The Cougs rolled past the Oregon State Beavers 66-52 on Saturday, going 4-1 to start conference play. WSU is now in third place in the West Coast Conference standings with 15 games to go.
WSU has played its best basketball since the second half of December began, winning six of the last seven and reaching several key milestones. After facing the 18th toughest schedule in the Division I throughout non-conference play, the Cougs have taken advantage of the level of play in their new conference and have reset their mindset heading into conference play. Since the midway point of December, the team has racked up four double-digit victories, including three by 20 or points.
WSU opened conference play on the road against San Diego on Dec. 19 where the team produced one of its best defensive performances of the season, holding the Toreros to just 46 points, the lowest scoring output by any WSU opponent this season. The Toreros shot 22.7% from the field and the Cougs had a season-high 14 blocks. The Cougs have four of the top 10 highest single-game block performances in the WCC and have the most total blocks in the NCAA.
Center Alex Covill and forward Tara Wallack are also leading the WCC in blocks at 1.9, good enough for top 50 in the country. WSU beat San Diego 65-42 while allowing just one Torero to record double-digit points.
Freshman guard Charlotte Abraham earned the Cougs’ second WCC freshman of the week award this season after her performance against San Diego, recording 10 points and scoring a three-pointer for a seventh-straight game.
The Cougs then followed with another blowout of over 20 points with a 67-46 victory over Pepperdine. The Cougs dominated the paint, outscoring the Waves 34-12 down low for one of their best interior performances of the season. WSU also had three double-digit scorers, scoring 30 points off the bench, more than double the output of the Pepperdine reserves. The team shot an impressive 44% from three on 25 shot attempts.
To conclude 2024 and the team’s first four-game win streak this season, WSU took down Pacific in its closest game of conference play so far. The Cougs again used their bench depth and a second half resurgence to secure the victory.
After going back-and-forth through the first two quarters and being tied at halftime, WSU used a 24-point third quarter to build an 11-point lead. Four double-digit scorers, 25 bench points and an inefficient shooting output from the Tigers helped WSU to prevail 74-66.
Abraham earned freshman of the week honors for a second straight week, this time alongside Oregon State’s Ally Schimel. The young French native has had a solid start to the season for the Cougs, emerging as one of the most immediate contributors amongst the team’s bevy of freshman. She totaled 15 points against Pepperdine and Pacific and shot 5-7 from three. She is shooting 36.8% from beyond the arc this year and is averaging 5.7 points.
The Cougs’ win streak was halted by Santa Clara just two days into the new year. WSU lost by just six points and kept it close throughout, but only scoring seven points in the second quarter cost the team its momentum and the game. The Cougs never recovered as Broncos guard Malia Latu scored 21 points and the Santa Clara offense kept on rolling. Covill led the team with 15 points and Wallack recorded a double-double, but it was not enough to stifle a strong Broncos attack.
After suffering their first loss of conference play, the Cougs turned around two days later and rallied for a 14-point win over OSU. WSU again used stifling defense and quick offensive surges to bring about the victory. The team jumped out to a 13-point lead after the first quarter behind an impressive all-around performance from Wallack, who scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and recorded two blocks in just the first period.
The team would consistently matched the OSU scoring output for the rest of the game to win convincingly by the end. Wallack would finish with a second-straight double-double and a career-high 14 rebounds while being amongst four Cougs to score at least 11 points. Guard Eleonora Villa led the team with 19 points. The Beavers shot just 28.1% from the field and 11.1% from three in the game.
Head coach Kamie Ethridge said the team was outworked and out-scouted in their game against Santa Clara but was impressed by the team’s ability to bounce back from the loss in the game against OSU.
“I just wanted us to be really aggressive,” Ethridge said. “Great energy, great body language the entire game and to respond the right way, it was nice to see the ball go in the basket when they were zone early in the game and that got us off to a good start.”
WSU currently sits at No. 132 in the latest NET rankings and No. 106 in RPI. Even with the great opening statement to the WCC and a rejuvenating start to the second half of the season, the team still has a long way to go if it is to make the NCAA tournament. Right now, the simplest and most likely path to the tournament is through a conference title, something the Cougs are already working hard for from the outset of the new year.
