WASHINGTON STATE (16-11, 11-5 WCC) AT PORTLAND (23-3, 12-3 WCC)
Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025 // 3 p.m. PT
Portland, Ore. // Chiles Center
Watch | ESPN+
Listen | Pullman Radio KQQQ, 1150 AM (Steve Grubbs pXp)
Live Stats | Statbroadcast


Washington State women's basketball heads west for Portland to face the Pilots on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Bryan Sleik and Jen Mountain on the call.

NEXT UP
The Cougs have their final home games of the season next week, hosting San Francisco on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. for Fan Appreciation Night, and then Saint Mary's on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. for Senior Day.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
One of the top-blocking teams in the nation, WSU is 16-11 this season and 11-5 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 175 total blocks and ranks third with 6.5 blocks per game. Offensively, the Cougs are shooting .424 from the field and .321 from deep while averaging 67.6 points per game.

RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS
>> Tara Wallack has 1,201 career points, ranking 14th in program history.
>> Wallack ranks third all-time at WSU with 157 career blocks.
>> Wallack has played 3,735 career minutes, fourth all-time at WSU.
>> Wallack is also 225 minutes away from matching the most in program history.
>> Wallack has started 97 consecutive games dating back to the team's 2022-23 season opener, three from 100.
>> Wallack has 623 career rebounds, eight away from 10th all-time at WSU.
>> Alex Covill has 105 career blocks, eighth all-time in program history.
>> Head Coach Kamie Ethridge has 194 career wins as a head coach, six away from 200.

SERIES HISTORY
Portland leads the series 7-2 over their nine all-time meetings, with UP winning the most recent matchup earlier this season, 83-65 on Jan. 23 in Pullman. Prior to this year, WSU beat the Pilots in 2022, 69-63 in Portland. Before that, UP 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 175 total blocks, and ranking third in blocks per game (6.5) behind only Southern California (7.3) and Kentucky (6.9). The team's 175 blocks lead the WCC by a margin of 66 blocks over Portland (109), and WSU's 6.5 blocks per game is 2.3 blocks ahead of the second-highest number of 4.2 per game, also held by Portland.

PASS IT ON
Junior point guard Astera Tuhina has 101 assists this season, ranking fifth in the WCC. She has recorded 100+ assists in back-to-back seasons, finishing last year with an even 100.

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 16.9 and 17.0 minutes, respectively. Abraham is shooting 37.2 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from deep. Mendes is averaging 7.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting at a 42.5 percent clip from the floor, and has recorded three double-doubles this season. 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 43.6 percent from the floor in 11.8 minutes per game. Alsina is a plus defender with 17 steals and 11 blocks at 11.6 minutes per game, and has played in every game for the Cougs this season, leading all freshmen in the nation with 27 games played. Dart is averaging 1.7 points, shooting 47.4 percent from the field over 5.6 minutes per game, and Chiu is averaging 1.0 points over 7.3 minutes per game.

PRESEASON POLL
The Cougs were picked to finish second by the WCC coaches and media this year, the best conference 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).