WSU Women's Basketball Picked to Finish Third in WCC Coaches Poll

Oct 25, 2022; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington State Cougars coach Kamie Ethridge reacts during Pac-12 Women's Basketball Media Day at the Pac-12 Network Studios. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Washington State Cougars begin their second and final season in the West Coast Conference in less than two weeks. Ahead of that campaign, the Cougs were picked to finish third in the conference in a vote of the league's 12 coaches, the WCC announced on Thursday.

Oregon State were picked to win the league, receiving nine first-place votes, while Gonzaga were picked to finish second with three first-place votes.

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"it's a real different feel in our gym right now," Cougars head coach Kamie Ethridge said Thursday as part of WCC Media Days. "It's really, really competitive and people really want to win, and so I think with that kind of vibe in the gym, I think we can do a lot with this team."

Ethridge enters her eighth season as head coach in Pullman. She has posted a winning record in each of the last four seasons and won at-least 21 games in each of the last three. The former Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2022) has a record of 116-105 with the Cougs.

The Cougars are coming off of a 21-14 campaign in the 2024-2025 school year, with a record of 14-6 in the conference. WSU missed out on the NCAA Tournament after losing to Portland in the semifinal of the WCC tournament. They participated in the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they were eliminated by North Dakota State in the round of 16. WSU returns six players from last season's team.

Washington State will play an exhibition game against Eastern Oregon University on Sunday, October 26 before they play their first regular season game against the Idaho Vandals in Pullman on Monday, November 3. They'll open their WCC slate at home on December 28 with a noon contest against Pepperdine.

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2025-26 West Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll

1 - Oregon State (9 first-place votes) - 119 points
2 - Gonzaga (3 first-place votes) - 111 points
3 - Washington State - 94 points
4 - Portland - 91points
5 - Santa Clara - 84 points
6 - San Francisco - 70 points
7 - Saint Mary’s - 55 points
8 - Pacific - 52 points
9 - LMU - 38 points
10 - Pepperdine - 36 points
11 - San Diego - 31 points
12 - Seattle U - 11 points

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