WASHINGTON STATE (19-12, 14-6 WCC) VS. PACIFIC (15-17, 9-11 WCC)
Sunday, Mar. 9, 2025 // 2 p.m. PT
Las Vegas, Nev. // Orleans Center
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Pullman Radio KQQQ, 1150 AM (Steve Grubbs pXp)
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Washington State women's basketball enters the 2025 Credit Union 1 WCC Championship as the No. 3 seed, earning a triple-bye into the quarterfinals, and will play Pacific on Sunday, March 9 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Ann Schatz and Mary Murphy on the call.
NEXT UP
With a win, the Cougars would advance to the semifinals to take on No. 2-seeded Portland on Monday, March 10 at 2:30 p.m. With a loss, WSU would be eliminated from the tournament.
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
One of the top-blocking teams in the nation, WSU ended the regular season at 19-12 and 14-6 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 ranks third in the nation with a program record 192 total blocks, and with 6.2 blocks per game. Offensively, the Cougs are shooting .423 from the field and .321 from deep while averaging 67.7 points per game.
RECORD BOOK CLIMBERS AND MILESTONE CHASERS
>>
Tara Wallack has 1,259 career points, ranking 14th in program history.
>> Wallack ranks second all-time at WSU with 159 career blocks.
>> Wallack has played 3,871 career minutes, third all-time at WSU.
>> Wallack is also 89 minutes away from matching the most in program history.
>> Wallack has 653 career rebounds, ninth all-time at WSU.
>>
Alex Covill has 105 career blocks, eighth all-time in program history.
>> With 224 made threes this season, WSU is 2 makes from breaking the program's single-season record.
>> Head Coach
Kamie Ethridge has 197 career wins as a head coach, three away from 200.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the seventh-ever meeting between Washington State and Pacific after the Cougars went 2-0 against them this season, with WSU winning in Stockton, 74-66 on Dec. 30, and in Pullman, on Jan. 30. Prior to that, the two teams hadn't played each other since 1989 - 35 years ago. WSU is 4-2 all-time against Pacific, having defeated them in 1989 and 1984, both in Pullman. Before that, Pacific had won their first two meetings in Stockton in 1980 and 1983.
STACKING BLOCKS
WSU has been one of the top blocking teams in the nation, ranking third in all of NCAA DI with 192 total blocks behind only Southern California (205) and Kentucky (199), and third in blocks per game (6.2) behind Southern California (7.1) and Kentucky (6.9). The team's 192 blocks lead the WCC by a margin of 58 blocks over Portland (134), and WSU's 6.2 blocks per game is 1.9 blocks ahead of the second-highest number of 4.3 per game, also held by Portland.
THE BEST ABILITY IS AVAILABILITY
Senior
Tara Wallack has started 101 consecutive games, having started every game for the Cougs dating back to the team's 2022-23 season opener.
PASS IT ON
Junior point guard
Astera Tuhina has a career-high 112 assists this season, ranking seventh in the WCC. She has recorded 100+ assists in back-to-back seasons, finishing last year with an even 100.
GOOD FROM DOWNTOWN
As a team, the Cougars have 224 made threes this season, two shy of breaking the program's single-season record of 225 set in last year's 2023-24 season.
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, Mendes and Abraham have accrued the most minutes thus far, averaging 17.5 and 17.1 minutes, respectively. Mendes is averaging 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting at a 42.1 percent clip from the floor, and has recorded three double-doubles this season. Abraham is shooting 38.7 percent from the floor and 37.0 percent from deep. 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 42.6 percent from the floor in 11.7 minutes per game. Alsina is a plus defender with 19 steals and 13 blocks at 11.2 minutes per game, and has played in every game for the Cougs this season, tied for seventh in the nation among freshmen with 30 games played. Dart is averaging 1.4 points, shooting 45.0 percent from the field over 5.0 minutes per game, and Chiu is averaging 0.9 points over 6.8 minutes per game.
POSTSEASON AWARDS
Washington State women's basketball had five named All-WCC, headlined by
Tara Wallack with an All-WCC First Team nod, while
Eleonora Villa was named Second Team,
Astera Tuhina was Honorable Mention, and
Charlotte Abraham and
Dayana Mendes were each named to the All-Freshman Team. The Cougs also had five earn WCC All-Academic.
Eleonora Villa led the way, being named to the WCC All-Academic Team, while
Alex Covill,
Astera Tuhina,
Jenna Villa and
Tara Wallack all earned All-Academic Honorable Mention.
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 on March 4 that Head Coach
Kamie Ethridge has signed a one-year contract extension keeping her in Pullman through the 2030-31 season.
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).
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