Astera Tuhina caught the quick pass from Jessica Clarke, dribbled once and let it fly. All anyone could do was watch as the ball flew through the air and met the net with authority. The 1,700 fans in attendance made a joyful noise and the band, who typically begin playing the fight song immediately following the buzzer took a few seconds to suspend their disbelief.
AT had hit the buzzer-beater more than half-court shot to tie the game at 34 going into the break. The Cougs, who previously trailed by 13 with 5:25 left in the second quarter had gone on a 18-5 run to close the second half.
“I was behind the play and I was like, No way and then it went in and l was like ‘That’s AT for you.” It was cool to see., junior guard Tara Wallack said.
“Yeah, it was unbelievable,” freshman guard Eleonora Villa said.
Despite the glimmering rainbow of hope the Cougs took into the locker room, WSU women’s basketball (15-8, 4-6 Pac-12) lost to No. 20 Utah (17-6, 7-4) 73-61. Utah sank 13 3-pointers and five players score in double figures to eliminate any chance of a Cougar comeback.
Inês Vieira set the tone for the Utes in the first quarter with the first of her two 3-pointers on the Utes’ first possession. Utah sank a modest four of its 13 threes in the first.
Tuhina got the Cougs on the board with a jumper to cut the Ute lead to one with 8:12 to go in the first.
Alissa Pili, the reigning Pac-12 scoring champion, sank her lone 3-pointer of the day on the next possession.
WSU senior center Bella Murekatete put together a personal 3-0 run with a free throw and a layup before Kennady McQueen sank the first of her three 3-pointers to push the Ute lead back to two scores, 9-5.
Eleonora Villa knew how to respond. On the next possession, she made her first of three 3-pointers to cut the Ute lead to one.
Eleonora Villa paced the Cougs with 15 points on a night in which only one of her shots was not a 3-pointer. She sank three threes and drew contact on her drives finding her way to the free throw line twice and not wasting the opportunity. She was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity strip.
Utah used their physicality in the paint to forge a 6-0 run with nothing but layups and Viera made her second 3-pointer.
WSU fifth-year transfer Beyonce Bea found the net before another Tuhina jumper and Murekatete layup left the Cougs down by four after 10 minutes.
The Cougs had their finest offensive quarter in the second, thanks to AT’s miracle shot and the starters stepping up.
The Utes opened the second quarter with an 11-2 run and led by 13 with 5:25 to go in the second.
Then the Cougs turned on the jets. Bea made another layup and the Cougs showed flashes of brilliance of defense over the next minute. Eleonora Villa snagged the steal off of a bad pass and on the Utes’ next possession Murekatete followed Utah’s Isabel Palmer to the rim where the ball was reintroduced to Murekatete’s hand. Murekatete secured the rebound following her block and jettisoned the ball to Wallack who connected from beyond the arc for the fastbreak three.
Palmer found the net from beyond the arc on the next possession, but the Cougs stepped up with a 10-0 run fueled by another Wallack 3-pointer, a Murekatete layup and another Eleonora Villa 3-pointer followed by two Ela free throws. The Cougs were within 1 point of the Utes with 24 seconds remaining in the half.
Pili put Utah on the board for the first time in over three minutes to extend the Utah lead to three, but the half was not over. Tuhina’s miracle nearly ¾ court shot tied the game at 34. The Cougs had rallied.
“Going into the second half, we had the motivation to keep scoring, especially after AT hit that half-court shot we were like okay, we’re in this, we got this,’” Wallack said.
Head coach Kamie Ethridge knew that her team’s first-half rally showed the potential of her team.
“Just the fight to come back after being down, I think we’re down 13 I mean, that’s that’s the potential of our team,” Ethridge said. “Again, a lot of those moments and times that we counted on were Charlisse, so we’ve got to fill those gaps.”
In the second half, the Utes built a lead that would stick by sinking seven 3-pointers. Ethridge said the Cougs’ efforts to combat Pili’s effectiveness were moderately successful but opened up opportunities on the perimeter for the Utes to cash in on the long ball.
“I don’t know how many times we played 25 seconds of good defense and then they got a wide-open three,” Ethridge said.
The third quarter became the Villa show for the Cougs. Eleonora Villa did not miss a shot from the floor for the free throw line to score 7 and Jenna Villa scored 5 with a 3-pointer and a block.
After scoring nothing in Friday’s loss to Colorado, the Cougar bench scored 10 points versus the Utes. Ethridge said the bench’s role with Leger-Walker out for the season remains a work in progress as younger players step into bigger roles.
“There’s nine healthy. We got to get more production out of everybody, you know, and so everything’s on the table for us right now,” Ethridge said.
The pattern of needing to play better in the post persisted, Sunday. The Cougs got six second-chance points to Utah’s seven and were outscored in the paint 30-22.
“When all else is breaking down. We’ve got to be able to throw the ball in the post and they can score it,” Ethridge said.
Wazzu scored just 9 points in the fourth quarter, scoring just three times from the floor and the rest from the free throw line.
The Cougs have to get used to life without Leger-Walker on the floor, but they can still depend on her voice in the huddle as she watches them play from the sideline.
Ethridge said Leger-Walker offered her teammates some advice at halftime.
“Being able to handle adversity and stick together a little bit better and show better body language. So I love that came from her, a teammate,” Ethridge said.
Wallack said the on-court leadership needs to come from her and the point guard position with Leger-Walker out for the season.
“Whoever’s on the court, either it’s coming from the point guard or it’s coming from me, or whoever is the oldest needs to step up and communicate more,” Wallack said. “Since we lost our biggest leader, biggest communicator, so I think it’s just a learning experience now and moving forward, how to play without Charlisse and how, who’s going to step up and be a leader.”
The Cougs hosted two ranked Pac-12 opponents and dropped both contests in their first two games without Leger-Walker. As they turn their attention to Cal, Friday and No. 4 Stanford, Sunday, Wallack said the team will take this weekend as a learning experience.
“We’re just excited. We should be motivated this week. And yeah, just get in the gym,” Wallack said.
