struck the rim as well and Washington State would escape with a stunning victory.

Beers’ perfect night leads Oregon St. to rout over No. 16 Utah

No emotional hangovers when the party keeps on going! After stunning No. 3 Colorado in a dominant second half Thursday, No. 25 Oregon State disposed of another ranked carcass with a dominant 40 minutes, blowing out Utah 91-66 on Sunday. 

The Beavers connected on a remarkable 69.4 percent of their field goal attempts, a program record in the StatsReference era (2002), and were particularly automatic in the first quarter, connecting on 12-14 tries from the floor. Freshman Donovyn Hunter also proved that her breakout performance on Thursday was no fluke in the early going. Averaging fewer than four points per game in Pac-12 play entering the week, Hunter reeled off 16 points and four assists against the Buffs and totaled eight points and three dimes through 10 minutes Sunday, leading OSU to a 28-19 lead. 

Utah trimmed the deficit to seven midway through the second quarter as Alissa Pili continued her All-American campaign with 28 points, but Oregon State punched straight back with a 10-0 response — Timea Gardner concluded the run with a triple and was excellent on the evening with 14 points — and the Utes never rallied within single digits. An and-one finish from Reagan Beers, capping off her perfect 8-8 shooting night with a team-high 20 points, put the Beavers up 91-57, but a platoon of OSU end-of-bench substitutes allowed Utah to end the game on a 9-0 run. 

Washington holds off JuJu Watkins, No. 11 USC

Entering the weekend precariously as the “First Team Out” in ESPN women’s basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme’s latest update, Washington rode its nationally acclaimed defense to a resume-defining win at No. 11 USC Sunday 61-58. 

Washington allows just 54.1 points per game (ninth-best in Division I) and became just the second team to hold USC under 40 percent from the field on its home floor, proving particularly disruptive toward star freshman JuJu Watkins as the prospective Naismith candidate shot an unsightly 8-27 from the floor. Consecutive pull-up jumpers from Lauren Schwartz, who led all scorers with 21 points Sunday, gave UW an early five-point lead, and the Huskies would lead for 19 minutes of a dominant first half. Schwartz would drill a triple directly out of the locker room, matching the Huskies’ game-high lead of 13, but from there Kayla Padilla would lead a valiant USC fightback.

The Penn grad transfer responded immediately with a pair of long-range bombs, finishing the second half 5-7 from three with 17 points, and a pair of Padilla free throws the following possession clawed the Trojans back within just two possessions. JuJu Watkins would later connect on a step-back three to bring the Trojans within a score, and another Padilla triple saw USC trail just 46-44 entering the final quarter of play. Watkins finished again to trim the deficit to three with 17 seconds remaining, but Hannah Stines converted at the line to quash the Trojan miracle. 

Virginia knocks off No. 20 North Carolina

While Virginia welcomed No. 20 North Carolina with a lowly 9-10 record, the Cavaliers had already displayed their giant-slaying acumen with a win over No. 15 Florida State in Tallahassee, and UVA stepped up in the spotlight once again Sunday with an 81-66 win over the Tar Heels. 

Shooting worse than 30 percent from long range on the season, Virginia astoundingly reverted to the mean Sunday, connecting on 11-19 three-point attempts. Kymora Johnson ignited this turnaround early, swishing a triple to get her Hoos on the board, and UVA’s three-point shooting proved vital in overcoming an early 19-7 deficit forged by a hot start from UNC’s Reniya Kelly. Johnson, who finished with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Sam Brunelle would convert three-straight from deep midway through the second quarter before Paris Clark’s and-one and a steal-and-score from Johnson completed a 14-2 run and tied the game at 30. 

UVA managed to maintain a two-possession lead throughout the third quarter, with London Clarkson scoring eight of her 10 points in the period, and leaned on their defense to deliver the knockout blow. UNC scored just nine points in the fourth quarter, converting just a single field goal in the final six minutes, while the Hoos ended the game on a 20-5 run, cruising to their second ranked win on the year.