Cougs Announce the Signing of Astera Tuhina

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State women's basketball head coach Kamie Ethridge has announced the signing of Astera Tuhina. The 5-9 guard from Prishtina, Kosovo recently inked her National Letter of Intent to play for the Cougars at the start of the 2022-23 season.

Tuhina comes to the Palouse as the youngest player to ever play for Kosovo's Senior National Team. She suited up for her home country at the 2021 European Championship for Small States in Cyprus and helped Kosovo to a bronze medal finish at the event.

"I am excited to announce another addition to our 2022 recruiting class, Astera Tuhina," expressed Ethridge. "Astera's father, Astrit Tuhina, has been an integral part in growing youth basketball in Kosovo.  As a coach's kid, she has developed instincts that cannot be taught. She chose to leave home at 13 to pursue better basketball opportunities in Spain. Astera has every intangible we want in our program.  She has passion, grit, toughness, and a relentless pursuit to do whatever it takes for her team to succeed. She has a pass-first mindset however, she is a talented offensive player.  She can shoot the 3 and she is very creative on her drives to the basket. The energy that Astera plays with is contagious and our fan base is going to love how hard she plays. We are thrilled to have earned the trust of Astera and her family.  She will be a great addition to our Coug family."   

Additionally, Tuhina was also a member Kosovo's U-20 National Team at the 2021 FIBA U-20 Women's European Challengers event in Skopje, North Macedonia.  The 5-9 guard filled up the stat sheet in North Macedonia, as she averaged 7.7 points, 7.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds in three games. Tuhuna dished out six-or-more assists in all three games. She scored a personal-best 10 points and dished out nine assists in a win over Romania, while she pulled down 10 boards against Slovakia.

At just 16-years-old, Tuhina made her debut in the Spanish Basketball Elite League with Deportivo Promete. Tuhina was the youngest player on the roster, but still played in seven games in a reserve role in Spain's top women's basketball league.

Tuhina becomes the fourth signee for Washington State during the early signing period. She is joined by Krya Gardner, Lauren Glazier and Kaia Woods. Gardner and Glazier are set to join the Cougars for the 2022-23 season. Woods will get her WSU career started at the end of this semester after reclassifying over the summer.

Washington State returns to action this Sunday, Nov. 21, when they make the quick trip over to Moscow, Idaho to take on the Vandals. Tip-off from the new Idaho Central Credit Arena is set for 2 p.m. PT.

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