WASHINGTON STATE (10-8, 5-2 WCC) AT SAN FRANCISCO (8-8, 5-2 WCC)
Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025 // 6 p.m. PT
San Francisco, Calif. // War Memorial at The Sobrato Center
Watch | ESPN+
Listen | Pullman Radio KQQQ, 1150 AM (Steve Grubbs pXp)
Live Stats | Statbroadcast


Washington State women's basketball is back on the road, playing at San Francisco on Thursday, January 16 at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with George Devine and Sophia Jones on the call.

NEXT UP
The Cougs continue their road weekend at Santa Clara on Saturday, January 18 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Joe Ritzo and Thomas Dunn on the call.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
One of the top-blocking teams in the nation, WSU is 10-8 to start the 2024-25 season and 5-2 in WCC play. 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 sits third in the nation with 121 total blocks and also ranks third with 6.7 blocks per game. Offensively, the Cougs are shooting .416 from the field and .314 from deep while averaging 66.1 points per game.

RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS
>> Tara Wallack has 1,085 career points, ranking 19th in program history.
>> Wallack ranks fifth all-time at WSU with 137 career blocks.
>> Wallack has played 3,442 career minutes, sixth all-time at WSU.
>> Wallack is also 518 minutes away from matching the most in program history.
>> Wallack is two starts away from 100 for her career, and 68 rebounds from 10th all-time at WSU.
>> Alex Covill has 91 career blocks, two away from 10th all-time at WSU.
>> Head Coach Kamie Ethridge has 188 career wins as a head coach, 12 away from 200.

SERIES HISTORY
The Cougars and Dons have met 11 times dating back to their first meeting in 1981. USF won the first two matchups with wins in 1981 and 1983, both in San Francisco, but the Cougars have won all nine games they've played since. Their last meetup was in 2022 in San Francisco which saw WSU win 69-63.

STACKING BLOCKS
WSU has been one of the top blocking teams in the nation, ranking third in all of NCAA DI with 121 total blocks behind only Southern California (124) and TCU (124), and third in blocks per game (6.7) behind Kentucky (7.4) and Southern California (7.3). The team's 121 blocks leads the WCC by a margin of 39 blocks over Portland (82), and its 6.7 blocks per game is 2.1 blocks ahead of the second-highest number of 4.6 per game, also held by Portland.

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 17.4 and 13.6 minutes, respectively. Abraham is shooting 36.8 percent from the floor and 36.2 percent from deep, while Mendes is averaging 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting at a 36.1 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 37.3 percent from the floor in 10.1 minutes per game. Alsina and Dart have also made their presence known. Alsina is a plus defender with 16 steals and eight blocks at 11.8 minutes per game, and Dart is averaging 2.2 points over 6.9 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.

Fans wishing to purchase tickets for the 2024-25 women's basketball season can click on the link HERE, visit wsucougars.com to order online, or call the WSU Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-COUGS.

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).