Injuries have been an unfortunate theme for the 2023–24 WSU women’s basketball team. The season began with injuries already plaguing the team and since then, things have really only gotten worse.
Charlisse Leger-Walker left the Cougs bout with UCLA early and never returned to the court of action. Head coach Kamie Ethridge said post-game that while the team waits for an official diagnosis, they are preparing for Leger-Walker’s season to be over.
Losing their primary playmaker, scorer and leader has just been yet another unfortunate development for a team facing a lot of adversity coming off the back of their Pac-12 Championship season.
Astera Tuhina, another primary ball handler for the Cougs has been dealing with an injury for a while, an injury that has kept her out of action since Dec. 20, 2023. Luckily, Ethridge said that she is expected to return for this upcoming weekend of games but will take time to get back to 100% on the court.
Completely missing their primary playmaker and getting only a percentage of their other ball handler will mean that the team will continue to rely on their freshman and young producers. Missing Leger-Walker means they really need to step up their ball movement.
In the ‘23–24 season, Leger-Walker has been responsible for 29.8% of the team’s total assists. Adding Tuhina in the mix and the team is missing 45.7% of their total assists for the season.
It has not only been new injuries impacting the Cougs as Johanna Teder, who has averaged over 26.5 minutes per game in each of the past three seasons, has been out the entire year. Jessica Clarke did not play her first minutes of the season until Dec. 10, 2023, and has averaged just 7.0 minutes per game after averaging 11.0 last season.
But the team has a lot of good young talent stepping up. Players like Kyra Gardner, who got 17 minutes on the floor in the huge upset win over the Bruins. The 17 minutes tied her highest mark of the season and it was her highest total since Nov. 24, when she had the same mark in a win over Massachusetts.
Gardner is a part of the piece of the puzzle that has been replacing the production of injured players. More vital guards to this piece have been the Villa’s. Both Eleonora Villa and Jenna Villa have proven time and time again to make the big plays in big moments. Also proving vital has been Alex Covill, who has taken over the role of backup center and has already proven to be a super important rim protector for the WSU defense.
“We get the right kids with the right competitiveness,” Ethridge said. “Jenna has some grit to her … She’s just not afraid of the moment.”
Eleonora Villa has effectively been the new Tuhina, averaging 30.4 minutes per game and playing at least 35 minutes in each of the past six games.
Against UCLA, Eleonora Villa played 37 minutes and finished with 18 points, three assists and shot 40% from three.
“Amazing performance for the freshman. Amazing performance for someone who really hasn’t played point guard,” Ethridge said.
It has not been all newcomers stepping up, however. Take for example, Tara Wallack, who has continued to be a key member of the team and has played in all 21 games, playing 28.7 minutes per game. She has increased her scoring average to 10.1 from 9.4 last season, her free-throw percentage has jumped to 85.7% from 67.1%, and her overall shooting percentage has improved to 50.3% from 45.0%.
“[Tara] is competing at such a high level, I’m so impressed with her. Need her in every way,” Ethridge said.
Ethridge has her team at 15-6 overall despite all the injury complications, but they are also just 4-4 in Pac-12 play. With tough matchups coming up against Colorado (twice), Utah (twice), Stanford and more, it will be an uphill battle for the team in their battle for positioning, but the team is already proving they are ready for any new challenge thrown their way.
