Washington State women ‘thrilled’ to take on Illinois in WBIT semifinals

The Washington State women’s basketball team is the last one standing in these parts.

It’s an interesting scenario, considering the Cougars fell short of a third straight berth to the NCAA Tournament.

But along came the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, and Washington State is one win away from playing for a national championship.

The No. 1-seed Cougars (21-14) take on No. 4 Illinois (17-15) in a semifinal Monday at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University in Indianapolis. Tip is 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

In the other semifinal, a pair of No. 1 seeds meet with Villanova (21-12) meeting Penn State (22-12). The winners face off on Wednesday.

Things were going well for WSU in late January just before they upset UCLA 85-82 in Los Angeles. The win proved costly as the Cougars lost four-year starter Charlisse Leger-Walker for the season to an ACL injury that required surgery.

WSU lost its next five and went 3-8 to close out the regular season.

WSU still held out hopes of making the NCAA Tournament, but a first-round loss in the Pac-12 Tournament squelched that hope.

The Cougars were given a No. 1 in the 32-team WBIT and they’ve proven to be worthy of the seed with home victories over Lamar, Santa Clara and a thrilling 63-61 win on a last-second shot by Bella Murekatete to earn the trip to Indianapolis.

Here the Cougars are playing on April Fool’s Day. The joke is on everybody who had written WSU off late in the regular season.

“Excited to be in this setting,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said Sunday afternoon during a news conference. “It feels big, it feels important, and that’s a credit to the WBIT and everybody involved in it and how professionally they’ve been running this tournament.”

Ethridge said her team appreciates being in the first WBIT.

“Our team feels a lot of validation and a little bit of the love …,” Ethridge said. “Just thrilled to be in an experience of a Final Four setting. It feels like a big event. … We’re set for the moment and excited to play another game.”

The Cougars overcame adversity to be playing so late in the season.

Just as the Cougars lost Leger-Walker, the Cougars welcomed back sophomore guard Astera Tuhina back from being out six weeks with an injury.

It took Tuhina some time to get back into game shape, but she has been a key cog especially in the WBIT run. She’s averaged just under 10 points while teaming with freshman guard Eleonora Villa in the backcourt.

“As coach said it’s an honor for us to be here,” Tuhina said. “It’s a great opportunity for us. We came in here knowing we can’t think about anything else except playing our best and giving everything we can.”

With the season extending into April, the Cougars have been playing five months.

“It has been a long season,” Tuhina said. “We’re playing in April now. We’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing all season.”

Ethridge said the Cougars are playing their best ball since before Leger-Walker was injured.

“It took a while, especially (for Tuhina),” Ethridge said. “She was out for six weeks and she played the next game that Charlisse wasn’t in. Imagine being thrown in after a couple of practices into that setting. It’s been a process to get her confidence back, her legs back and her intensity back. After we lost Charlisse we played a little bit inconsistent.”

Ethridge likes where her team is at going into Monday.

“It’s taken a little bit of time but I feel like the players have found themselves,” she said. “This tournament has given us an opportunity to add some experience to the players who need it.”