Arrow-right Camera

Color Scheme

Subscribe now
WSU Men's Basketball

Washington State women feel the energy going into Pac-12 Tournament

In almost every respect, the Washington State women are in better shape than a year ago.

Not only are the Cougars coming off a historic season on the court, they’re playing with a head full of steam entering the Pac-12 Tournament.

That wasn’t the case last year, coach Kamie Ethridge said Tuesday.

“It’s a completely different feel this year versus last,” she said. “Last year, it felt like we were on fumes.”

Nevertheless, last year’s squad summoned its last reserves at the Pac-12 Tournament, winning a first-round game to clinch its first berth in the NCAAs in three decades.

This year, the Cougars are program-best 19-9 overall and a near lock to make the field. They are ranked just 58th in the NCAA NET rankings but are 13th in RPI and 14th in strength of schedule.

Ethridge said she wasn’t distracted by the bracketology, though she noted that ESPN’s current bracket had the Cougars as one of the last four teams to receive byes and thereby avoid playing in First Four games.

Mostly, she’s pleased with the program’s progress in the past two years. Projected to finish last in 2020-21, the Cougars finished seventh.

Expected to finish sixth in this year’s poll of conference’s coaches, the Cougars ended up in a second-place tie with Oregon.

“It’s thrilling for our team to set these records,” Ethridge said. “I think so many people are just blown away by the success of this team and the toughness of this team.”

Depth is still an issue, as starters Charlisse and Krystal Leger-Walker, Johanna Teder and Bella Murekatete all average at least 31 minutes, but those numbers are down slightly from last year.

“In practice, it feels different than last year, with more energy,” said Ethridge, who hopes to convert that into a deep run in the NCAAs.

First up, the Cougars are preparing for the Pac-12 quarterfinals. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The third-seeded Cougars will face Utah, which beat Cal on Wednesday. 

WSU lost its only meeting with Utah.

“It’s hard to plan,” said Ethridge, said Tuesday before she knew the quarterfinal matchup, and who noted that travel plans were made before the Cougars clinched a first-round bye. The team arrived in Las Vegas on Monday.

“We’re settled in,” Ethridge said. “They know how to handle road trips, and they know they’re on a purposeful journey.

Because the Cougars played Cal only last weekend, most of the preparation was focused on Utah (17-7).

In the game at Utah on Feb. 6, the Cougars trailed by 19 points entering the fourth quarter, but got within five before losing 72-66.