WSU women’s basketball is 0-3 against Pac-12 Conference teams, but it might be the most encouraging 0-3 imaginable.
“Really feel good about where we are, even though we’re 0-3,” head coach Kamie Ethridge said.
WSU (11-6, 0-3 Pac-12) has lost each of its first three games against the best conference in college women’s basketball by five points, nine points and one point.
In their loss to UW, the Cougs made 1-of-15 first-quarter shots for what Coug fans hope is a program-worse 6.7% from the floor. WSU trailed 10-2 after 10 minutes, by 20 at the half and shrunk the deficit to 2 points in the final minute before the Dawgs pulled away to win.
After the game, Charlisse Leger-Walker did not hide her displeasure.
“It is really frustrating knowing, you know, that we don’t even really recognize who that is,” Leger-Walker said. “And that first half and just kind of showing or proving to ourselves, you know that we’re so much better than that. And so, losing this way, sucks.”
WSU returned from the holiday break with a tough trip to the Bay Area. The Cougs played a tight game against Stanford, staying within three or fewer scores for the majority of the game. The Cougs fell behind by 15 points late in the game but forced their way back, thanks to an 11-0 run which included back-to-back 3-pointers from Jenna Villa and Leger-Walker’s fifth 3-pointer of the game. It proved to be too little too late as Stanford drained the final 1:25 by drawing fouls and hitting their shots.
Against Cal, the Cougar offense played lights-out shooting near 58% in the second and fourth quarters. Leger-Walker tied the game with a three before Cal and WSU traded the lead eight times.
As OT expired, Cal grabbed the final lead of the game off of a second-chance layup. The Cougars allowed Cal to grab the ball and failed to pick up their first conference win.
The reigning Pac-12 Champions returned to the court with four starters, including All-Conference seniors Leger-Walker and Bella Murekatete along with sophomore Astera Tuhina and junior Tara Wallack.
With the loss of starting forward Ula Motuga, WSU added Idaho graduate transfer Beyonce Bea, who in November became one of nine active players in NCAA Division I basketball with 2,000 career points. Bea left Idaho as the program’s second-leading scorer.
Ethridge’s staff welcomed a talented freshman class which includes Italy’s Eleonora Villa and Arlington, Washington’s Jenna Villa (no relation).
The Cougs have gathered landmark wins over now-No. 21 Gonzaga 77-72 (OT) and a 13-point comeback over Maryland in Cancun.
Their three non-conference losses (59-48 loss to Green Bay on the final day of the Cancun Challenge and a 60-55 loss to UW in Pullman) have led Ethridge to talk about the Cougars’ “lack of intensity.” For WSU, a lack of intensity after spending Thanksgiving break in Cancun, Mexico led to shooing 34.6% from the floor against Green Bay.
Even when the Cougs win, they have not made it easy on themselves. Their 77-52 win over UC Davis (6-8, 2-2 Big West), Dec. 1 encapsulated a lot of the Cougars’ early struggles.
The Cougs played three sloppy quarters, shooting 37% in the first half and taking a game-low 14 shots in the third quarter, before exploding for 28 fourth-quarter points at a 50% clip (11-for-22).
In the wake of WSU’s first loss of the season to Green Bay, Ethridge said she told her team to be “a beast in the paint,” each time they step into the paint.
The Cougs never conceded the lead against UC Davis but did not make things easy for themselves on the offensive side of the ball.
UC Davis came within three points of the Cougs near the end of the third, but WSU made sure any glimmer of hope did not last long. WSU pulled away thanks to 28 fourth-quarter points as Bella Muraktete and Astera Tuhina each scored 8 of their 15 and 18 points respectively in the fourth.
Now in the midst of the Pac-12 Conference schedule, Ethridge knows the challenge in front of her team.
“I don’t think there’s any easy games on our schedule,” Ethridge said.
With five ranked teams and six capable teams, the burden to excel is on each of the 10 active players on WSU’s roster
“Part of growing as this new team is getting that chemistry right, getting that leadership right and getting young players to step into some really big-time roles and have confidence and make plays.”
The Cougars have come a long way since they scored 2 points in the first quarter at home against UW one month ago. Although their turnaround has not shone up in their record yet, the attention to detail and consistent energy in practice has improved, Ethridge said.
With a blazing offense and an additional month’s worth of experience since the last meeting, WSU plays UW at noon, Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.
