# 2022–23 Washington State Cougars women's basketball team

The 2022–23 Washington State Cougars women's basketball team represented Washington State University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cougars were led by fifth-year head coach Kamie Ethridge and they played their home games at Beasley Coliseum as members of the Pac-12 Conference.

## Previous season

In 2021–22, the Cougars finished with an overall record of 19–11, and finished conference play with a 11–6 record. As the #3 seed in the tournament, the Cougars lost to the #6 seed Utah in the quarterfinals. The Cougars received an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament and the #8 seed in the Bridgeport Regional. The Cougars lost in the first round to the #9 seed South Florida and were eliminated.

## Offseason
### Departures

Washington State departures :
| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Michaela Jones | 2 | G | 5'10" | Junior | Wymore, NE | |
| Krystal Leger-Walker | 4 | G | 5'9" | Senior | Waikato, New Zealand | Graduated |
| Ekin Celikdemir | 10 | G | 5'10" | Freshman | Istanbul, Turkey | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Shir Levy | 13 | F | 5'11" | Junior | Ness Ziona, Israel | |
| Celena Molina | 22 | G | 5'9" | Junior | Kailua-Kona, HI | Graduated |

#### Recruiting

There were no recruiting classing class of 2022.

#### Recruiting class of 2023

College recruiting information (2023) :
| 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

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2022* 2:00 p.m. | | Westmont | W 64–40 | | 26 – Murekatete | 10 – Murekatete | 6 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum Pullman, WA |
| regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 12:00 p.m. | | Loyola Marymount | W 93–41 | 1–0 | 18 – Murekatete | 7 – tied | 8 – Tuhina | Beasley Coliseum (321) Pullman, WA |
| November 11, 2022* 1:00 p.m., WCC Network | | at San Francisco | W 69–63 | 2–0 | 35 – Leger-Walker | 7 – tied | 4 – Leger-Walker | War Memorial Coliseum (143) San Francisco, CA |
| November 13, 2022* 12:00 p.m., P12N | | Prairie View A&M Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series | W 89–61 | 3–0 | 24 – Leger-Walker | 11 – Murekatete | 6 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (730) Pullman, WA |
| November 18, 2022* 5:00 p.m. | | vs. BYU Northshore Showcase | L 56–65 | 3–1 | 21 – Leger-Walker | 4 – Wallack | 3 – tied | George Q. Cannon Activities Center (509) Laie, HI |
| November 21, 2022* 3:00 p.m. | | vs. Troy Northshore Showcase | W 87–72 | 4–1 | 22 – Murekatete | 16 – Murekatete | 6 – Leger-Walker | George Q. Cannon Activities Center (76) Laie, HI |
| November 28, 2022* 7:00 p.m. | | South Dakota State | W 61–41 | 5–1 | 17 – Teder | 7 – Murekatete | 4 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum (630) Pullman, WA |
| December 2, 2022* 6:00 p.m. | | Montana | W 77–57 | 6–1 | 24 – Leger-Walker | 8 – Motuga | 6 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum (792) Pullman, WA |
| December 7, 2022* 6:00 p.m. | | at Portland | W 69–63 | 7–1 | 15 – Leger-Walker | 9 – Leger-Walker | 6 – Motuga | Chiles Center (519) Portland, OR |
| December 11, 2022 2:00 p.m., P12N | | at Washington | L 66–82 | 7–2 (0–1) | 40 – Leger-Walker | 11 – Wallack | 4 – Motuga | Alaska Airlines Arena (2,753) Seattle, WA |
| December 17, 2022* 1:00 p.m. | | Jackson State | W 83–56 | 8–2 | 20 – Leger-Walker | 10 – Murekatete | 5 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (553) Pullman, WA |
| December 19, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 75–49 | 9–2 | 20 – tied | 7 – tied | 6 – Leger-Walker | Dugan Wellness Center (759) Corpus Christi, TX |
| December 21, 2022* 10:30 a.m., ESPN+ | | at Houston | W 70–63 | 10–2 | 14 – Motuga | 10 – Murekatete | 5 – Leger-Walker | Fertitta Center (678) Houston, TX |
| December 30, 2022 5:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 11 Utah | L 66–71 | 10–3 (0–2) | 20 – Murekatete | 11 – Murekatete | 6 – Murekatete | Beasley Coliseum (887) Pullman, WA |
| January 1, 2023 4:00 p.m., P12N | | Colorado | L 54–65 | 10–4 (0–3) | 15 – Murekatete | 8 – Motuga | 4 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (680) Pullman, WA |
| January 8, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | | Washington | W 66–52 | 11–4 (1–3) | 26 – Leger-Walker | 8 – Murekatete | 4 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum (1,057) Pullman, WA |
| January 13, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | | at Oregon State | W 63–56 | 12–4 (2–3) | 17 – Wallack | 7 – Leger-Walker | 8 – Leger-Walker | Gill Coliseum (4,039) Corvallis, OR |
| January 15, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | | at No. 21 Oregon | W 85–84 $^{OT}$ | 13–4 (3–3) | 20 – Murekatete | 10 – Motuga | 5 – Murekatete | Matthew Knight Arena (6,900) Eugene, OR |
| January 20, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | | USC | L 44–51 | 13–5 (3–4) | 13 – Tuhina | 7 – Motuga | 3 – Sarver | Beasley Coliseum (956) Pullman, WA |
| January 22, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 9 UCLA | L 66–73 | 13–6 (3–5) | 15 – Tuhina | 6 – tied | 2 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (986) Pullman, WA |
| January 27, 2023 5:00 p.m., P12N | | at Arizona State | W 61–57 | 14–6 (4–5) | 15 – Wallack | 11 – Wallack | 3 – tied | Desert Financial Arena (2,349) Tempe, AZ |
| January 29, 2023 11:00 a.m., P12N | | at No. 19 Arizona | W 70–59 | 15–6 (5–5) | 18 – Murekatete | 12 – Wallack | 7 – Leger-Walker | McKale Center (7,494) Tucson, AZ |
| February 3, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | | No. 2 Stanford | L 38–71 | 15–7 (5–6) | 8 – Leger-Walker | 6 – Leger-Walker | 2 – tied | Beasley Coliseum (1,128) Pullman, WA |
| February 5, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | | California | W 70–60 | 16–7 (6–6) | 25 – Leger-Walker | 5 – tied | 5 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum (1,345) Pullman, WA |
| February 10, 2023 6:00 p.m., P12N | | at No. 25 Colorado | L 68–71 | 16–8 (6–7) | 17 – Leger-Walker | 10 – Leger-Walker | 6 – Teder | CU Events Center (2,055) Boulder, CO |
| February 12, 2023 11:00 a.m., P12N | | at No. 7 Utah | L 59–73 | 16–9 (6–8) | 18 – Murekatete | 14 – Murekatete | 3 – tied | Jon M. Huntsman Center (3,268) Salt Lake City, UT |
| February 17, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | | Oregon | W 64–57 | 17–9 (7–8) | 17 – Murekatete | 7 – tied | 5 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum (1,061) Pullman, WA |
| February 19, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | | Oregon State | W 67–57 | 18–9 (8–8) | 19 – Murekatete | 9 – Murekatete | 6 – Leger-Walker | Beasley Coliseum (1,500) Pullman, WA |
| February 23, 2023 6:00 p.m., P12N | | at No. 17 UCLA | W 62–55 | 19–9 (9–8) | 15 – tied | 10 – Murekatete | 4 – tied | Pauley Pavilion (2,825) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 25, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | | at USC | L 65–68 $^{2OT}$ | 19–10 (9–9) | 17 – tied | 10 – Leger-Walker | 5 – Leger-Walker | Galen Center (2,832) Los Angeles, CA |
| Pac-12 women's tournament |||||||||
| March 1, 2023 6:00 p.m., P12N | (7) | vs. (10) California First round | W 61–49 | 20–10 | 23 – Leger-Walker | 12 – Murekatete | 4 – Tuhina | Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV |
| March 2, 2023 6:00 p.m., P12N | (7) | vs. (2) No. 3 Utah Quarterfinals | W 66–58 | 21–10 | 19 – Murekatete | 8 – tied | 5 – Leger-Walker | Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV |
| March 3, 2023 8:30 p.m., P12N | (7) | vs. (3) No. 20 Colorado Semifinals | W 61–49 | 22–10 | 15 – Leger-Walker | 8 – Murekatete | 5 – Teder | Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV |
| March 5, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (7) | vs. (5) No. 19 UCLA Final | W 65–61 | 23–10 | 23 – Leger-Walker | 8 – Wallack | 6 – Tuhina | Michelob Ultra Arena (5,032) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA women's tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2023* 11:30 a.m., ESPNU | (5 G2) No. 23 | vs. (12 G2) Florida Gulf Coast First round | L 63–74 | 23–11 | 16 – Wallack | 12 – Wallack | 6 – Tuhina | Finneran Pavilion Villanova, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. G=Greenville 2. All times are in Pacific. |||||||||
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 | RV | RV* | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | —* | RV^ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV |
*The preseason and week 1 polls were the same. ^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll.