PULLMAN, Wash. (February 1, 2025) – Washington State women's basketball defeated San Diego 67-60 Saturday afternoon in Beasley Coliseum.

The Cougars (15-10, 10-4 WCC) led for most of the game, in part because of their production in the paint and bench. Despite missing starting center Alex Covill, the Cougs still scored 36 points in the paint.

WSU also did their job at the free throw line, going 17-of-18 and shooting at 94.4 percent from the charity stripe.
 
Tara Wallack led the game in points with 22, and added nine rebounds and two assists. 
 
Dayana Mendes had 15 points and 10 rebounds for her second career double-double.

Eleonora Villa had 13 points and two assists and Jenna Villa had nine points with three rebounds and three assists.

After both teams came out to a slow start, it was a spark off the Cougars bench that got the offense going. Mendes had a strong first quarter with seven points and four rebounds to help put the Cougars ahead 16-13.

As both teams exchanged blows, they did so with their production in the paint. Both teams grabbed 19 rebounds and San Diego scored 18 points in the paint and Wazzu scored 16. However, Wazzu still stayed ahead and exited the first half with a 34-30 lead in thanks to 11 points from Wallack, seven from Eleonora Villa and seven from Mendes.

As Wazzu stayed ahead for most of the game, San Diego stayed in striking distance, but in the third the Cougars started to pull away. Mendes drove the lane for a layup to spark an 8-2 run and put Wazzu up 49-38 for their biggest lead of the game. While San Diego found the slight edge inside the paint in the first half, the Cougars outscored the Toreros 12-4 in the paint in the third.

As the Cougars looked to close out the Toreros, they turned to Wallack. The senior had nine points in the fourth quarter to help keep San Diego at bay, and the team's 17-of-18 shooting from the free throw line attributed to the 67-60 win. 


RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS

• Tara Wallack's 22 points put her at 1,171 for her career, moving up to 15th in program history.
• Wallack's three blocks puts her at 149 for her career, moving up to fourth all-time at WSU.
• Wallack had nine rebounds, putting her at 613 career boards, 18 from 10th all time at WSU.
• With 36 minutes tonight, Wallack has played 3,654 career minutes, moving up to fourth all-time at WSU.
• Wallack is also 306 minutes away from matching the most in program history.
• Coach Ethridge now has 193 career wins as a head coach, seven from 200.

NOTES

• Tara Wallack scored 20+ points for the fourth time this season and 10th time in her career.

UP NEXT
The Cougs will have a week until their next game when they head north up highway 195 to play at Gonzaga on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

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