WASHINGTON STATE (12-8, 7-2 WCC) VS PORTLAND (17-3, 6-3 WCC)
Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025 // 6 p.m. PT
Pullman, Wash. // Beasley Coliseum
Watch | ESPN+
Listen | Pullman Radio KQQQ, 1150 AM (Steve Grubbs pXp)
Live Stats | Statbroadcast


Washington State women's basketball hosts Portland on Thursday, January 23 at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Greg Talbott and Stephanie Hawk-Freeman on the call.

NEXT UP
The Cougs hit the road to take on LMU on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. and Oregon State on Monday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
One of the top-blocking teams in the nation, WSU is 12-8 to start the 2024-25 season and 7-2 in WCC play. Through the strong 11-game non-conference schedule, the Cougs tallied wins over Eastern Washington, Idaho, Saint Martin's, Norfolk State and Virginia. The Cougars have been impressive defensively and elite in blocking as the team leads the nation with 135 total blocks and ranks third with 6.8 blocks per game. Offensively, the Cougs are shooting .420 from the field and .308 from deep while averaging 66.9 points per game.

RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS
>> Tara Wallack has 1,105 career points, ranking 19th in program history.
>> Wallack ranks fifth all-time at WSU with 139 career blocks.
>> Wallack has played 3,501 career minutes, sixth all-time at WSU.
>> Wallack is also 459 minutes away from matching the most in program history.
>> Wallack has 578 career rebounds, 53 away from 10th all-time at WSU.
>> Alex Covill has 96 career blocks, 10th all-time in program history.
>> Head Coach Kamie Ethridge has 190 career wins as a head coach, 10 away from 200.

SERIES HISTORY
Portland leads the series 6-2 over their eight all-time meetings, with WSU winning the most recent matchup, 69-63 in 2022 in Pullman. Prior to 2022, Portland had won five-straight meetings from 2000 to 2010, and before 2000, the two programs had met only two other times with WSU winning 84-71 in 1985, and Portland winning 83-58 in 1984.

STACKING BLOCKS
WSU has been one of the top blocking teams in the nation, leading all of NCAA DI with 135 total blocks, and ranks third in blocks per game (6.8) behind Southern California (7.1) and Kentucky (7.1). The team's 135 blocks lead the WCC by a margin of 46 blocks over Pacific (89), and WSU's 6.8 blocks per game is 2.1 blocks ahead of the second-highest number of 4.7 per game, also 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 17.4 and 14.2 minutes, respectively. Abraham is shooting 36.8 percent from the floor and 36.2 percent from deep, while Mendes is averaging 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting at a 36.7 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 43.3 percent from the floor in 10.7 minutes per game. Alsina and Dart have also made their presence known. Alsina is a plus defender with 16 steals and nine blocks at 12.3 minutes per game, and Dart is averaging 2.0 points over 6.5 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).