It may have been senior night in Beasley, but it was a freshman who stole the show on the court. Washington State used defense to set the tone early and received a dominant fourth quarter from freshman Malia Rudd. Her performance helped secure the 57-50 win over the St. Mary’s Gaels.
“We just love that the seniors could enjoy their moment with a win,” head coach Kamie Ethridge said.
WSU Guard Mackenzie Chatfield looks for a pass against St. Mary’s, Feb. 28, 2026.
WSU came out hot on the defensive end. Something the women’s basketball team has struggled to do all year was to execute on both ends of the floor. However, if you had never watched a Coug game and just watched the first quarter of this matchup you would have thought they led all of the NCAA in defensive rating.
Within the first five minutes of play St. Mary’s had multiple 22 to 24-second possessions where they looked clueless, like WSU had the answer for every dribble combo they wanted to do.
However, the constant fouling and lackluster offensive play kept the game close after one quarter. When the second quarter got going, WSU was able to dominate the paint and either convert their shots or turn them into fouls.
“If you dominate the paint, no matter what defense you’re facing, you’ve got a good chance to win,” Ethridge said.
At the half the score was 29 to 20, while St. Mary’s had struggled on the offensive side of the court for most of the half. Georgia Grigoropoulou was able to finish a couple of back down post shots. Melesungu Afeaki also chipped in 6 points to help keep St. Mary’s in the game. For the Cougs, center Alex Covill’s presence was felt in the paint scoring 6 points and grabbing five rebounds. Mackenzie Chatfield scored 6 points and added two assists.
WSU Guards Mackenzie Chatfield (8) and Charlotte Abraham (10) playing defense against Saint Mary’s, Feb. 28, 2026.
In the third quarter the Cougs 9-point lead went as low as 6 after a pair of threes from St. Mary’s. Guard Jada Hunter. That was exactly what St. Mary’s needed while everyone else was cold from the field. With back and forth scoring down the stretch of the quarter St. Mary’s found themselves down just 4 points.
The fourth quarter was a continuation of the momentum St. Mary’s built, leading to their first lead of the game. Much of the fourth was similar to the third with scoring going back and forth until freshman Malia Rudd took matters into her own hands.
“I just saw I had an ISO with one person on me and thought I might as well try this,” Rudd said. “It worked out.”
Rudd took the final five minutes of the game over, scoring 8 points and ending St. Mary’s hopes while helping Washington State secure the 57-50 win.
