‘They were more savage than us:’ WSU women’s hoops outrebounded, outscored, outmatched by Gonzaga

PULLMAN — In 54 seconds, a triple from Tara Wallack and two treys from Eleonora Villa cut the Gonzaga lead from 11 to 2 late in the third quarter.

Then, the Zags opened the fourth with an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach and beat Washington State 69-61 on Saturday at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman in the schools’ first meeting as West Coast Conference women’s basketball foes.

Gonzaga freshman Allie Turner turned in a career-high 20 points while WSU’s Villa posted a career-high 24 points.

“We didn’t match their physicality, we didn’t match their energy,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said. “They made great plays. (Yvonne) Ejim makes shots. They got their 3-point shooting going, and we just couldn’t quite match that.”

“They were more savage than us”

The Zags won the rebound battle 45-22. The difference was 23-9 after the first half.

“They play exactly how the NCAA lets you play and wants you to play,” Ethridge said. “We didn’t match that.”

Wallack said that Ethridge’s postgame message called out the Cougars’ toughness.

“They were more savage than us, and they had players that didn’t take possessions off,” Wallack said. “They wanted the rebounds and they just wanted to win more.”

Thirteen of Gonzaga’s 45 rebounds were offensive boards.

Ethridge has used the word “savage” before when describing the team mindset that she wants to foster.

While the Cougs are not a “savage” team yet, Ethridge said that only the top 10 or so programs in the country can recruit players who walk in with the physical and mental attributes to compete at a high level.

“It’s a characteristic and it’s a competitiveness,” Ethridge said. “So what we don’t have, we need to grow. We need to expect it from each other. We need to demand it from each other.

“All (of Gonzaga’s) players didn’t just walk in with that kind of mindset. They grow that if they’re in their program. So it’s what we’ve done over the years — it’s what we’ve got to do a little bit more.”

Eight of the 10 Cougs who stepped on the floor are freshmen or sophomores. Ethridge said WSU’s challenge is to foster consistency.

A game of momentum

Gonzaga only trailed for 10 seconds and led for over 36 minutes, but Wazzu kept it close.

The Cougs flashed their potential in the first quarter when Wallack swung the ball to freshman Marta Alsina up the right wing, who drove toward the basket, dumped it to freshman Dayana Mendes, who sent the ball to Wallack for the center-court 3 and brought Wazzu within two of the Zags.

Six Zags scored in the period to give Gonzaga the 16-12 lead after 10 minutes.

Gonzaga star forward Yvonne Ejim led all scorers through the first half with nine points to build a 33-25 halftime lead.

Turner took over for the Zags in the second half, scoring 15 of her 20 points in the final 20 minutes.

Turner accounted for three straight WSU turnovers and turned two of them into points.

WSU’s 6.7 blocks per game are the third-best mark in the country. They outperformed their average with seven blocks on Saturday.

Despite advantages in blocks, the turnover margin (22-11), and points off of turnovers (20-12) the Cougs lost the game because of poor rebounding and a lack of perimeter defense which allowed the Zags to shoot 47% from deep for 11 total 3s.

The Cougs turned the tide midway through the third quarter with three 3s in 54 seconds. First, Villa pulled the Zags into the paint by driving to the basket, then fired to a wide-open Wallack at the top of the key for the 3.

Then point guard Astera Tuhina created similar plays on the two succeeding possessions, flinging the ball Villa’s way for a pair of 3-pointers.

“That was just a good example of playing together, moving the ball and finding the open shooters when we needed them,” Wallack said. “That segment of that quarter was the best basketball where we were playing together and moving the ball. And then another segment of the game, that’s where we found difficulty when we weren’t playing together.”

Villa led the Cougs with her 24 points and Wallack and center Alex Covill scored 12 apiece.

Tuhina distributed the ball well with six assists but was just 1-for-5 from the floor for two points.

Ethridge said Tuhina is playing through a sickness, but has no doubt that the junior point guard will improve.

“She’s got to get us going, whether she scores or not,” Ethridge said. “She’ll get better. She’s a little down and probably fatigued right now.

“You can pretty much know that she’s going to give her all. These older players really know what it’s like and what’s necessary. She’s in a big position to lead us.”

Gonzaga’s example

Ethridge said she respects Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier and the winning tradition that the Zags have established. Gonzaga has made the NCAA Tournament in eight out of Fortier’s 10 full seasons at the helm.

One piece of that winning tradition the last five years is Ejim, the fifth-year senior from Calgary, Alberta.

“What a great lesson for our young players to watch and just see (Ejim) compete for 40 minutes,” Ethridge said. “She just never gives up on a play.”

Wallack had similar praise for her fellow Canadian.

“It’s her senior year, and she’s playing like it’s her last game,” Wallack said of Ejim. “And I think that’s the mindset everyone needs to play with on our team. We’re young, but everyone’s hungry to play.”

WSU lost Round 1 but left the floor already looking forward to the rematch.

“I said to Yvonne, my fellow Canadian, ‘We’ll get her next time.’ And she kind of just laughed. But, I mean, that’s just like the rivalry that we want,” Wallack said. “Looking forward to the next opportunity to play them, because they are a NCAA (Tournament) team.”

The Cougs and Zags will play again at 2 p.m. Feb. 8 in Spokane. Before then, WSU will hit the road to play San Francisco at 6 p.m. Thursday. Gonzaga hosts Portland at the same time.

It’s the first year of a pair of seasons shared in the WCC before Gonzaga joins the new-look Pac-12 in 2026.

“This is a great team to go against, and I love the rivalry,” Ethridge said. “They bring a ton of people. They’ll have a great crowd. It’s exciting to play them. Our kids like playing them, it’s great for the area. So I’m glad we’re in this thing together.”

GONZAGA (10-8, 5-2)

Ejim 7-15 2-2 17, Huijbens 1-7 0-0 2, Bettencourt 2-3 2-2 7, O’Connor 4-5 0-0 10, Turner 7-14 2-2 20, Dalan 0-0 0-0 0, Dalton 2-2 0-0 6, Little 1-3 0-0 2, Salenbien 2-6 0-0 5. Totals 26-55 6-6 69.

WASHINGTON ST. (10-8, 5-2)

Covill 6-10 0-1 12, Tuhina 1-5 0-0 2, Eleonora Villa 9-19 1-3 24, Jenna Villa 2-6 0-0 4, Wallack 5-9 0-2 12, Mendes 2-5 0-0 4, Kpetikou 0-1 0-0 0, Alsina 1-5 0-0 3, Dart 0-1 0-0 0, Gardner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 1-6 61.

Gonzaga 16 17 16 20—69

WSU 12 13 22 14—61

3-Point Goals — Gonzaga 11-23 (Ejim 1-2, Huijbens 0-1, Bettencourt 1-2, O’Connor 2-3, Turner 4-10, Dalton 2-2, Salenbien 1-3), Washington St. 8-18 (Tuhina 0-1, E.Villa 5-9, J.Villa 0-2, Wallack 2-3, Mendes 0-1, Alsina 1-2). Assists — Gonzaga 17 (Bettencourt 5, Turner 5), Washington St. 15 (Tuhina 6). Fouled Out — Washington St. Mendes. Rebounds_Gonzaga 45 (Huijbens 13), Washington St. 22 (Alsina 4, E.Villa 4, Wallack 4). Total Fouls — Gonzaga 7, Washington St. 11. Technical Fouls — None. A — 1,639.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.