WSU women bow out of WCC Tournament

Washington State was electric and the Pilots seemed shocked in the first half.

In the final 20 minutes, an experienced Portland team caught fire and preyed on a gassed, youthful Cougar women’s basketball squad.

The two-time defending league champion Portland Pilots rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat WSU 72-57 in the West Coast Conference semifinals on Monday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

“Disappointed in myself more than anything,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said. “We just didn’t have the discipline to get ourselves into good spacing on the floor.

“It doesn’t help to not make very many shots but it’s a credit to them and how they expose some of the things that we’re not great at.”

WSU senior Tara Wallack, sophomore Eleonora Villa and freshman Dayana Mendes tied for the team lead with 11 points apiece.

Mendes, a freshman from France, grabbed 13 rebounds to round out a double-double.

Maisie Burnham dropped a game-high 19 points to lead the Pilots to victory.

Portland (29-3) will face fourth-seeded Oregon State (18-15) fresh off a 63-61 upset of top-seed Gonzaga (22-10) at 1 p.m. today in the WCC championship.

The Cougars’ season is over — for now.

“High-risk, high-reward”

With a Sunday quarterfinal win over Pacific under its belt, WSU (20-13) began the WCC semis at a break-neck pace. As the two-seed, the semifinal was Portland’s first game since the end of the regular season.

Portland, boasting an all-senior starting lineup, built its brand on overwhelming pressure and frequent traps and did exactly that in the first half.

The Cougars took the press that Portland applied and turned it against the Pilots, funneling the ball down the court in a series of quick passes without taking a single step and securing wide-open looks.

WSU used this “hot potato” strategy to bypass the Portland offense, finding a wide-open 6-foot-6 center Alex Covill directly beneath the basket for a score to take a 13-9 lead late in the first quarter.

“It’s high-risk, high-reward,” Ethridge said of WSU’s up-tempo offense during a halftime television interview. “It’s really getting us some easy baskets in the paint.”

On the other side of the floor, Covill racked up a couple of blocks and WSU forced the Pilots to commit several fouls, sinking 8-of-10 first-half free throws.

Toward the end of the second quarter, WSU built a 12-point lead with a 10-0 run that saw Mendes, Covill and Wallack connect on four free throws and Villa, freshman Charlotte Abraham and Covill sink shots inside the arc.

But Portland was relentless on the offensive glass. The Pilots outrebounded WSU 53-39 and grabbed a whopping 24 offensive boards.

Portland’s second half included an 18-0 run over six minutes which saw the Pilots flip the score from a five-point deficit to an 11-point lead with 2:32 left in the third quarter.

Burnham scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the second half.

Wallack’s farewell

In what could be her final game in crimson and gray, Wallack scored 11 points, with six of her points coming from a 3-for-4 first quarter.

As the lone senior on the team, Wallack was thrust into a leadership role this year after taking a back seat to previous program leaders such as Charlisse Leger-Walker.

Ethridge said that Wallack spent the summer in Pullman for the first time in her college career because she knew her coaches needed her to mentor WSU’s six-person 2024 recruiting class.

Breaking down into tears in her postgame news conference, the senior praised her teammates and coach.

“This year was definitely the hardest out of the four years,” Wallack said. “But I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else by my side or without Coach E (Ethridge).”

What’s next for Wazzu?

Ethridge’s Cougs won 20 games for the third straight year. It could be enough to land the Cougars an invitation to a postseason tournament.

WSU could earn an invite to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. In the inaugural WBIT last season, WSU advanced to the semifinals.

Wallack said she would love to keep playing.

“It’s just another opportunity to play with ‘WSU’ on my chest,” Wallack said. “I wish I had a couple more years to play with (my teammates) because they’re only going to get better and I know they’re going to get back to this spot next year and go to the finals.”

Ethridge said that Wallack’s buy-in to a postseason opportunity is paramount.

“It would be a great thing to be able to host or be in a tournament or go somewhere for a tournament. It doesn’t matter,” Ethridge said. “Getting some extra games for our young team and getting extra practices would be, I think, just beneficial for us and something they all crave.”

WASHINGTON ST. (20-13)

Mendes 3-10 5-6 11, Tuhina 2-7 0-0 5, Eleonora Villa 5-15 0-0 11, Jenna Villa 1-2 0-0 2, Wallack 4-15 3-4 11, Covill 2-4 3-4 7, Kpetikou 0-0 0-0 0, Abraham 3-6 0-0 6, Alsina 0-0 0-0 0, Chiu 0-0 0-0 0, Dart 0-0 0-0 0, Gardner 2-3 0-0 4, Totals 22-62 11-14 57

PORTLAND (29-3)

Hull 4-9 0-0 11, Mark 4-14 1-3 9, Burnham 6-15 6-9 19, Meek 2-5 0-0 6, Shearer 6-17 2-2 15, Spear 4-5 0-0 8, Zimmerman 0-0 0-0 0, Barbosa 0-2 0-0 0, Eddy 0-0 0-0 0, Fraley 1-3 2-2 4, Mogel 0-3 0-0 0, Strelein 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 27-73 11-16 72

3-Point Goals — Washington St. 2-18 (Tuhina 1-5, E.Villa 1-3, J.Villa 0-1, Wallack 0-6, Abraham 0-2, Gardner 0-1), Portland 7-21 (Hull 3-5, Mark 0-3, Burnham 1-3, Meek 2-3, Shearer 1-2, Spear 0-1, Barbosa 0-2, Fraley 0-2). Assists — Washington St. 15 (Tuhina 5), Portland 13 (Shearer 4). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds — Washington St. 39 (Mendes 13), Portland 53 (Mark 12). Total Fouls — Washington St. 18, Portland 17. Technical Fouls — None. A — 2,936.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.