The WSU women’s basketball team secured their 17th win of the season against the Arizona State Sun Devils, 65-58, Friday at Beasley Coliseum. 

With Friday’s win, WSU improves to 17-8 overall and 9-5 in Pac-12 play. The 17 wins this season are tied for the second-most wins in a single season for WSU during their time in the NCAA. The nine Pac-12 victories are tied for the second-most league wins in program history. 

WSU’s Johanna Teder gave the Cougs a comfortable lead with a three-pointer that provided a 6-0 run to push their lead out to 54-48 with five minutes to play. The Cougars had an answer for every problem that the Sun Devils brought, shooting 87.5% in the fourth quarter.

Teder was locked in for Friday’s matchup with a team-best four three-pointers and 20 points on a 7-12 night. She threw the defense in a bind as she shot 57.1% from behind the arc. With the way defenses play against her, she has been finding open players to help score and add to WSU’s fast-paced offense.

“She’s a tremendous shooter when her feet are set,” WSU head coach Kamie Ethridge said. “It makes the defense guard her a certain way, and a couple of games ago, she got little drop passes to Bella [Murekatete] on pick and rolls because of how they guard her differently than others.” 

The Cougars outplayed the Sun Devils, leading in field goals, shooting behind the arc, rebounding and assists. With Teder’s stunning performance, she was one of three WSU players who scored in double-digits. Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 13 points, while Bella Murekatete followed up with 12 points. Both Leger-Walker and Murekatete continue to prove their consistency. Leger-Waker has now scored double-digit points in 43 of her 49 career games at WSU, while Murekatete extends her double-digit scoring streak to three games. 

The team is showing more maturity and comfort in close games, going 7-9 from the free throw line. Earlier in the season, the Cougars struggled to make free throws but are going in the right direction as the season ends.

“Having this game right before Arizona is good prep for us,” Krystal Leger-Walker said. “Definitely something we can build on and kind of glad [turnovers] were exposed a little tonight, so we can work on it.”

WSU continued their success in Beasley Coliseum against No. 7 Arizona on Sunday, winning 72-67. Read the Arizona recap here.