If you ask junior guard Tara Wallack the Cougs should not have been playing in Pullman, Thursday night.

“We should’ve been in March Madness,” Wallack said after Wazzu’s 20-point victory over the Lamar Cardinals.

Although they lost against Cal in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, WSU women’s basketball beat multiple ranked teams and navigated a Pac-12 Conference that sent half its teams to the NCAA tournament.

Instead of playing in the NCAA Tournament, WSU was chosen as a No. 1 seed in the newly formed Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. The WBIT invited 32 teams from around the country who were considered the “best teams not in the tournament.” The Cougars, as a top seed, got to host the Lamar Cardinals in round one.

Wazzu got off to a quick start, taking a 21-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. Freshman guard Eleonora Villa got things going with a pair of threes early in the game, and the Cougars easily navigated the press defense of the Cardinals. Lamar struggled early on offense, outside of freshman point guard Jacei Denley, who scored six of their eight points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Cardinals found their footing. Malay McQueen and Brooklyn Mitchell hit back-to-back deep threes to bring the Cardinals within four points of the Cougs. With the game starting to get tight, Wazzu sophomore Kyra Gardner came off the bench and sunk two three-pointers in a two-minute span. With a more comfortable lead, Washington State was able to ease into halftime up by ten points, with the score sitting at 34-24.

Lamar opened up the second half strong. They again pulled to within 4 points of Wazzu, riding 6-foot-2 inch tall forward Akasha Davis, who was establishing herself as a rebound machine, and dominating the Cougars in the paint.

With the score 44-40 late in the third quarter, the Cougars needed a spark. Once again, they found it off the bench, this time in freshman Jenna Villa. She knocked in a clutch 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 47-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Cougs found their groove in the fourth quarter, and it was smooth sailing from there. Wallack took over the game offensively, dropping a deep three from the left side of the court, then another deep three from above the key.

Wazzu shot well from behind the 3-point line all game, combining to go 10-21, as opposed to Lamar, who shot 2-11 from behind the line. With three minutes to go, Wazzu found themselves leading 61-44. Wallack sealed up the win with her third 3-pointer of the quarter, and from there, both teams traded layups to finish with a final score of 66-46. A twenty-point victory for the Cougars in their first-ever WBIT game.

Wallack led the team in points with 15, and senior Beyonce Bea paced the squad with ten rebounds. Astera Tuhina contributed 9 points, while leading the team in both assists (six) and steals (three). 6-foot-7-inch tall freshman center Alex Covill tallied three blocks despite only playing for 12 minutes. Eleonora Villa continued to be a steady presence throughout the game, with 12 points, five assists, and seven rebounds.

Bella Murekatate, after starting 2-for-9 from the floor, rallied to hit her last two shots in the fourth quarter. She finished the night with 8 points, six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Jessica Clarke became the ninth Coug to score when she went in for a layup with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. The whole team contributed, and it helped the Cougars to a 20-point win.

The Cougars’ strong shooting allowed them to control most of the game offensively. Head Coach Kamie Ethridge said “the green light was on,” in reference to Jenna Villa, Eleonora Villa, Wallack, and Gardner who all nailed multiple three-pointers in the game.

“Our defense was strong, and our offense is…finding its footing,” Ethridge said.

Wallack said this performance was exactly what the Cougars were capable of.

“This is how we always want to play,” Wallack said. “We moved the ball around and knocked down shots when it counted.”

The Cougs did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament, but they are taking the WBIT seriously.

“We have a lot of motivation to do great in the postseason,” said Eleonora Villa.

WSU will host Santa Clara at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Beasley Coliseum, in a No. 1 vs No. 4 seed battle.