‘We’re coming in this year with a little more confidence and sureness’: Steady-rising Washington State eyeing historic win in second straight NCAA Tournament appearance
RALEIGH, North Carolina – They’ve been hitting milestones at a regular pace over the past two seasons. Considering the Washington State Cougars’ steady ascent, what seems to be the next logical step for the program?
“Win a game in the NCAAs,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge noted earlier this week.
The eighth-seeded Cougars (19-10), making their second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Tournament and seeking their first March Madness victory , meet No. 9 seed Kansas State (19-12) in the first round at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of North Carolina State.
“I just hope we’re a year further along in our journey,” Ethridge added during a news conference Friday. “These players that have played unbelievably huge amounts of minutes. You hope they play loose and confident and free, and just swing for the fences.”
WSU looked somewhat tense for stretches at last year’s NCAA Tournament, but stayed at South Florida’s heels in a 57-53 first-round loss in the bubble at Austin, Texas. It’s hard to blame the Cougars for whatever jitters they may have shown. It’d been three decades since the program had qualified for the NCAA tourney – WSU punched its first ticket to the Big Dance in 1991 and has managed only three winning seasons since.
“Definitely a bit more nervous last year,” WSU sophomore guard Charlisse Leger-Walker said. “It was new for a lot of us. … I think we’re a bit more prepared this year.”
The Cougars returned their entire starting lineup, developed a couple of role players into difference makers and settled more firmly into their roles. All told, they improved across the board and are entering this postseason less wide-eyed, and more ambitious.
“I definitely think we’re coming in this year with a little more confidence and sureness about ourselves,” said senior guard and team captain Krystal Leger-Walker, an All-Pac-12 honorable mention pick. “We’re locked in. We know what we need to do. We know how we need to perform. We’re peaking and hopefully that bodes well for us and we can continue on and really make a run in this tournament.”
Coming off a .500 finish in a coronavirus-affected season in which they recorded a number of landmark victories and their first Top 25 ranking in program history, the Cougars exceeded expectations again this year, posting their best record of the NCAA era and their highest finish in conference play. They wound up in a tie for second in the competitive Pac-12.
“Everyone’s just more confident in who they are,” Charlisse Leger-Walker said, highlighting enhanced play this season from junior post Bella Murekatete and junior sharpshooter Johanna Teder.
All along, the Cougars have had their sights set on making more history.
“This was the biggest goal for us – to get back to the tournament and to get to the second round, because we didn’t do that last year (or ever),” said Charlisse Leger-Walker, an All-Pac-12 selection who averaged a team-best 16 points per game, good for fourth in the conference.
“So, I think the whole year that’s been in the back of our minds. Obviously, you play every game as it comes and you focus on certain things, but as a team, we really locked in to that mentality of doing what we need to do to get back here and put ourselves in a position where we can tick off another first for the program.”
WSU claimed four victories over fellow NCAA Tournament qualifiers this year and hit its stride down the stretch, essentially securing a spot in the field with a late-season surge.
“We knew our goals and knew we wanted to be here and put ourselves in a position to be here,” Krystal Leger-Walker said. “February was definitely that light-bulb moment: ‘We better show up now. Otherwise, there’s no time left,’ ”
The Cougars bounced back from a 53-point home loss to Oregon and won five of their final six regular-season games, including a resume-boosting upset of No. 8 Arizona on Feb. 20 in Pullman. A rough shooting performance sent them to a 70-59 loss to Utah – a No. 7 seed in the NCAAs – in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
They played without mainstay forward Ula Motuga, who will return from an unspecified injury against Kansas State, according to Ethridge.
“We look like we’re at full strength,” said the fourth-year coach, an assistant at K-State from 1996-2014.
The key for the Cougars will be containing super-scoring Wildcats center Ayoka Lee, who averages 22.4 points – sixth nationally – 10.2 rebounds and three blocked shots per game.
Lee set the NCAA women’s hoops single-game record with 61 points in a win over Oklahoma in January. Since then, opponents have started to send extra defensive help in the 6-foot-6 All-American’s direction. K-State has lost eight of its past 12, and Lee averaged 17.5 ppg in that span.
“They’re a hard matchup. You want to think the Pac has prepared you for whatever you might face against another power-conference school, but Lee is a little bit unique,” Ethridge said. “We haven’t seen anyone like her. We certainly haven’t seen anyone who’s scored 61 on anyone, and we’re not real big. So, it’s a concern. We have to figure out ways to try to make life hard for her.”
Murekatete will assume the majority of the assignment. The 6-3 junior shared the Pac-12’s most improved award after emerging as a disruptor underneath.
Rangy freshman point guard Serena Sundell (6-1) contributes 10.6 points and 5.5 assists per game for K-State, which ranks in the top 15 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio.
“We have to be who we are and trust that this process has gotten us ready to play against K-State,” Ethridge said. “You just want your team to handle the nerves and try to handle the moment, and really just go out there and try to have a lot of fun and leave the court with no regrets.”
If the Cougars prevail for the first time at the NCAA Tournament, they will likely face No. 1 seed North Carolina State in its home venue. WSU fell 62-34 to the Wolfpack on Nov. 27 in the Bahamas.