Days removed from the “saddest, happy day” in WSU women’s basketball history in which the Cougars upset the No. 2 UCLA Bruins in Pauley Pavilion, but lost program legend Charlisse Leger-Walker to a season-ending knee injury, the Cougs returned to Beasley Coliseum to host the No. 6 Colorado Buffaloes. The Cougs (15-8, 4-6 Pac-12) showed off their talent and skill for 40 minutes, leading as late as 5:39 to go in the game before losing to No. 6 Colorado (19-3, 9-2) 63-57.
Junior guard Tara Wallack paced the Cougs with 19 points while sophomore guard Astera Tuhina, in her first game back from injury since Dec. 20, 2023, scored 15 points and made over half of her shots.
Head coach Kamie Ethridge said the Cougars failed to consistently create opportunities to score in the post, despite early success.
“We emphasize running first post down and I think we did a great job in that today. And that’s just easy buckets,” Wallack said.
A systemic offensive hiccup combined with Colorado senior guard Fredia Foreman’s 27 points and six 3-pointers sank the Cougars’ hopes of beating a top-10 team.
“I can’t fault our effort. I can’t fault how hard we played,” Ethridge said.
First Quarter
Wallack drew a foul inside of the game’s first minute and made both free throws. Seventy seconds later, she sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Cougars their first lead of the night, 5-4.
Senior center Bella Murekatete did what she has done all year with a pair of excellent jumpers to get the Cougs early points. Murekatete scored 4 points in the first quarter, did not score in the second and scored once in each of the third and fourth quarters.
While just 35% of the Cougars’ shots fell in the first quarter, the Cougs matched or exceeded the top 10 Buffs’ intensity, snagging three steals in the first half and blocking two shots.
“I think we got a lot of great shots,” Tuhina said. “We just didn’t make them.”
Fifth-year transfer forward Beyonce Bea made her best cornerback impression with a snag of a Colorado pass late in the first quarter. The Cougs could not convert the possession into points as freshman Jenna Villa’s 3-point attempt rimmed out and the game remained tied 9-9 late in the first.
In her first game back on the floor in six weeks, Tuhina did not disappoint.
AT provided a personal six-point run with a jumper, a fastbreak layup and another jumper in the span of 41 seconds. Tuhina scored 15 points and racked up one block and four steals.
Second Quarter
In the second quarter, freshman guard Eleonora Villa made herself known with six points, including a golden rainbow of a floater. Villa picked up the and-1 on the shot, but missed the free throw to keep the Cougs and CU knotted up at 19 with 6:34 to go in the half.
In the final seconds of the half, Wallack held the ball in her hands. She sent it sailing and got to admire the view of her ball swishing through the net for the halftime buzzer-beater. The Cougs led at the break 28-25.
Third Quarter
The second half was when Wazzu’s inability to control the paint hurt them. After scoring four in the first quarter, Murekatete found the net just twice in the second half for a total of 8 points.
The Cougs stood tall against a top-10 Colorado team and found themselves up six midway through the third following Eleonora Villa’s 3-point swish shot.
Formann was Colorado’s secret weapon. The senior from Denmark scored 27 with six 3-pointers, including three back-to-back-to-back in the third quarter.
“It felt like four of them were just just daggers to us,” Ethridge said.
Fourth Quarter
In the fourth quarter, Murekatete and Wallack put the Cougars’ talent on display. With her back to the basket, Murekatete spun around and provided a precise bounce pass to Wallack, who shook a defender and blazed past the Buffs to put the shot up and in off the glass to tie the game at 48 with about seven minutes to go.
With the Cougar bench generating zero points, the Cougs relied on Wallack and Tuhina for the bulk of their fourth-quarter production. The Buffs controlled the ball and drained the clock through a 7-0, foul-fueled run.
Wallack made one final 3-pointer with five seconds left to make it a two-score game in the record books. WSU lost to No. 6 Colorado 63-57.
The Cougs failed to control the paint and saw 11 of their 3-point attempts fall flat, while Colorado took advantage of the perimeter to build an insurmountable lead.
Ethridge said the Cougs are a talented team that is learning to play without their star player.
“Our team has to bounce back. That’s the point. Like we didn’t get this one but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We gotta get up and get with it,” Ethridge said.
