COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: WSU WOMEN > SCHEDULE (All times Pacific; * Pac-12 Conference Full-on rebuilding game; home games in crimson; road games in gray) DATE OPPONENT TIME 12/4 Stanford * TBD mode for Cougars 12/6 California * TBD 12/11 Washington * TBD It’s Round 3 for coach Kamie Ethridge in her difficult quest of resuscitating a 12/13 Idaho 6:30p Washington State women’s basketball 12/19 Oregon St. * TBD program that has qualified for just three 12/21 Oregon * TBD WNITs, and not one NCAA Tournament, in 12/22 Eastern Washington noon the past 30 seasons. And now more than 1/1 Utah * TBD before, Ethridge will start from scratch. 1/3 Colorado * TBD Wazzu’s got one returning starter and 1/8 Arizona St. * TBD only one senior player. The Cougars lost 1/10 Arizona * TBD > COACH their top scorer, rebounder and assister 1/15 USC * TBD Kamie Ethridge, from a year ago. All-time program 1/17 UCLA * TBD third year, 20-41 bucket-getter Borislava Hristova and 1/22 Oregon * TBD mainstay point guard Chanelle Molina 1/24 Oregon St. * TBD > 2019-20 were All-Pac-12 talents inherited by 1/29 California * TBD Ethridge, but they’ve now launched their 11-20 overall, 1/31 Stanford * TBD international pro careers. Two other 4-14 Pac-12 important contributors, Jovana Subasic 2/5 UCLA * TBD and Johanna Muzet, hopped ship via the 2/7 USC * TBD NCAA’s transfer portal. 2/12 Arizona * TBD All told: WSU is a complete unknown in a conference dubbed 2/14 Arizona St. * TBD by most in the know as the country’s most-talented, and thus, 2/19 Colorado * TBD the Cougs are wholly expected to finish last in the league. To be 2/21 Utah * TBD fair, no one has watched this youthful bunch of Ethridge recruits 2/28 Washington * TBD play together. The coach has vowed more balance, depth and competitiveness than was seen in her first two seasons in charge. > RETURNING LEADERS Intercontinental Cougs POINTS PER GAME Ula Motuga .............................. 7.2 Ethridge again has proven herself an adept recruiter REBOUNDS PER GAME of overseas talent. Her Bella Murekatete ..................... 4.1 Cougs this year represent ASSISTS PER GAME eight countries — the U.S., Ula Motuga .............................. 2.3 Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Israel, Estonia and Rwanda. In > ROSTER fact, the coach has hinted NO. PLAYER POS HT YR at her starting five being 100 percent international. 2 Michaela Jones G 5-10 So. Ethridge has locked in New 3 Emma Nankervis C 6-3 So. Zealand native Krystal Leger-Walker, Ula Motuga 4 Krystal Leger-Walker G 5-9 Sr. a Northern Colorado transfer, as a team 5 Charlisse Legger-Walker G 5-10 Fr. captain and point guard. Her sister, Charlisse, has ample inter- 10 Ekin Celikdemir G 5-10 Fr. national experience, and Ethridge predicted she’s “going to be 13 Shir Levy F 5-11 Jr. a star.” Estonian sophomore Johanna Teder also has made an 14 Jessica Clarke C 6-3 Fr. impression in the backcourt. No one on the team has played 15 Ula Motuga F 6-0 Jr. more Pac-12 minutes than Australian Ula Motuga, who started 20 Grace Sarver G 5-8 So. as a stretch four last year. Lengthy center Bella Murekatete 21 Johanna Teder G 5-8 So. (6-3), out of Genesis Prep in Post Falls, is a sure bet at center. 22 Celena Molina G 5-9 Jr. According to the Cougs’ website, she’s thought to be the first 33 Cherilyn Molina G 5-6 Jr. Division I women’s basketball player from Rwanda. 55 Bella Murekatete C 6-3 So. Not as bad, but still daunting WSU won’t be thrown into the fire quite as much as it was last season, when its absurdly formidable schedule featured the likes of No. 2 Baylor, No. 5 South Carolina and other nationally ranked teams in Indiana and Gonzaga. But it’s still the Pac-12, after all. Ethridge was quick to point out that her Cougs play a school-record 22 league games, meaning they’ll again be met with one of the more challenging campaigns in high-major women’s hoops. Their conference, per RPI rankings, is America’s toughest. Stanford, Oregon and UCLA are top-10 programs nationally, while the Arizona schools and Oregon State fall in the top 25. Outside of the Pac-12, WSU will mostly play down. Headlining its nonconference schedule is a Dec. 13 home contest against Idaho — the first women’s Battle of the Palouse in 12 years. WSU PHOTO TRIBUNE GRAPHIC/COLTON CLARK, MATT BANEY.