The Cougars’ (12-8) fiery start to West Coast Conference play continued Saturday as WSU handled Santa Clara (9-11) with ease on its way to a 74-47 victory. Center Alex Covill had a career-high 21 points in the matchup as the Cougs wrapped up a productive and dominating California road trip.
After losing by six to USC at home earlier this season in a hard-fought contest, the Cougs turned around and got their revenge on the Broncos’ home floor in dominating fashion.
Covill started her career night with an early hot streak, scoring eight of Wazzu’s first 10 points in a quarter, where she was physical on the boards and active in the paint on several post touches. Despite her intimidating presence, USC kept it close throughout the first as guard Maddie Naro led the Broncos with seven points and the team showed energy all over the floor. WSU would close the quarter up 17-14.
For the second straight game, the Cougs blew the door open by outscoring their opponent by a wide margin in a single quarter. After outscoring San Francisco 25-8 in the first quarter on Thursday, the explosion came in the second quarter as WSU outscored USC 22-3. The Cougs spread the wealth this time, as multiple players contributed from both the perimeter and the post.
After going on a 7-0 run to open the quarter, the Cougs closed the second half of the quarter on a 15-1 run to go up by 22 points at halftime. USC shot 0-6 from beyond the arc and 1-14 overall in the second quarter. Wazzu used strong interior defense and a knack for getting to the line, shooting 7-7 on free throws in the quarter, to silence the Broncos and head into halftime with all of the momentum.
WSU head coach Kamie Ethridge said to the team during halftime it was a good sign the team was finding ways to adapt and win. For example, winning the rebounding battle, despite struggling from three in the first half.
The Broncos would regain some footing in the third quarter as they put up 16 points, but inefficient scoring and an inability to put a clamp on the Cougs’ scoring streak would halt their comeback bid. USC shot 22% in the third and failed to make a three-pointer again. WSU scored at least 20 points again as the attack transitioned to quality guard play from both Eleonora and Jenna Villa.
The fourth quarter was the closest quarter yet at 15-14 in favor of Wazzu, but it was too little too late for USC. Reserve guards Jean Chiu and Alice Dart saw a solid amount of action in the fourth as the Cougs cruised to the win. WSU picked up its second straight win while winning seven of nine in conference play, including a perfect 5-0 record on the road. After the win, back-to-back losses by San Francisco and a lengthy break for Saint Mary’s, Wazzu is now tied with Gonzaga as the sole front-runners in the conference.
In addition to her career-scoring night, Covill grabbed three rebounds and knocked down five of six free throws. Eleonora Villa was the team’s second-leading scorer with 12 points.
Scoring was not even the Cougs’ biggest highlight as the team brought in a season-high 48 rebounds and posted their best-rebounding margin of the season at plus-14. Guard Astera Tuhina and frontcourt mainstays Dayana Mendes and Candance Kpetikou each had eight rebounds while forward Tara Wallack had six. Kpetikou’s total included a team-high five offensive boards. Ethridge pointed to the frontcourt’s versatility as a crucial part of the team’s success in the game.
“Alex had a field day for the first time and we didn’t get her enough touches in there,” Ethridge said. “It just shows Candance and her presence. We’ve got some big bodies, a lot bigger than others. And it’s not just our post player scoring down there, Tara can get some points there, our drives can get us some points in the paint and again we’ve got a lot of weapons that can do that.”
The Cougs shot 2-16 from three-point land, far below their season average, but their overwhelming interior presence and energy on the floor sealed the Broncos’ fate. WSU outscored USC 44-18 in the paint and 17-8 on second-chance points. The Cougs also outscored the Broncos 28-12 off the bench, something Ethride highlighted after the game.
“We have a lot of pride on this team and we’re starting to show it a lot more,” Ethridge said. “Obviously our depth and the weapons we have are starting to figure things out. We have a lot of weapons and a lot of other teams don’t have quite the weapons we do.”
USC managed to get double-digit scorers in guard Malia Latu and forward Olivia Pollerd, who had 15 and 12 points respectively. Latu also knotted 21 points in the previous matchup with the Cougs but received less help the second time around. Aside from their seniors putting up strong performances, the Broncos had few other highlights. USC shot 26% from the field and 11% from three in one of the strongest defensive outings for WSU this season.
The Cougs return home Thursday for a crucial matchup with Portland (17-3) before returning back to Southern California on Saturday to face Loyola Marymount.
