PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State women's basketball defeated Westmont 71-46 Sunday afternoon at Beasley Coliseum.
The Cougars held Westmont to 11 points before halftime and used a 10-0 run spanning the second and third quarters. WSU closed out the win after holding Westmont without a field goal in the first quarter and scoreless for the final 4:37 of the second.
Alex Covill finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Eleonora Villa scored 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting and added three assists and two steals.
Mackenzie Chatfield added 12 points and four assists.
Malia Ruud collected seven rebounds, including two offensive boards, and scored seven points.
The Cougars built a 7-0 lead, with Villa assisting Covill’s opening layup and Charlotte Abraham’s 3-pointer before Villa’s steal led to another Covill layup at 7:22. After Westmont made two free throws, WSU scored eight straight on a Covill free throw, Covill putback, Villa 3-pointer off an Elizaveta Filchagina assist and Villa jumper to make it 15-2 at 3:00. Westmont added four free throws, but the Cougars held the visitors without a field goal in the quarter and closed with Filchagina’s two free throws in the final 13 seconds for an 18-6 lead.
Malvina Haziri opened the second with a 3-pointer off a Tanja Valancic assist, and after Westmont made two free throws, Haziri hit another 3-pointer off a Gianella Espedale assist to put Wazzu ahead 24-8. Covill added a layup and Abraham knocked down a 3-pointer before a Westmont jumper brought the score to 29-11 at 4:37. The Cougars held Westmont scoreless the rest of the quarter, getting two Chatfield layups and a Villa layup while Westmont missed its final five shots and committed four turnovers before holding a halftime lead of 35-11.
WSU started the third with two Valancic layups off Chatfield assists, and Covill added another layup to make it 41-13 at 8:50. Westmont hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 42-21 at 6:35 before the Cougars answered with inside scoring from Ruud, Abraham and Chatfield, with Covill adding a block, rebound and assist. Covill, Chatfield and Ruud added late layups to move Wazzu to 56-26, and after Westmont converted a layup and free throw, Ruud split two free throws as the Cougs ended the quarter ahead 57-29.
Westmont scored first in the fourth on a fast-break layup after a steal at 9:37, but WSU got layups from Villa at 8:49 and 7:35 to move the score to 61-31. Westmont produced its main scoring stretch with a 3-pointer, jumper, two free throws and another 3-pointer, while Ruud added a layup for the Cougars. Wazzu followed with free throws from Chatfield, Espedale and Covill before Espedale hit a 3-pointer off Chatfield’s assist at 2:06 for a 71-44 lead. Westmont scored its final basket with 59 seconds left as the Cougars closed out a 71-46 win.
Notes
- Washington State limited Westmont to 13 field goals on 56 attempts.
- The Cougars produced 26 makes on 55 shots.
- Washington State held a 38-14 advantage in points in the paint.
- WSU held a 19-10 edge in points off turnovers as Westmont committed 20 turnovers.
- A 10-0 run paired with a nine-possession scoreless stretch for Westmont gave the game one of its clearest sustained swings.
Up next, WSU travels to Berkeley, Calif., to face California Monday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. and tip-off the 2026-27 regular season.