MORAGA, Calif. (January 9, 2025) – Washington State women's basketball used an explosive second half to down Saint Mary's 66-57 on the road Thursday night.
  
The Cougars (10-7, 5-1 WCC) won on the boards, out-rebounding the Gaels 42-26 and 17-5 on offensive boards while outscoring them 15-2 on second chance points.

WSU had four players in double-digit scoring, led by Eleonora Villa with 16 points to go with three assists, two steals and five rebounds.

Jenna Villa went 3-of-6 from deep and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line to finish with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Dayana Mendes led the team with eight rebounds while adding five points, two assists and a block, while Tara Wallack had a team-best two blocks along with 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Alex Covill recorded her fourth-straight game scoring in double-figures as she finished with 10 points, three rebounds, a block and a steal.

Kyra Gardner added a pair of threes, tallying six points, three rebounds and a steal.

Covill got the scoring started with a pair of layups before three free throws each from Wallack and Jenna Villa put WSU ahead 10-8 midway through what was a back-and-forth first quarter. The two teams continued to trade points until the first quarter ended with SMCC out in front 16-14.

Momentum for the Gaels carried into the second as they used a 7-2 spurt to extend their lead to 23-16. The Cougs came roaring back though, using the 3-ball as Gardner splashed a pair of threes and then Jenna Villa connected from deep to highlight an 11-2 run and put WSU on top, 27-25 with 5:20 left in the first half. SMCC would take the lead back 34-27 with nine unanswered points before a couple of layups from Covill sent the game into halftime with the Gaels leading 36-31.

WSU came out firing in the second half with an 11-0 run using threes from Eleonora Villa, Wallack and Jenna Villa to take a 42-38 lead. Teams began trading buckets from there, and layups from Covill and Wallack and an Eleonora Villa triple helped the Cougs take a 51-45 lead into the fourth quarter.

Points were hard to come by for both teams to start the fourth, as a Wallack layup and Mendes free throw stretched the WSU lead to 54-47 with 4:55 to play. Mendes added a layup and Jenna Villa hit a trey for her third three of the game to make it 59-47. Saint Mary's would inch back to within five, 60-55 with two minutes remaining, but the Cougs would hang on using free throws from Wallack and Jenna Villa before Eleonora Villa drove in for a layup and converted on the 3-point play to all but seal the 66-57 win.

RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS 
•    Tara Wallack's 11 points put her at 1,073 for her career, ranking 19th in program history.
•    Wallack's two blocks puts her at 133 career blocks, sixth all-time at WSU.
•    With 38 minutes today, she has played 3,402 career minutes, seventh all-time at WSU.
•    Wallack is also 558 minutes away from matching the most in program history.
•    Tonight's start was the 97th of Wallack's career, three away from 100.
•    Alex Covill's one block today has her at 89 career blocks, four away from entering the WSU all-time top-10 list.
•    Coach Ethridge now has 188 career wins as a head coach, 12 from 200.

NOTES 
•    WSU's +16 rebounding margin (42-26) was the largest for the team since going +26 (46-20) last season against Houston on Dec. 17, 2023.
•    Tara Wallack went 1-of-4 from beyond the arc for her 100th career made 3-pointer.

UP NEXT 
The Cougs return home to host Gonzaga on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 12 p.m. noon. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

FOLLOW US 
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