After leading most of the game on Monday in a tight loss to 8th ranked Oregon, the Washington State women didn’t have to wait long to try for a bounce back victory.

And bounce back they did on Tuesday. In a big way during a 72-53 win over Eastern Washington.

The Cougs started slowly in a Tuesday matinee against the 1-5 Eagles. They were up 16-13 after the first, but turned things on in the 2nd quarter. Washington State scored the first 6 points of the period, and then turned that into an 18-5 run, and eventually a 33-20 lead at the half.

A season-high nine Cougars made their way into the box score during the win, and four players put up double figures. It was WSU’s Oceanic contingent leading the way, with Australia native Ula Motuga putting up a team-high 14 points and New Zealand native Charlisse Leger-Walker scoring 12-points, extending her double-digit scoring streak to five games.

For the Cougs, it’s their 4th win of the year. It also wraps up a stretch of three games in four days, all played at home.

“It took us a while to get going,” said head coach Kamie Ethridge via press release, “I don’t know if we ever were truly tremendous on the offensive end. Credit to Eastern, they caused us some trouble in the post. There is always something you can find to get better at. I’m just really happy with our performance and the fact that we were able to play so many people off our bench today.”

The Cougs will now enjoy an extended 10-day holiday break before jumping back into Pac-12 play in the new year. They’ll visit Utah on New Year’s Day in a game with a yet to be announced tip off time.

Washington State women bounce back from Oregon loss with victory over Eastern Washington | The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN – Ula Motuga led a balanced attack with 13 points as Washington State defeated visiting Eastern Washington 73-52 Tuesday afternoon in a nonconference women’s basketball game.

More Links

Tuesday also saw the Pac-12 release their year-end award winners. The Cougars were represented by nine honorable mention honorees, and a pair of 2nd-team honorees in Abe Lucas and Oscar Draguicevich.

Lucas, Draguicevich III Headline Cougars’ All-Pac-12 Accolades - Washington State University Athletics
Eleven Washington State Cougars received All-Pac-12 Conference honors led by second-team selections right tackle Abraham Lucas and punter Oscar Draguicevich III, the conference office announced Tuesday.

Washington State's Abe Lucas, Oscar Draguicevich earn second-team honors; nine others recognized | The Spokesman-Review
Washington State was one of just two teams in the Pac-12 without a first team selection, but the Cougars still had 11 players recognized when the conference announced its postseason awards Tuesday.

Final Non-Conference Contest Pits Cougs versus the Demons - Washington State University Athletics
WSU plays Wednesday to close out non-conference play.

Kyle Manzardo Named 2021 Preseason All-American - Washington State University Athletics
Manzardo was a Third-Team All-American last season.