WSU women advance to WCC semifinals behind Tuhina's 18 points

LAS VEGAS — Washington State junior point guard Astera Tuhina had a “secret weapon,” as Cougar coach Kamie Ethridge put it, during third-seeded Wazzu's victory against seventh-seeded Pacific in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament.

Her father and sister had flown from Kosovo to the United States to see her play.

With her family in attendance, Tuhina rose to the occasion. The junior sank a trio of 3-pointers on her way to a team-leading 18 points and the WSU women's basketball team beat Pacific 73-62 on Sunday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

“She really is the key to our team,” Ethridge said of Tuhina. “When she plays well, we play well, and that's all the pressure in the world on a point guard.”

The win sends the Cougs to a WCC semifinal versus the second-seeded Portland Pilots, who swept WSU in the regular season.

WSU nearly needed every bucket to get there as Pacific’s Anaya James made 12 of her 21 shots to register 30 points and keep the Tigers on the Cougars’ tails.

James jumpstarted an 8-0 first-quarter Pacific run with back-to-back 3-pointers. The senior guard from Inglewood, Calif., provided 14 of the Tigers’ 20 first-quarter points.

WSU turned the ball over an uncharacteristically high 18 times in the contest, including 10 in the first half.

WSU's uneven offense in the first half led to Pacific leading by two after the first and second quarters. Pacific led 37-35 at halftime.

The Tigers and Cougars traded the lead to open the second half before Tuhina drove into the paint on a fast break and flipped the ball to WSU freshman Dayana Mendes, who tapped the ball off the glass and into the basket.

Mendes’ bucket sparked a 7-0 WSU third-quarter run that was disrupted by a pair of Pacific fast break layups.

Mendes scored 15 points for WSU, 10 of which were in the second half.

With the Cougars leading by three at the 1:42 mark of the third quarter, sophomore guard Kyra Gardner of Raymond, Wash., stepped up, sinking a straightaway 3-pointer. Gardner accounted for 10 points off the bench.

The Cougs made up for their ball security transgressions by cashing in on 22 points off of 16 Tiger turnovers and outscoring Pacific 38-25 in the second half.

WSU played its first game in 11 days having earned a triple bye directly to the WCC tournament quarterfinals. The Cougars’ opponent, seventh-seeded Pacific, won two games over the past two days.

Fatigue may have played a factor for the Tigers, although the Cougars also ran the risk of coming out flat. WSU played far from perfect but was good enough to claim the 11-point quarterfinal win.

The Cougars' sophomore center Alex Covill accounted for eight points and two blocks in her first on-court action since suffering an injury in January.

Senior guard Tara Wallack added eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

The deeper into March it gets, the better Ethridge's Cougars seem to play.

That was true in 2023 when the Cougar women won four games in five days to claim the Pac-12 Conference Tournament championship, last season when WSU made it to the semifinals of the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament and appears to be transpiring again as WSU has won eight of its last 10 games to reach the WCC semifinals.

WSU’s only losses down that stretch have come against the two teams that finished above them in the conference standings: Gonzaga and Portland.

WSU lost to Portland by 18 in January, dropped a five-point contest to the Pilots in February and will see them again at 2:30 p.m. Monday in the WCC semifinals. ESPN+ will stream the game.

“We've got to grow that kind of toughness that they have and match it,” Ethridge said of Portland. “Excited to play them again. Love my team.

“We're getting better at this time of the season and I don't think very many teams are saying that.”