WSU (2-1) took home a 71-60 victory over the Idaho Vandals (1-2) behind a feisty defensive showing and a knack for getting to the free-throw line.
The Cougs continue to win by doing the little things and performing in the margins, repeating the same formula that led them to victory in their season opener.
WSU jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter as Idaho missed its first six shots. The Vandals would quickly turn things around behind a strong presence on the boards, responding with a 7-0 run of their own. The quarter would remain tightly contested, but the Cougs ended with the momentum behind a buzzer-beating three-pointer from guard Astera Tuhina to go up 17-13, mimicking her game-winner in the season opener.
WSU head coach Kamie Ethridge started the game with a different approach from the first two contests. Freshmen Kyra Gardner and Dayana Mendes got early minutes after seeing relatively little action in the first two games. Gardner got five minutes between the first and second quarters and Mendes got her first action since returning from injury. Mendes would finish with seven points in ten minutes off the bench.
“I don’t want anyone to be satisfied with just minutes here and there,” Ethridge said. “My expectation of our players is they earn their way to the floor. And yes, I want to play everybody, but you see what happens when you play a lot of people. You change the momentum when you sub a lot, so we have to manage that better.”
The game remained close until halftime as the Vandals’ frontcourt pieces continued to dominate the glass and began to space the floor for the offense. Idaho shot 43% from three in the first half and outrebounded WSU 23-16, including 10 offensive rebounds. The Cougs maintained the lead though, driving to the basket to draw fouls. WSU went 12-for-15 from the foul line in the half. WSU again finished on a last-second bucket, this time with a layup by guard Jenna Villa.
WSU opened the third quarter in commanding fashion, using a 16-4 run to extend their lead to 17 points by the four-minute mark. Idaho would not go away though, cutting the deficit down to 11 by the quarter’s end. UI forward Rosie Schweizer had the best quarter of her impressive night, scoring eight points and continuing to bother the WSU frontcourt.
Idaho got within seven points four times in the final quarter, including on a Schweizer three-pointer and a layup by forward Jennifer Aadland. The Cougs continued to respond though, as both Jenna and guard Eleonora Villa had important buckets and Mendes got a fourth-quarter basket of her own to push the lead to nine.
WSU continued to draw fouls and forced the Vandals into tough situations late to seal the game. Even with some intentional fouls, the Cougs shot 9-for-10 from the charity stripe to put the game on ice.
The Vandals finished the game with 22 turnovers, with WSU scoring 17 points off of them. While the door was never blown open, the Wazzu defense slowed down the Idaho offense enough to prevent a surprise comeback. The team held Idaho to just 33% from the field and the Vandals struggled from beyond the arc going just 5-for-18. The Cougs also had eight blocks and seven steals, getting several deflections that slowed the Vandals’ offense and created fast break opportunities.
WSU was still outrebounded 52-36 and shot just 17.6% from beyond the arc. WSU has been outrebounded in all three of its contests so far. The team was able to overcome the rebounding disparity and poor shooting performance by attempting 28 free throws and making 22 of them.
Schweizer was the leading scorer between both teams, tallying 23 points to go along with 13 rebounds for a double-double. She also went 3-for-4 on three-pointers. Ethridge praised her all-around game and credited her with getting the Vandals back in the game.
“I think every team that we’ve played has had a different kind of animal, and she was a unique animal,” Ethridge said. “But how they space her, how she just was relentless on the boards, I think she hurt us on the boards, on offensive rebounding.”
Forward Tara Wallack and Eleonora Villa led the way again for the Cougs, scoring 14 and 12 points respectively. Mendes got her first points as a Coug, including five free throws. Ethridge said she was happy with how Wallack played in the game, making her presence felt in the post and spacing the floor outside.
“She’s so effective on driving and then stopping herself and pivoting and finding a shot for herself,” Ethridge said. “That’s big. That’s hard to do as a senior, she’s kind of grown into that.”
WSU gets five days of rest before traveling to Lubbock, TX to take on Texas Tech Saturday.
