PULLMAN, Wash. (January 30, 2025) – Washington State women's basketball used 46 points in the second half to move past Pacific, 82-70 Thursday night.
The Cougars (14-10, 9-4 WCC) shot 50 percent (28-56) from the floor and 41 percent (11-27) from beyond the arc, finishing with double-digit threes for the second-straight game.
Tara Wallack recorded her third double-double of the season and seventh of her career with 15 points and 10 rebounds, on top of two steals and two blocks.
Eleonora Villa led the offense with 23 points, along with three assists and two steals.
Astera Tuhina finished with 13 points, four assists, two steals and three rebounds, and
Dayana Mendes tallied a team-high eight rebounds to go with 11 points and a block.
Kyra Gardner added seven points and a steal on the night,
Jenna Villa had five points and three assists, and
Candace Kpetikou put up four points and four boards.
After Pacific took a quick 10-3 lead, the Cougars rattled off seven scoreless using a three from
Jenna Villa to even things at 10-all midway through the first quarter. WSU rounded out the first quarter going on a 9-0 run behind seven points from Mendes to hold a 21-14 lead going into the second.
Tuhina knocked down a three to open the second quarter and stretch the lead to 10 points, 24-14, and then treys from Gardner and Tuhina made it 32-18. Pacific inched back over the remainder of the first half, though, and the game went into the locker room tied 36-36.
Teams traded buckets out of the break and triples from Tuhina and Wallack had the Cougs ahead by one, 44-43. The score would go even again at 47-all on a Mendes jumper, and then a three and a reverse layup from Wallack helped give WSU some separation as they pushed the lead to 56-49. In the final seconds of the third, a pair of quick buckets from
Eleonora Villa and Tuhina sent the game into the fourth quarter with Wazzu leading 60-52.
Makes from Abraham and
Eleonora Villa quickly put the Cougar lead back to 10 points, 64-54, and then another Villa trey extended the lead to 68-56. As time ticked under five to play, a Gardner three made it 75-60 before free throws from Villa and Gardner in the final minutes sealed the 82-70 win.
RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS
- Tara Wallack's 15 points put her at 1,149 for her career, moving up to 17th in program history.
- Wallack's two blocks puts her at 146 for her career, fifth all-time at WSU.
- Wallack had 10 rebounds, putting her at 604 career boards, 27 from 10th all time at WSU.
- With 35 minutes tonight, Wallack has played 3,619 career minutes, fifth all-time at WSU.
- Wallack is also 341 minutes away from matching the most in program history.
- Coach Ethridge now has 192 career wins as a head coach, eight from 200.
NOTES
- With 11 made threes tonight and 10 on Monday at Oregon State, the Cougs have recorded 10+ threes in back-to-back games for the first time since 2022 when they made 10 against each Jackson State (12/17) and A&M Corpus Christi (12/19).
UP NEXT
The Cougs stay in Pullman to host San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 12 p.m. noon. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Greg Heister and Stephanie Hawk Freeman on the call.
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