Veteran backcourt, new talent could help WSU women’s basketball make huge WCC splash

PULLMAN – The Washington State women’s basketball team has yet to play in the West Coast Conference.

Judging by what the WCC coaches anticipate, though, the Cougars will challenge for the conference championship.

Had the Pac-12 not blown up, WSU no doubt would have been projected to finish higher than tied for eighth as it did a year ago.

Last year, the Pac-12 was arguably the best women’s conference in the nation. A couple of those teams will make immediate impacts in new conferences.

The Cougars would have finished higher last year had they not suffered such a jarring injury when they lost Charlisse Leger-Walker for the final nine games. Finding a way to navigate through that injury actually gave WSU a head start on the 2024-25 season.

The Cougars return three starters in 6-foot-2 senior guard/wing Tara Wallack, 5-9 junior guard Astera Tuhina and 5-9 sophomore guard Eleonora Villa.

“If all you have back is those three players, you’re in a good spot,” said WSU coach Kamie Ethridge, who begins her seventh season in Pullman.

A year after winning the Pac-12 Tournament, WSU advanced to the first WBIT semifinals last year, where it lost to Illinois and ended the year 21-15.

The Cougars could earn a berth to the postseason for a fifth straight season.

Sophomore 6-1 guard Jenna Villa (no relation to Eleonora) has earned a starting job. The final starting spot could go to any one of five players.

Ethridge brought in five freshmen to go with a redshirt freshman and a transfer. Returners Alex Covill, a 6-6 sophomore post, and Kyra Gardner, a 5-11 junior guard, saw limited minutes off the bench last year.

“The thing I love about this freshman group is they love to play and they love to compete,” Ethridge said. “They’re passionate about working out and they’re in the gym nonstop.”

Ethridge likes what she sees all over the court.

“We’ve got a bunch of long 6-1 wings that are very versatile, strong, can shoot it, can pass it and can drive it,” Ethridge said. “We have more talent than we’ve ever had in our gym, top to bottom.”

Eleonora Villa was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team last year. She’s the Cougars’ top returning scorer at 12.9 points per game. Wallace averaged 10.5 points and 4.4 rebounds last year and Tuhina contributed 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

“Ele got so much better from the start of the season to the end,” Ethridge said. “She is unfazed. She isn’t bothered by who we play or where we play or when we play. She shows up every night and was probably our most consistent player as a freshman last year.”

Ethridge expects a big jump from Wallack, especially as the team’s lone senior.

“Tara has looked better than ever,” Ethridge said. “She’s playing poised and under control, just what seniors should do. She’s now a three-level scorer with post moves. She’s shooting the (3-pointer) better than ever. It really makes people have to extend out on her.”

Tuhina missed seven games with a foot injury midway in the season, returning to the game after Leger-Walker was lost for the season.

“She knows our offense well and communicates at an elite level,” Ethridge said. “We play better when she’s on the floor. She puts people at ease. She’s a player who can hurt you in a lot of different ways.”

Wallace and Eleonora Villa were named to the All-WCC preseason team.

Redshirt freshman Candace Kpetikou, a 6-3 center, was the fifth starter in the Cougs’ exhibition romp over Lewis-Clark State College.

“Candace is a lot like Bella (Murekatete),” Ethridge said of WSU’s fifth-year starting post last season.

“I expect her to step into some big shoes that Bella left behind. She comes in as a much better player than Bella did. She can score right away and has the body and control to be a factor for us.”

Ethridge also praised true freshmen Marta Alsina (5-11 guard), Charlotte Abraham (6-0 guard) and Dayana Mendez (6-2 forward).

WSU has more depth than ever under Ethridge. And she knows she can’t get 13 players enough minutes. So the nonconference will allow her to sort that out.

In past years, depth has been an issue for Ethridge. It should be a luxury this season.

“In years past, we’ve overplayed people,” Ethridge said. “We’ve allowed players to jog up and down the floor because we were trying to save them. They played too many minutes by the end of the season. We would peak early and couldn’t sustain it in the postseason.”

Versatility and extra athletic bodies will allow Ethridge to play multiple lineups – big and small.

“That’s going to make us better in March,” she said. “The big question mark is how do we sub this many and get the right rhythm on offense and consistency on defense.”

It’s a pleasant problem.

“I want to kick myself for saying this, but I want to say yes, this will be the best team we’ve had,” Ethridge said.

“The challenge will be, can we get everybody on the same page and nobody care about scoring? We need to have a selfless personality.”