In a surprising upset, the Washington State's women's basketball team defeated No. 7 UCLA 85-82 on Sunday, marking the highest-ranked team the Cougars have ever beaten in their program history; UCLA was ranked No. 2 at game time. The victory surpasses their previous record, a win over then-No. 3 Utah in last year's Pac-12 Tournament.

The game, however, was marred by a knee injury to All-Pac-12 guard Charlisse Leger-Walker in the second half.

“I don't think it looks good … It generally doesn't ever end up well,” said Washington State Women’s basketball coach Kamie Ethridge, per Joe Reedy of ESPN.

A clearer picture of Leger-Walker's condition is pending an MRI. Despite her exit with 17 points, the Cougars held strong.

Bella Murekatete's performance was crucial, scoring 20 points and securing eight rebounds. Her free throws in the last 18 seconds were pivitol in securing the Cougars' three-point lead. Eleonora Villa and Tara Wallack also contributed significantly, with 18 and 14 points, respectively. The team's shooting accuracy, particularly in the first three quarters, played a key role in building their lead.

UCLA, led by Kiki Rice with 25 points, Charisma Osborne with 20 and Londynn Jones with 19, attempted a comeback. Despite trailing by 20 points early in the second half, the Bruins managed to cut down the deficit, nearly tipping the game in their favor in the final quarter.

Rice notably contributed five points in a 7-2 spurt, including crucial free throws at the 19-second mark, as Washington State maintained a narrow 83-82 lead.

“Despite trailing by 16 at the halftime, we always believed we could turn it around in the second half and clinch the win,” Rice said.

Throughout the first three quarters, the Cougars maintained a field goal percentage of 60.5%, but their shooting dipped to 3-of-10 in the last quarter. Despite this, their free throw performance was strong, hitting 14-of-18 in the final quarter and achieving 27-of-34 for the entire game.

“To beat No. 2, that's a program-changer. I love how we competed,” Ethridge said. “It's not something we talked about before, but I love how we competed.”

The impact of Leger-Walker’s injury extends beyond Washington State to the New Zealand national team, as she was due to join the Tall Ferns for the Olympic qualifying tournament starting Feb. 8.