Temperatures may be in the single digits (or below zero) in Pullman this weekend. Still, the Cougs hope their shooting percentages versus the Huskies in Seattle will be nowhere close to the single digits, as it was the first quarter of their last meeting.
In the first quarter of the Pullman edition of the Apple Cup, WSU women’s basketball (11-5, 0-3 Pac-12) shot 6.7% in the first quarter, making one shot in 10 minutes. UW (11-3, 1-2 Pac-12) did not have the finest quarter either, scoring 10 points, but the string of missed opportunities made the Cougars play catchup for the rest of the game.
WSU trailed by as many as 21 points near halftime before hitting their groove in the second half to trail by as few as 2 points in the game’s final minutes. It proved to be too little, too late as the missed opportunities of the first half, particularly the first quarter haunted the Cougs.
Head coach Kamie Ethridge said what frustrated her the most about their Apple Cup effort in December was the type of shots they left on the floor, but commended her team for the pair of high-quality efforts against two of the better teams in the Pac-12 over the weekend.
Against a top-10 Stanford squad, WSU hung around the entire game, combating Stanford’s runs with their own. Against Cal, WSU showed up in big moments throughout the game. Charlisse Leger-Walker hit an iconic 3-pointer to send the Cougs and Bears to overtime, where the lead changed eight times. What hurt the Cougs in the end was their inability to rebound the ball as Cal took their second chance to take the final lead of the game. Cal 73 WSU 72 in OT.
“Tough position, tough league. Not happy about being 0-3 in the last three games,” Ethridge said. “But honestly there’s so many good things and positives from this last weekend.”
Charlisse Leger-Walker did not hit a single 3-pointer in December. In her first game of 2024 on the farm, she hit five 3-pointers for the first time since the Pac-12 Championship.
Leger-Walker raised her season shooting percentage to 39.6% and her 3-point percentage to 23.6%.
Leger-Walker’s pair of 20-point performances gave her a slight scoring edge over senior center Bella Murekatete at 13.9 to Murekatete’s 13.7 points per game.
Murekatete continues to step up for the Cougs. Her fifth year in the Crimson and Gray is shaping up to be her best. The senior center from Rwanda has collected a team-leading 7.8 rebounds per game, and shot a career-best and team-leading 55.9% from the floor.
The Huskies bring a slightly younger lineup to the floor in head coach Tina Langley’s third year in the Emerald City.
“Tina [Langley] has done a great job,” Ethridge said.
In her third year as UW head coach, the Huskies have gotten better each year.
In Langley’s first season, the Huskies won seven games. In 2022–23, they were 19-15 and made a deep WNIT run.
In 2023–24, the Huskies have kept pace with the wild west of the Pac-12 and seek to challenge for an NCAA Tournament appearance. A second win over in-state rival Wazzu, a team that under Ethridge has appeared in the tournament in each of the last three seasons, would go a long way to cementing the Huskies’ resume.
Seattle native Dalayah Daniels leads the Huskies in scoring with 11.3 points per game. She achieved this with not a single made 3-pointer this session. Daniels also leads her team in rebounds with 6.7 per game.
Junior Lauren Schwartz provided the Cougars with a nightmare-inducing performance. She scored 20 points versus WSU in December and made each of her three 3-pointers.
The Huskies won 60-55 in December thanks in large part to WSU’s shooting woes and their inability to properly guard the Huskies guards, Ethridge said.
Sophomore guard Hannah Stines scored 21 and made 3-of-4 3-pointers and 8-of-14 from the field versus the Cougs in December.
When the Cougars and Huskies meet Sunday afternoon, they may be without sophomore guard Astera Tuhina for a third straight game. As Tuhina deals with a lower leg injury, freshman Eleonora Villa has stepped up. Although she has struggled at times to call plays as she improves her English skills, Ethridge said she wants to see more of her dynamic playing style and aggressive offensive attack.
Ethridge said Villa’s comfort level goes down when she does not have Tuhina or Leger-Walker on the floor with her, but that she showed great poise playing Stanford and Cal in this position.
WSU seeks its first Pac-12 win versus UW at noon Sunday at the Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. Cougars and Dawgs alike can watch the game on Pac-12 Washington.
