PULLMAN, Wash. (November 10, 2024) – Washington State women's basketball finished its opening week with a 71-60 win over Idaho Sunday afternoon.
The Cougars (2-1, 0-0 WCC) had four in double-digit scoring, while the team forced 22 turnovers and outscored the Vandals 17-5 in points off turnovers.
Tara Wallack tallied 14 points, eight rebounds and a block, and
Eleonora Villa finished with 12 points, five assists, four boards and a block.
Astera Tuhina and
Alex Covill each scored 11 points. Covill added six rebounds, four blocks and two steals, while Tuhina had four assists and a steal.
Jenna Villa had five points and two steals. Freshman
Dayana Mendes made her collegiate debut and scored seven points to go with a block, a steal and three boards.
After early buckets from Wallack,
Eleonora Villa and Covill, the first quarter went back-and-forth until a three from Tuhina in the closing seconds of the period put WSU ahead 17-13. In the second quarter,
Alice Dart stretched the lead to 20-14 with a layup, but Idaho kept things close before locking things up at 24-apiece. A pair of Wallack layups and another from
Jenna Villa down the stretch created some separation, though, giving the Cougs a 35-30 halftime lead.
WSU came out firing in the third, as a Tuhina triple followed up shots from Covill and
Eleonora Villa to take a 10-point advantage, 42-32. Shortly after, a
Marta Alsina layup and Wallack three capped a 9-0 run to stretch the Cougar lead to 51-34. Idaho continued to hang around, but a Tuhina jumper and Abraham layup helped keep WSU ahead 56-45 entering the final quarter of play.
Idaho traded points with WSU in the fourth and inched back to within seven, 65-58, with 2:27 remaining. The Cougars executed from the free throw line in the final minutes, though, going 6-of-6 to seal the 71-60 victory.
RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS
•
Tara Wallack's 14 points puts her at 898 for her career, 102 points away from 1,000.
• Wallack's eight rebounds gives her 452 for her career, 48 away from 500.
• Wallack's one block gives her 108 career blocks, seventh all-time at WSU.
•
Astera Tuhina's four assists put her at 186 for her career, 14 assists away from 200.
• With the win, Head Coach
Kamie Ethridge has 97 wins at WSU, three away from 100.
• Coach Ethridge now also has 180 career wins as a head coach, 20 from 200.
UP NEXT
The Cougars begin a long road stretch next weekend, taking off to play Texas Tech on Saturday, Nov. 16. Tip-off will be at 4 p.m. PT, live on ESPN+.
FOLLOW US
For more information on the Washington State women's basketball team, follow @WSUCougarWBB on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
