While adverse weather conditions prevented many fans and the band from attending the game, WSU women’s basketball emphatically beat South Dakota State, 61-41.

Contrary to what the 20-point difference may suggest, the Cougs could not burrow the Jackrabbits until the second quarter. In the first quarter, it appeared the Cougs had cold feet about a week removed from their trip to Hawaii and their last game.

They shot 21.4% from the field and were outscored 16-8 in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, WSU kept the reigning Women’s National Invitational Tournament Champion Jackrabbits at bay, as they did not allow a single field goal.

Their shooting warmed up a bit too as they outscored South Dakota State 13-3 on 33.3% to hold a 21-19 halftime lead.

The Cougs really found themselves in the third quarter when they scored 23 points on a blistering 8-for-11 clip (72.7%) and allowed only 10 points.

The Cougs held their ground and then some outscoring the Jackrabbits for the third straight quarter, 17-12 to close out the game and lock in a 61-41 win.

Although the Cougs did not hit the 80-point mark, they did not need to with the exceptional pressure they placed on SDSU.

Bella Murekatete recorded her third double-double in four games with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Johanna Teder scored her season-high of 17 points on a 6-for-10 day in which she made three 3-pointers.

Charlisse Leger-Walker has cooled off after her electric first week of the season that landed her Pac-12 Player of the Week honors but that is understandable given the increased quality of competition the Cougs are facing.

Leger-Walker scored 13 points but missed nine shots.

Tara Wallack has emerged as a consistent starter for WSU to begin her second year on the Palouse.

Wallack recorded her third double-digit performance in four games with 10 points on a 5-for-11 shooting day.

Astera Tuhina was 0-for-4 from the field against the toughest competition she has faced yet in her young career.

After a rough first quarter, the Cougars delivered three-quarters of dominance to defeat their toughest home out-of-conference opponent in convincing fashion.

They shot 40% from the field Monday night. However, against a stout SDSU defense who defeated now No. 18 Louisville 65-55, Nov. 21, shooting as well as they did down the stretch and holding the Jackrabbits to no field goals throughout the entire second quarter is a fantastic performance.

The Cougs also prevented a single opponent from scoring in double digits. The Jackrabbits’ leading scorer Myah Selland who lit her previous opponents on fire by averaging over 30 points per game, scored a season-low 7 points against the Cougs.

Although they have not received national attention in the form of rankings yet, the Cougs are staying the course in their out-of-conference schedule in an unbelievably tough conference where six out of 12 teams have lost one game and four are undefeated.

“I couldn’t be happier that we held a team like that to 41 points. Especially with how slow things were for us in the first quarter. I liked our response and the shots we got early,” head coach Kamie Ethridge said.

WSU women’s basketball is next in action at 6 p.m., Friday at Beasley Coliseum.