WSU women’s season ends with 59-51 loss to North Dakota State in WNIT round of 16

Washington State’s season has come to an end.

The Cougars bowed out of the WNIT Thursday night with a 59-51 loss to North Dakota State in the round of 16 in Fargo, North Dakota, allowing the Bison to rip off a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter to claim the lead for good.

WSU, which finishes the season 21-14 , got 14 points apiece from forward Alex Covill and guard Eleonora Villa.

“We’ll see what happens when I watch the film,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said. “But disappointed in the way we finished the game and the fact that we couldn’t get enough points on the board in the fourth.”

The Cougars, who lost freshman forward Dayana Mendes to the transfer portal this week after she keyed their win over Utah Valley in Monday’s game, made just 5 of 20 shots from beyond the arc. Up six points with 7:14 to play, WSU’s offense then went dry and its defense couldn’t stop NDSU, which won despite shooting only 32% from the floor.

It was the second consecutive game the Cougars couldn’t get their offense going, but this time it cost them.

In the win over Utah Valley , WSU shot just 31%, eking out its fewest points in a win all season. In those two games combined, the Cougars had 26 turnovers, 11 on Monday and 15 on Thursday.

“All those players are super talented, and all had countermoves,” said WSU senior forward Tara Wallack, who scored four points on 10 shots. “We’re a blocking type of team, so they had step-throughs, they had pump-fakes. They definitely prepared for our type of defensive scheme. So credit to them, but yeah, they’re just a really talented team.”