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WSU Men's Basketball

Washington State women accept invite to inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament

Washington State Cougars’ Tara Wallack drives against Arizona on Jan. 21 at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman. (Courtesy of WSU Athletics)
By Jim Allen The Spokesman-Review

The Washington State women are getting a fresh start on a new stage.

The Cougars (18-14) weren’t selected to the NCAA Tournament but will host Lamar on Thursday in a first-round game in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.

“I’m excited to be in the postseason again,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said Sunday night.

“I think we are all a little disappointed in not making the NCAAs but thrilled to be making the postseason,” said Ethridge, who led the Cougars to three straight appearances in March Madness.

A fourth appeared likely until Jan. 28. The Cougars were 15-6 after a win at No. 2 UCLA, but lost star guard Charlisse Leger-Walker to a season-ending ACL injury.

WSU went 3-8 the rest of the way, falling to Cal 65-44 in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.

The Cougars’ fears were confirmed on Selection Sunday. Despite being ranked 29th in the NCAA’s NET rankings, the Cougars waited in vain for their name to be added to the NCAA field.

“I think we were right there,” Ethridge said of Sunday’s NCAA selection show. “A win in the (Pac-12) tournament probably would have gotten us in the NCAA Tournament.

“We didn’t play hard enough against Cal, and it felt like they were the hungrier team,” Ethridge said.

However, Ethridge said there was “no hesitation whatsoever” in accepting the WBIT bid.

The invite “is a reflection of what we’ve done all year,” Ethridge said. “What a great honor to be in it.”

The 32-team tournament will be funded and owned by the NCAA. It raises the number of NCAA-funded postseason spots for Division I women’s basketball teams to 100, the same number as the men’s teams.

First, second and quarterfinal games will be held at campus sites. Action then moves to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the semifinals and championship.

Games will be streamed on ESPN+. Game times were unavailable Sunday night.

Lamar earned its bid after winning the regular-season Southland Conference title with a 17-1 mark while going 24-6 overall.