PORTLAND, Ore. (January 2, 2026) – Washington State women's basketball traded blows with Portland for the first half Friday night, but a decisive third-quarter run swung momentum as the Cougars fell 62-49 in West Coast Conference play at the Chiles Center.

The Cougars (2-14, 1-2 WCC) finished with 32 points in the paint and stayed competitive through the first 20 minutes before Portland capitalized on turnovers to create separation.

Malia Ruud led Washington State with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, scoring almost exclusively in the paint.

Eleonora Villa added 13 points and three assists, while Jean Chiu chipped in nine points and three steals.

WSU was steady from the start, answering Portland's early pushes and finishing the opening quarter tied 14-14. Charlotte Abraham knocked down a corner three to open the scoring, while Ruud quickly made her presence felt inside as Washington State attacked the paint. Chiu's late jumper erased a brief Portland edge and kept the game level heading into the second.

Wazzu briefly took control midway through the second quarter. Chiu jumped a passing lane and converted a fast-break layup, and Keandra Koorits followed with another transition bucket to give the Cougars a 20-19 lead. Ruud continued to score efficiently around the rim, and Villa directed traffic as WSU stayed aggressive. Portland closed the half on a short spurt, but the Cougars went to the locker room trailing just 26-24.

The turning point came early in the third. After Ruud opened the half with a steal and layup to tie the game at 26, Portland rattled off a 7-0 run fueled by turnovers and transition baskets. The Cougars answered with finishes from Villa and Koorits and a Ruud tip-in, but Portland continued to convert second chances and pushed the margin to double digits before the end of the quarter. The Pilots carried a 46-36 advantage into the fourth.

WSU kept battling in the final period, repeatedly getting to the free-throw line and forcing contact inside, but struggled to generate consistent field goals as Portland protected its lead. The Cougars went 9-of-10 at the stripe in the fourth, yet the third-quarter swing proved too much to overcome.


Notes

• Eleonora Villa's 13 points puts her at 1,201 career points, 15th in program history and 87 from 14th.
• Villa remains at 121 career made threes, 12 away from joining the WSU all-time top-10 list.
• Villa made three field goals, totaling 473 career made field goals, 27 from 500.
• Now at 2,874 career minutes played, Villa is 126 away from 3,000 and 449 from top-10 all-time at WSU.
• Alex Covill remains at 118 career blocks, seventh all-time in program history.
• Covill also has 200 career rebounds, 50 away from 250, and 341 career points, 159 from 500.
• Malia Ruud finished with 12 points, her fourth-straight 10+ point game.
• Jean Chiu had a career game with her nine points, four made field goals, five rebounds, three steals and 29 minutes all career-highs.
• Eleonora Villa matched a career-high with seven made free throws.

Up Next
The Cougars will ride north up I-5 to play Seattle U on Sunday, Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Single-game tickets for the 2025-26 Women's Basketball season are on sale now. Fans wishing to purchase tickets 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).