WASHINGTON STATE (7-6 2-0 WCC) AT PACIFIC (5-8, 1-2 WCC)
Monday, Dec. 30 // 6 p.m. PT
Stockton, Calif. // Alex G. Spanos Center
Watch | ESPN+
Listen | Pullman Radio KQQQ, 1150 AM (Steve Grubbs pXp)
Live Stats | Sidearm


The Cougars head to Stockton, California to take on the Pacific Tigers on Monday, Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. The game will be live on ESPN+.

NEXT UP
The Cougs return to Pullman for a pair of home games, hosting Santa Clara on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 6 p.m., and Oregon State on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 12 p.m. noon. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Ann Schatz and Mary Murphy on the call.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
WSU is 7-6 to start the 2024-25 season after a 2-0 start to WCC play with wins over San Diego and Pepperdine. Through the strong 11-game non-conference schedule, the Cougs tallied home wins over Eastern Washington, Idaho and Saint Martin's, and a pair of wins in Puerto Rico over Norfolk State and Virginia. The Cougars have been impressive defensively and elite in blocking as the team ranks second in the nation with 7.4 blocks per game. Offensively, the Cougs are shooting .424 from the field and .318 from deep while averaging 66.2 points per game.

RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS
>> Tara Wallack has 1,031 career points, ranking 21st in program history, 3 points away from moving into 20th.
>> Wallack ranks sixth all-time at WSU with 125 career blocks.
>> Wallack has played 3,257 career minutes, 8 away from entering the WSU all-time top-10 list.
>> Wallack is also 703 minutes away from matching the most in program history.
>> Alex Covill has 84 career blocks, 9 away from entering the WSU all-time top-10 list.
>> Head Coach Kamie Ethridge has 184 career wins as a head coach, 16 away from 200.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the fifth-ever meeting between Washington State and Pacific, and the first since 1989 - 35 years ago. Over those four games, WSU is 2-2, having won each of their two most-recent bouts in 1989 and 1984, both in Pullman. Before that, Pacific had won their first two meetings in Stockton in 1980 and 1983.

STACKING BLOCKS
WSU has been one of the top blocking teams in the nation, leading all of NCAA DI with 96 total blocks and ranking second in blocks per game (7.4) behind only Kentucky (7.8). The team's 96 blocks leads the WCC by a margin of 37 blocks over Portland (59), and its 7.4 blocks per game is 2.9 blocks ahead of the second-highest number of 4.5 per game, held by Pacific.

NEW FACES, NEW PLACES
WSU has six players this season earning minutes for the first time in a Cougar uniform as junior transfer Jean Chiu, redshirt freshman Candace Kpetikou, and true freshmen Charlotte Abraham, Marta Alsina, Alice Dart and Dayana Mendes have all made an impact already in 2024-25. Of these new faces, Abraham and Mendes have accrued the most minutes thus far, averaging 18.5 and 15.2 minutes, respectively. Abraham is shooting 39.7 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent from deep, while Mendes is averaging 7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting at a 42.1 percent clip from the floor. Kpetikou has seen an increase of playing time as the season has gone on and recorded her first career double-double against Saint Martin's. She is shooting 42.1 percent from the floor in 11.1 minutes per game. Alsina and Dart have also made their presence known. Alsina is a plus defender with 12 steals and seven blocks at 12.4 minutes per game, and Dart is averaging 2.3 points over 7.3 minutes per game.

COUGS IN THE RANKINGS
The Cougs look to climb back into the rankings this season after having been ranked as high as number 21 last year. Washington State was voted to the Preseason Associated Press Top-25 Poll for the first time in program history, appearing at No. 24 in the preseason poll. WSU was picked to finish second by the WCC coaches and media, the best preseason pick in program history after being picked fifth ahead of the 2023-24 (Pac-12) and 1991-92 (Pac-10) seasons.

ETHRIDGE INKS EXTENSION
WSU Director of Athletics Anne McCoy announced this past April that Ethridge has signed a one-year contract extension keeping her in Pullman through the 2029-30 season. "Since her arrival in 2018, Kamie has solidified Washington State women's basketball as a destination where student-athletes can receive a world-class education while competing at the highest levels," said McCoy. "Her leadership has resulted in historic seasons for WSU, including this most recent campaign when WSU reached the postseason for the fourth-consecutive year, marking another program first. We are thrilled Kamie shares the same love and passion for Washington State that so many of us do and excited she will be leading our program for many years to come." Coach Ethridge has continued to raise the bar every season she has been on the Palouse. The Hall of Famer has brought her winning ways to Pullman, quickly elevating the WSU women's basketball program into the upper echelon of the college women's basketball landscape. Ethridge has guided Washington State to four straight postseason tournament appearances, and its first back-to-back 20-win seasons.

For all the latest WSU women's basketball news, photos and videos, like the team on Facebook (facebook.com/WSUCougarWBB), or follow on Twitter (@WSUCougarWBB) and Instagram (@wsucougarwbb).