WSU women’s basketball announced its non-conference schedule for the 2025-26 season Friday, including five home games and eight road games before beginning West Coast Conference play.
The Cougs open the season on Oct. 26 with a tune-up exhibition match against Eastern Oregon before hosting Idaho on Nov. 3 in Pullman for its first game of the season. The lineup of non-conference opponents for the upcoming season is strikingly similar to last year, including six of the same opponents from last year.
WSU went 7-8 in non-conference play last year, struggling against a tough schedule that included women’s basketball powerhouse Stanford, and several other Power 4 conference opponents including Oregon, BYU and Texas Tech. Last season quickly turned around at the start of the WCC schedule, as the Cougs went 7-3 in their first 10 conference games and finished with a 14-6 conference record, third in the WCC standings.
With turnover on the Cougar roster, including losing six players to the transfer portal and former senior Tara Wallack graduating, there are a lot of unknowns heading into next season. With WCC mainstays Gonzaga and Portland likely to return as contenders at the top of the conference and Oregon State fresh off a surprise WCC tournament win to qualify for the NCAA tournament, WSU cannot count on a repeat of last year’s strong performance in conference play. The first 13 games will be critical and a tough slate of opponents will demonstrate the team’s outlook for the rest of the season.
Here’s a look at what to expect from the biggest challengers of the non-conference schedule:
vs. Idaho, Nov. 3
The Vandals are one of the six returning opponents, having faced WSU in early November last year. While former graduate student Rosie Schweizer showed out with 23 points against the Cougs last year, WSU scored 17 points of 23 Idaho turnovers, which the made the difference in a 71-60 Cougar win.
Three of Idaho’s top four scorers from last season graduated, but the Vandals will return second-leading scorer Hope Hassman (12.3 PPG), a junior guard, and added an impressive transfer class that was ranked 23rd in the nation according to The Portal Tracker. The incoming transfers are highlighted by former San Francisco frontcourt player Debora dos Santos who made All-WCC First Team while averaging a double-double in the 2023-24 season. Dos Santos appeared and started in 14 games last year while averaging 12.9 points before her season was cut short.
The Vandals also notably added Furman guard Niveya Henley, San Francisco forward Lorena Barbosa and former WSU guard Kyra Gardner. Henley earned all-conference honors a two years ago like dos Santos while Barbosa will reunite with her San Francisco teammate in Moscow. Gardner will return to Pullman to battle the team she spent three seasons with, including on the Pac-12 championship squad.
at UNLV, Nov. 5
The Rebels have seen significant recent success under coach Lindy La Rocque including three straight Mountain West conference titles and NCAA tournament appearances from 2022-24. Last season, UNLV finished 26-8 and were the MWC regular season champions but had a disappointing finish, losing in the second round of both the conference tournament and the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament.
Adding to the frustrating end to the season, the Rebels saw leading scorer Amarachi Kimpson transfer to Miami and second-leading scorer Kiara Jackson graduate. UNLV lost two other players to the transfer portal but added six incoming transfers in the cycle, including Mountain West All-Freshman guard Sydni Summers from San Jose State and former Horizon League Player and Sixth Player of the Year Destiny Leo from Cleveland State.
The Rebels will also return third-leading scorer Aaliyah Alexander and reigning Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year Meadow Roland in what should be a tough road matchup for the Cougs.
vs. Stanford, Nov. 14
After nearly a week’s worth of rest, the Cougs will welcome the Cardinal back to Pullman for the first time since 2023. A year after dominating WSU by 29 points, Stanford is likely to come back stronger than before. After receiving a singular first-place vote in a packed ACC and cracking the AP top 25 just two weeks into the season, Stanford’s season ended in relative disappointment, going just 16-15 and losing in the first round of the ACC tournament and the WBIT.
The Cardinal lost seniors Elena Bosgana and Brooke Demetre but return two other double-digit scorers from last year in Nunu Agara (15.8 PPG, most on team) and Chloe Clardy (10.2 PPG). The Cardinal failed to add any significant transfers in the portal, while losing Jzaniya Harriel and Tess Heal, but will bring in the No. 3 recruiting class in the country, led by guard Hailee Swain (No. 8 on HoopGurlz top 100). Stanford will be a great test for WSU, but presents an opportunity to make some noise in Beasley Coliseum.
vs Oregon, Nov. 19
The Ducks visit as another former Pac-12 foe, visiting Pullman a year after the Cougs traveled to Eugene, Oregon. Oregon took care of business on its home floor last year, beating WSU 85-70 on its way to a 20-12 record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament where the Ducks lost to Duke.
Oregon lost its top four scorers from last year due to graduation, but were winners in the transfer portal, most notably notching breakout performer Mia Jacobs who averaged 18.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals last season at Fresno State. Guard Avary Cain arrived from UCLA with tons of potential and former Cougar favorite Astera Tuhina will get a shot at revenge against her former team after spending three years in Pullman.
vs LSU/Marist, Nov. 29
This is a huge toss-up of a potential matchup, with LSU ranking over 240 spots ahead of Marist in last season’s final NET ranking. With the Cougs facing Miami (Ohio), No. 146 in the NET, it is likely WSU will win its first game of the Paradise Jam tournament and face LSU at the University of Virgin Islands court.
The Tigers have been a powerhouse in women’s college basketball over the last decade, including four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and a national championship in 2023. LSU finished last season 31-6, including a 20-0 start. The Tigers lost to UCLA in the Elite 8 at Spokane Arena.
LSU star and leading scorer Aneesah Morrow was drafted No. 7 overall in the 2025 WNBA draft by the Connecticut Sun and starting forward Sa’Myah Smith transferred to Virginia, but the Tigers came up big in the portal. LSU secured key South Carolina bench piece MiLaysia Fulwiley and former top 5 recruit Kate Koval from Notre Dame. The Tigers also bring in the top-ranked recruiting class in the country with three five-star prospects headlined by seventh-ranked guard Grace Knox.
*Game will be played at a neutral site
vs Texas Tech, Dec. 12
While the Red Raiders went 19-18 and finished as bottom-three team in the Big 12 standings, Texas Tech still made noise in the postseason. The Red Raiders made a run to the quarterfinals in the conference tournament and earned a berth in the WBIT, where they reached the quarterfinals before losing by three to Florida.
TTU is going through a transition period after losing leading scorer Jasmine Shavers (14.9 PPG) and former top 100 recruit Loghan Johnson (5.4 PPG) but will retain key starting guard Bailey Maupin (13.6 PPG). The Red Raiders also added frontcourt depth with Texas A&M transfer Jada Malone, who shot a team-best 62.6% from the field last year.
The Red Raiders narrowly edged out the Cougs last year in Lubbock, Texas, with a 56-52 win.
at Seton Hall, Dec. 16
The Pirates led the second tier of Big East teams last year, going 13-5 in conference play (3rd) and 23-10 overall in a conference dominated by national champion UConn and fellow March Madness one-and-done Creighton. While Seton Hall struggled against future NCAA tournament teams in the regular season, the Pirates cruised through the rest of their schedule and finished with a second-round exit in the WBIT.
Seton Hall lost all-conference graduate forward Faith Masonius (15.0 PPG), but the Pirates will bring back their two other double-digit scorers in rising phenom Jada Eads, who made All-Big East First Team and guard Savannah Catalon. Seton Hall also shored up its roster depth, adding three transfers from larger programs including Texas, Florida State and Penn State and a freshman class of five new faces with potential to grow in similar fashion to Eads.
The Pirates finished No. 75 in the NET rankings in 2024-25, seventh highest out of Wazzu’s non-conference opponents.
