PULLMAN, Wash. (February 22, 2025) – Washington State women's basketball defeated Saint Mary's 72-62 Saturday afternoon in Beasley Coliseum.
The Cougars' (18-12, 13-6 WCC) explosive offense proved too much for the Gaels to keep up with. The Cougars shot 40 percent from three, making eight of them compared to Saint Mary's two makes from beyond the arc.
Defensively, the Cougs recorded four blocks which was just enough to eclipse the program's single-season record with 187, surpassing the previous record of 186 set by last year's squad.
On her senior night,
Tara Wallack scored 12 points and dished out five assists.
Dayana Mendes matched a career-high in points with 16 and grabbed six rebounds.
Astera Tuhina had 10 points, four rebounds and dished out three assists.
Charlotte Abraham had 10 points with two triples off the bench.
It was a slow scoring affair in the early stages, then an
Eleonora Villa three sparked a 9-0 Wazzu run to give the Cougs control of the lead 18-15 at the end of the first.
After the Gaels cut into the Cougar lead, they only trailed by one when in the second quarter the Cougars sparked another run. Two consecutive Tuhina triples helped fuel a 12-1 run to give Wazzu a 30-18 lead.
The Cougars dominated on both ends in the second quarter, shooting 62 percent from the field and 50 percent from three while holding the Gaels to 36 percent from the field and a 25 percent clip from three to close out the half with a 38-25 lead.
With the Gaels trying to mount a comeback, Mendes helped keep Saint Mary's at bay. The Wazzu freshman scored seven points in the third quarter, and despite Saint Mary's nailing a last second three, the Cougars still led 58-43.
To start the final quarter, the Cougars caught fire again. Seven unanswered points to open the quarter put the Cougs up 63-43, their largest lead of the game, before unloading the bench to close out the 72-62 victory.
RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS
- Tara Wallack's 12 points puts her at 1,248 for her career, 14th in program history.
- Wallack has 158 career blocks, tied for second all-time at WSU.
- Wallack had three rebounds, putting her at 643 career boards, 10th all time at WSU.
- With 34 minutes tonight, Wallack has played 3,839 career minutes, third all-time at WSU.
- Wallack is also 121 minutes away from matching the most in program history.
- Wallack started her 100th consecutive games dating back to the team's 2022-23 season opener.
- Coach Ethridge has 196 career wins as a head coach, four from 200.
- With the team's four blocks today, they broke the program record for blocks in a season with 187.
UP NEXT
The Cougs play one more WCC regular season game next week at Pepperdine on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
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