Women's Basketball Earns Program's First WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll Nod

ATLANTA – The Washington State women's basketball team has been recognized for their academic excellence by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), as the Cougars were named to the 2020-21 WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. It marks the first time in program history that WSU has earned the highly regarded academic distinction.

The Washington State women's basketball team recorded a cumulative 3.629 grade point average during the 2020-21 season, which was the 20th-highest team GPA in all of NCAA Division I women's basketball this past season. The 3.629 GPA also marks the highest cumulative grade point average in program history.

"This top-20 academic achievement tops off a remarkable, and groundbreaking, 2020-21 season for WSU women's basketball," said head coach Kamie Ethridge. "This team is setting a standard of excellence on the court and in the classroom. Being selected to the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll is a reflection on how much pride and determination our student-athletes have each day, as they seek to maximize the special opportunity of succeeding as student-athletes. Get used to this program being in Top 25's!"

The WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll recognizes NCAA Divisions I, II and III; NAIA: and junior/community college women's basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined GPA's inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. Washington State was only one of two Pac-12 teams to be represented on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll this season.

Six WSU women's basketball players earned a spot on the 2020-21 Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll, an honor that goes out to any Pac-12 student-athlete on his or her respective team roster with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or above, and who has served at least one year in residence at the institution, is eligible to receive all-academic honors.

WSU is coming off a historic 2020-21 campaign that saw the Cougars make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years, while they made their first appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 poll in program history. The Cougars will look to improve on the strides they made last season, as all five starters return for Washington State in the fall, include 2020-21 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Charlisse Leger-Walker.

For more information and exclusive content on the Washington State women's basketball team, follow @WSUCougarWBB on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.