‘We got beat by a better team’: Illinois ends WSU women’s season in semifinals of WBIT

Washington State women’s basketball coach Kamie Ethridge was concerned with how her team would handle Illinois’ guards.

Turns out she had reason to be concerned. The Fighting Illini started hot and didn’t let up Monday afternoon.

Fourth-seeded Illinois topped Washington State 81-58 in a Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament semifinal at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Illinois (18-15) meets top-seeded Villanova (22-12) in the championship game Wednesday. Villanova topped Penn State 58-53 in the other semifinal.

“Just a real simple message – we got beat by a better team,” Ethridge said. “I thought they were spectacular. Clearly their guard play, their play making ability and shotmaking ability is pretty elite.”

WSU’s season ends at 21-15. The Cougars found new life in the first WBIT, winning three before losing Monday.

The Cougs couldn’t slow down the Illini, who took a 42-28 lead into halftime and continued to build on its in the second half.

Illinois used a 10-2 run to open a 54-30 lead midway in the third quarter.

The Cougars fought back to cut the margin to 60-45 with 1:23 remaining in the period. WSU overcame six turnovers early in the third.

Things got out of hand quickly for WSU. The Illini wouldn’t let WSU get any closer.

Illinois scored 21 points off 18 WSU turnovers.

“It was a great effort by our team from start to finish against a really good Washington State team that we knew presented a lot of problems,” Illinois coach Shauna Green said.

In the fourth quarter, Illinois extended the lead to 29 points at 78-49.

Illini guards Makira Cook, Genesis Bryant and Adalia Mckenzie combined for 52 points. Cook led with 20 and Bryant had 18.

Illinois made 34 of 63 shots from the field while WSU struggled, making just 20 of 51.

Sophomore Astera Tuhina led WSU with 20 points including a career-high five 3-pointers to go with three rebounds and three assists. Freshman Eleonora Villa added 14 points.

“We struggled at the beginning (trying) to get a handle on them,” Ethridge said. “And they just got too big of a lead. We made a good push at the end of the third. We just couldn’t counter their ability to put the ball in the basket from a lot of different spots on the floor.”

Tuhina said the Cougars appreciated the opportunity to play in the WBIT.

“It’s a great experience to play in March,” Tuhina said. “We made it this far. It’s a lesson for the future.”

Playing in the postseason gives WSU a good start on next season.

“I can’t say enough about the entire experience,” Ethridge said. “You’ve got to be built the right way to advance and we’re just not quite built the right way to beat a team like Illinois right now.”

WSU finished the regular season 3-8 after losing four-year star Charlissa Leger-Walker to a season-ending injury.

“Every team has to live through some injuries,” Ethridge said. “When you get to teams that are in the Top 10 more so than anyone they can afford a key loss and overcome it. We’re not built in a way where we can lose our best player and not skip a beat. It took a minute to get back in the game a little bit. This game was an example of not having enough shotmaking or playmaking ability. We got some good looks but we couldn’t match that scoring output.”