WSU played for the fifth time in nine days Saturday and took care of business against the West Coast Conference’s last-place team, San Diego. The Cougs beat the Toreros 67-60 to extend their win streak to three games.
WSU battled USD for the second time this season and completed the season sweep with a strong outing at home. The team’s first matchup was decided by a 23-point blowout by the Cougs, but the Toreros played a much tougher contest this time around, always staying within reach.
The game started off slow and heavily contested, as the team’s combined for just nine points in the first five minutes. Toward the end of the quarter the door blew open, as both teams began trading jabs on the offensive end. Forward Dayana Mendes led the way for the Cougs, scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds in the quarter to put WSU up 16-13 at the end of the first.
Both teams struggled from the field early, each shooting below 40%, a trend that would continue for the rest of the game.
USD quickly regained its lead to start the second quarter, but the lead would then shift back-and-forth several times. After going down 21-24 with six minutes left, WSU turned up the energy and went on a 10-0 run to get their largest lead of the game to that point. A couple of three-pointers by guards Eleonora Villa and Charlotte Abraham helped to push the pace.
The Toreros would hang around and limited any further through a couple of late buckets in the quarter. The Cougs led 34-29 at halftime.
USD continued to make it difficult for WSU to pull away as forward Truitt Reilly and guard Hallie Rhodes continued to have success on the offensive end, working from the paint and the high post to get the job done.
Midway through the third quarter, the Cougs went on a 6-0 run to push the lead to 10 and the team would end the quarter up by nine. WSU struggled to put USD away due to continuing struggles with efficiency, but the effort and energy continued to give the team a solid lead.
In the final frame, the Toreros did their best to mount a comeback, but many of their earlier struggles continued to plague them and it was all but too late. USD shot 6-21 in the fourth quarter and did not make a single three-pointer. They also allowed the Cougs to get to the line consistently, where they went 8-9 on free throws.
Forward Tara Wallack put a stamp on her successful night in the final 10 minutes with nine points and a pair of blocks. WSU pushed its lead to as much as 12 in the fourth, largely due to Wallack’s play, and only allowed their lead to slip in the waning moments when she was taken out of the game. Regardless, the Cougs held on for a seven-point victory.
Wallack was leading scorer in the game and had a near double-double with 22 points and nine rebounds to go along with three blocks. Mendes continued to show out as a freshman, recording her second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds as she continues to learn from an experienced frontcourt teammate in Wallack.
“I’m feeling good,” Mendes said. “I get more comfortable thanks to Tara. She’s a support for me and we play almost the same position so when I have to handle myself I can look at her and she’s going to tell me what I have to do.”
WSU head coach Kamie Ethridge praised the growth of both Wallack and Mendes, but said given their talent and versatility that they have to be good from all over the floor.
“We can get real traditional and and a lot of times it’s not like their favorite place in the world to play and it’s not even really Tara’s natural position to play in the low post or score in the paint a lot,” Ethridge said. “But when you have advantages in different spots on the floor you have to be good enough, especially those two players, they’re talented that they have to be good with their back to the basket, facing the basket, dribbling it and shooting it.”
WSU shot just under 40% in the game but made up for the inefficient shooting with an excellent free throw shooting night. The team went 17-18 from the line, one of the highest percentages all season. Wallack herself was a problem drawing contact around the basket, going 7-7 on free throws.
“I think San Diego came in really aggressive and we knew they were going to do that,” Wallack said. “So we kind of just had to match that and then just play through that and finish the shots that we needed to. If we didn’t we just made it up at the free throw line.”
While the Cougs did not enjoy the season-high block total they had in their first matchup with the Toreros, their defense was still effective. WSU held USD to 35% from the field and 13% from three, continuing their recent trend of highly successful perimeter defense.
It was also a big night for Ethridge, who earned the win with her mother, Mitzi Jordan, in attendance.
“It’s always good to have her in the stands,” Ethridge said. “It is a big trip from Lubbock, Texas, to get her up here. Just had her 89th birthday, so we are still celebrating that and again I’m just happy for this team.”
The Toreros improved by leaps and bounds from their first game against the Cougs largely because of Truitt’s performance, who had a team-high 17 points and feasted on jumpers around the paint. Her 12 rebounds also gave her a double-double. Rhodes and guard Ava Ranson were the next two highest scorers for USD at 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Center Alex Covill, who has seen the most starts at center this season for WSU, notably remained sidelined with a foot injury. Ethridge said it was just a lingering injury after Thursday’s game against Pacific, but Covill’s timeline for return is unknown.
The Cougs get about a week’s worth of rest before taking on Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington, on Saturday.
