# 2023–24 Washington State Cougars women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Washington State Cougars women's basketball team represented Washington State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cougars were led by sixth-year head coach Kamie Ethridge and they played their home games at Beasley Coliseum as members of the Pac-12 Conference. They were invited to compete in the inaugural 2024 WBIT as a number one seeded team. This would be final season as Pac-12 member as they will join West Coast Conference as affiliate member for the next two years.

## Previous season

The Cougars 23–11, 9–9 in Pac-12 play to finish in a seventh place. They defeated California, Utah, Colorado and UCLA to win their first ever Pac-12 women's tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament. They received the number 5 seed in the Greenville Regional 2. They were upset in the first round by number 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast.

## Offseason
### Departures

Washington State Departures :
| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Kaia Woods | 0 | G | 5'3" | Sophomore | Tiffin, OH | Transferred to Akron |
| Emma Nankervis | 3 | G | 6'3" | Senior | Mount Eliza, Australia | Graduated |
| Ula Motuga | 15 | F | 6'0" | GS Senior | Logan, Australia | Graduated |
| Grace Sarver | 20 | G | 5'8" | Senior | Seattle, WA | Graduated |
| Lauren Glazier | 25 | F/C | 6'4" | Freshman | North Bend, WA | Transferred to Pacific |

### Incoming

Washington State Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Beyonce Bea | 25 | G/F | 6'1" | GS Senior | Washougal, WA | Idaho |

#### Recruiting

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Jenna Villa G | Arlington, WA | Arlington High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 29, 2023* 12:00 p.m. | No. 24 | Montana Western | W 92–51 | | 17 – Leger-Walker | 11 – Murekatete | 7 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum Pullman, WA |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 7, 2023* 4:00 p.m. | No. 24 | Cal Poly | W 78–61 | 1–0 | 18 – Murekatete | 9 – Bea | 9 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum (468) Pullman, WA |
| November 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | No. 24 | Gonzaga | W 77–72 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | 26 – Leger-Walker | 11 – Bea | 4 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum (1,587) Pullman, WA |
| November 12, 2023* 2:30 p.m. | No. 24 | Idaho State | W 64–47 | 3–0 | 16 – Murekatete | 8 – Covill | 5 – Wallack | Beasley Coliseum (924) Pullman, WA |
| November 14, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 24 | at Montana | W 61–49 | 4–0 | 22 – Murekatete | 11 – Murekatete | 3 – Tied | Dahlberg Arena (2,359) Missoula, MT |
| November 19, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 24 | at Prairie View A&M | W 81–43 | 5–0 | 17 – Leger-Walker | 9 – Murekatete | 4 – Tuhina | William J. Nicks Building (426) Prairie View, TX |
| November 23, 2023* 8:00 a.m., FloHoops | No. 23 | vs. Maryland Cancún Challenge Mayan Division | W 87–67 | 6–0 | 17 – Murekatete | 15 – Leger-Walker | 13 – Leger-Walker | Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort (150) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 24, 2023* 8:00 a.m., FloHoops | No. 23 | vs. UMass Cancún Challenge Mayan Division | W 90–48 | 7–0 | 15 – E. Villa | 9 – Leger-Walker | 10 – Tuhina | Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort (71) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 25, 2023* 10:30 a.m., FloHoops | No. 23 | vs. Green Bay Cancún Challenge Mayan Division | L 48–59 | 7–1 | 17 – Leger-Walker | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort (136) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | Texas A&M–Commerce | W 111–50 | 8–1 | 22 – Murekatete | 18 – Murekatete | 13 – Tuhina | Beasley Coliseum (805) Pullman, WA |
| December 1, 2023* 4:00 p.m. | | UC Davis | W 77–52 | 9–1 | 19 – Tuhina | 10 – Leger-Walker | 4 – Tied | Beasley Coliseum (840) Pullman, WA |
| December 5, 2023* 4:00 p.m., Midco | No. 21 | at South Dakota State | W 69–64 | 10–1 | 18 – Tuhina | 7 – Murekatete | 4 – Leger-Walker | Frost Arena (1,827) Brookings, SD |
| December 10, 2023 1:00 p.m., P12N | No. 21 | Washington | L 55–60 | 10–2 (0–1) | 19 – Murekatete | 6 – Murekatete | 5 – Tuhina | Beasley Coliseum (1,455) Pullman, WA |
| December 17, 2023* 2:00 p.m., P12N | | Houston | W 95–48 | 11–2 | 21 – Wallack | 14 – Murekatete | 11 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum (956) Pullman, WA |
| December 20, 2023* 12:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | at Auburn | L 62–69 | 11–3 | 15 – Tuhina | 9 – Leger-Walker | 10 – Leger-Walker | Neville Arena (2,341) Auburn, AL |
| January 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., P12N | | at No. 8 Stanford | L 65–74 | 11–4 (0–2) | 22 – Leger-Walker | 9 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Maples Pavilion (3,084) Stanford, CA |
| January 7, 2024 12:00 p.m., P12N | | at California | L 72–73 $^{OT}$ | 11–5 (0–3) | 20 – Leger-Walker | 8 – Murekatete | 5 – Wallack | Haas Pavilion (1,249) Berkeley, CA |
| January 14, 2024 12:00 p.m., P12N | | at Washington | W 72–59 | 12–5 (1–3) | 16 – E. Villa | 10 – Bea | 5 – Leger-Walker | Alaska Airlines Arena (4,104) Seattle, WA |
| January 19, 2024 7:00 p.m., P12N | | Arizona State | W 79–64 | 13–5 (2–3) | 16 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Beasley Coliseum (1,042) Pullman, WA |
| January 21, 2024 12:00 p.m., P12N | | Arizona | W 78–57 | 14–5 (3–3) | 20 – Wallack | 11 – Murekatete | 11 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum (1,232) Pullman, WA |
| January 26, 2024 7:00 p.m., P12N | | at No. 11 USC | L 62–70 | 14–6 (3–4) | 21 – Wallack | 7 – Murekatete | 7 – Leger-Walker | Galen Center (2,671) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 28, 2024 1:00 p.m., P12N | | at No. 2 UCLA | W 85–82 | 15–6 (4–4) | 20 – Murekatete | 7 – Murekatete | 4 – Murekatete | Pauley Pavilion (7,241) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 6 Colorado | L 57–63 | 15–7 (4–5) | 19 – Wallack | 10 – Murekatete | 3 – Murekatete | Beasley Coliseum (1,154) Pullman, WA |
| February 4, 2024 12:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 20 Utah | L 61–73 | 15–8 (4–6) | 15 – Tied | 10 – Wallack | 3 – Tied | Beasley Coliseum (1,700) Pullman, WA |
| February 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., P12N | | California | L 59–66 | 15–9 (4–7) | 17 – E. Villa | 6 – Bea | 4 – Bea | Beasley Coliseum (1,023) Pullman, WA |
| February 11, 2024 1:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 6 Stanford | L 58–73 | 15–10 (4–8) | 16 – E. Villa | 7 – Bea | 3 – Wallack | Beasley Coliseum (1,304) Pullman, WA |
| February 16, 2024 5:00 p.m., P12N | | at Arizona | L 45–64 | 15–11 (4–9) | 16 – E. Villa | 9 – Bea | 3 – Wallack | McKale Center (7,383) Tucson, AZ |
| February 18, 2024 11:00 a.m., P12N | | at Arizona State | W 73–46 | 16–11 (5–9) | 23 – Wallack | 13 – Bea | 5 – Tuhina | Desert Financial Arena (2,021) Tempe, AZ |
| February 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 9 Oregon State | L 52–65 | 16–12 (5–10) | 14 – Murekatete | 8 – Murekatete | 5 – Tuhina | Beasley Coliseum (1,853) Pullman, WA |
| February 25, 2024 12:00 p.m., P12N | | Oregon | W 71–61 | 17–12 (6–10) | 24 – Tuhina | 9 – Murekatete | 5 – Tuhina | Beasley Coliseum (1,331) Pullman, WA |
| February 29, 2024 2:00 p.m., P12N | | at No. 18 Utah | L 67–82 | 17–13 (6–11) | 14 – Murekatete | 4 – Tied | 4 – E. Villa | Jon M. Huntsman Center (4,691) Salt Lake City, UT |
| March 2, 2024 12:00 p.m., P12N | | at No. 13 Colorado | W 72–63 | 18–13 (7–11) | 20 – E. Villa | 7 – Bea | 5 – Wallack | CU Events Center (7,491) Boulder, CO |
| Pac-12 Women's Tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2024 2:30 p.m., P12N | (9) | vs. (8) California First Round | L 44–65 | 18–14 | 17 – Villa | 9 – Bea | 3 – Tuhina | MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV |
| WBIT |||||||||
| March 21, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (1) | Lamar First round | W 66–46 | 19–14 | 15 – Wallack | 10 – Bea | 6 – Tuhina | Beasley Coliseum (490) Pullman, WA |
| March 24, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (1) | (4) Santa Clara Second round | W 73–47 | 20–14 | 14 – Tuhina | 11 – Bea | 4 – Tied | Beasley Coliseum (674) Pullman, WA |
| March 28, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (1) | (2) Toledo Quarterfinals | W 63–61 | 21–14 | 15 – Villa | 12 – Bea | 4 – Villa | Beasley Coliseum (901) Pullman, WA |
| April 1, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | (1) | vs. (4) Illinois Semifinals | L 58–81 | 21–15 | 20 – Tuhina | 9 – Murekatete | 3 – Tied | Hinkle Fieldhouse (1,748) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 24 | 24 | 23 | RV | 21 | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV | 25 | RV | 22 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |