WSU women’s basketball hits the road at 6:00 p.m Thursday night to take on Gonzaga University at McCarthey Athletic Center.
This will not only mark the 21st all-time matchup between the two schools but will mark the final time the Cougs take on the Zags in their conference schedules. Since the last time the Cougs and Zags have met, the Zags have moved from No. 3 spot to the No. 1 spot in the West Coast Conference.
The Zags finally returned after being on the road for their last two games against the University of San Diego and Loyola Marymount University. The Zags won against San Diego 66-56 but fell short against Loyola Marymount 72-63.
Some key players for the Zags is freshman forward Lauren Whittaker. Whittaker takes second in the country among other freshmen with 517 points from this season and averaging 19.1 points. Whittaker has a total of 273 rebounds and was ranked No. 1 in the nation among freshmen.
WSU remains at No. 10 in the WCC with an overall record of 5-22 and conference record of 4-10. This game will mark the second match between the two eastern region schools before they both head to the WCC Las Vegas tournament. WSU will continue on the road after the Zags and will head to Corvallis to take on Oregon State University before coming home and finishing the last two conference games at home against Seattle University and Saint Mary’s College of California.
A notable player making history for the Cougs is junior guard Eleonora Villa. Villa is currently sitting at a total of 1,384 career points and is 11th in program history of all-time for career points. Villa is also ranked No. 30 in the nation for field goal attempts and No. 33 for made field goals. Within the WCC Villa is ranked No. 1 for attempted field goals and No. 2 for made field goals and total number of points.
“You know, just amazed at this group and how upbeat they continue to be and how much they’re fighting and you know still believe in trying to salvage something,” head coach Kamie Ethridge said in a press conference.
