WSU women’s basketball was in full swing as they secured their first win over Saint Martin’s 89-38.

The Cougars looked very promising under head coach Kamie Ethridge, who enters her fourth season with the Cougars. Through her, the Cougars improved their win total in each season as the Cougars were able to earn 12 wins last season, securing a spot for them in the NCAA Tournament.

“It just feels great to be back in the gym and back with fans. Our team was super excited to get out and play,” Ethridge said. “I feel like [the players] needed that because they feel like they’ve been caged up for a while. I really liked the energy and maturity of our team. I feel like we are in a really good place, but we have a lot to grow on.”

The Cougars are 3-0 in exhibition games under Ethridge with the last exhibition back on Oct. 31, 2019, when the Cougars beat the Beijing Normal from China 71-63.

The Cougars were able to dominate and have great chemistry as a team against Saint Martin’s.

The starting five for the Cougars were senior Ula Motuga, junior Bella Murekatete, fifth-year Krystal Leger-Walker, junior Johanna Teder and sophomore Charlisse Leger-Walker who had a conference-best of 18.8 points per game last season. 

The Cougars proved to be dynamic on offense, as the largest lead before the game ended was 49 points in the fourth quarter (85-36) and the largest run for the Cougars was 16-0. Motuga led the way for the Cougars as she recorded 17 points and seven rebounds. 

The dynamic Leger-Walker sister duo was displayed as Charlisse was able to move the ball around and Krystal led the team in assists with 11. The sisters were able to take the Pac-12 by storm last year as Krystal led the conference in total assists last season with 109, while Charlisse ended the regular season as the Pac-12’s leader in total points with 434.

On Nov. 5, the Cougars will be back in Beasley Stadium for their second and final exhibition game of the preseason against Northwest Nazarene from Nampa, Idaho.