‘She’s now got the voice’: Tara Wallack takes the lead as Washington State women vie for WCC supremacy

Tara Wallack marvels at the transformation of her basketball game in her four years at Washington State University.

Wallack is quick to credit the person solely responsible for her development – WSU head coach Kamie Ethridge.

“Kamie often says that I was a one-dimensional player,” said Wallack, a 6-foot-2 guard from Surrey, British Columbia. “Now I can score at all levels of the court. She has turned the 17- or 18-year-old teenage girl into a young, independent woman who will say what’s on her mind and is the captain of the team. She’s given me the confidence to play at a high level. I’m very, very grateful for her.”

Wallack is the lone senior on a team that has made a splash in its first season as an affiliate member in the West Coast Conference. The Cougars (12-8 overall, 6-2 WCC) are tied with traditional power Gonzaga for first place.

She has taken seriously her role as the leader on a young team. If she leans toward being a Mother Hen it’s because she cares for her teammates and the program.

Ethridge said she appreciates Wallack’s leadership. Soft-spoken by nature, Wallack has grown into the role.

“I just love the fact that she’s now got the voice for our program and she’s the one everybody should be listening to,” Ethridge said.

Wallack committed to discovering the best version of her game during the offseason.

“She’s an example of someone who has really transformed who she is as a player and expanded,” Ethridge said. “She was one-dimensional. She had one move. I remember vividly (Washington) guarded her her freshman year and she didn’t want to shoot and she’d catch it at the elbow and she wouldn’t shoot it because she wanted to drive it. She could always find points driving it.

“So, just the growth of her game, taking a really athletic body and growing that into more than just a one-dimensional driver only. She’s a three-level threat now.”

Wallack played in 29 games in 2021-22, including 10 starts, her freshman season. The following year, she started 34 games.

“Sophomore year is when I started to notice that I could have a really big impact,” Wallack said.

It was a signature season as well for the Cougars under Ethridge. WSU won its first Pac-12 Conference Tournament championship, finishing 23-11.

“That year was a really important year fo WSU as we won the Pac-12 (tournament),” Wallack said. “That year gave me the confidence and led me into the junior year, and having the year that I had and now being the senior on the team, it’s given me the ultimate confidence to lead my team.”

The Cougars appeared poised to make another run for an NCAA Tournament berth last season when standout senior Charlisse Leger-Walker suffered a season-ending knee injury. The setback stunned WSU, which struggled to find footing the rest of the season.

The Cougars earned an invitation in the first Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT), advancing to the semifinals.

Wallack was a steady force a year ago, posting 19 double-digit scoring games and averaging 10.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

A preseason All-WCC selection, Wallack is averaging 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists this year.

“With the exception of a couple games, you know what you’re going to get from Tara,” Ethridge said. “She is so consistent on a daily basis at practice, in the weight room, how she leads her team, how she talks. So unbelievably happy to have her and just her development this year.”

Wallack said her approach has been simple this season.

“I’m just taking the right shots,” she said. “I’m letting the game come to me. In previous years, I’d maybe try to force shots that weren’t really necessary or try to get involved in the game in scoring, but this year I’m focusing on rebounding or try to get a few extra blocks. Playing with more confidence really helps, too.”

She’s challenging herself to continue to improve.

“I’d love to see more consistent shooting from me,” Wallack said. “I might have some shooting droughts here and there and I’m just working on my leadership for the team.”

Ethridge said Wallack has come a long way from being what she described as a “third wheel, honestly, in a lot of situations when she was younger.”

Ethridge couldn’t ask for more.

“She’s No. 1 on the scouting report that everybody is going to make a plan to stop,” Ethridge said. “I just love how she’s approached the year. She didn’t have to speak a bunch in years past and now she absolutely steps forward and brings the senior leadership that she’s received over the years. She’s stepped into that role. She’s unafraid. She doesn’t care if she offends. If there’s conflict, she knows through the program what she’s been through.”

Wallack ranks 19th in career scoring with 1,105 points with 578 rebounds, 212 assists and 139 blocked shots.

Ethridge said there’s a place for Wallack in professional basketball. If she doesn’t get an opportunity in the WNBA, then Wallack will head overseas.

“I’ve always said that I don’t necessarily want a job,” Wallack said. “I would love to play basketball for as long as I can. Basketball is really Plan A right now and there’s no Plan B.”

There’s just one thing on Wallack’s mind at the moment.

“Looking to make March Madness again with this team and win the WCC,” Wallack said. “That’s the end goal for my senior year and leaving on the best note that I can.”

Wallack said the future is bright at WSU.

“Since this team is young this year, I want to leave them with the utmost motivation and for them to look at me and see the progress that I have made at WSU,” Wallack said. “I want them to look up to me and see how they can turn their game into multiple versions (of her).”

Ethridge said she’s thrilled with how Wallack is leaving the program.

“She’s a great representative of everything we want our program to be about,” Ethridge said. “She’s giving her heart and soul, she’s gotten herself in better shape, her game has expanded in every way. She’s unafraid of the big moments and taking big shots.”