PULLMAN – After guiding the Cougars to their first women’s Pac-12 tournament title, WSU Head Coach Kamie Ethridge signed a one-year contract extension to stay with the Cougars through the 2028-29 season, the school announced on Wednesday.

"Coach Ethridge is the best women's basketball head coach in the country and we are excited to have her lead our program for many years to come," WSU Director of Athletics Pat Chun said in a release by WSU Athletics. "To watch her and her staff pour their hearts into our student-athletes and transform our program these past five years has been amazing. Our program now lives at the highest levels of college basketball and we are appreciative of her commitment to WSU."

Ethridge has raised the Cougar’s win total in each of her five seasons in Pullman – WSU won nine games in 2018-19, 11 games in 2019-20, 12 games in 2020-21, 19 in 2021-22 and 23 in 2022-23.

"I am sincerely honored to have signed a contract extension that will allow me to lead the Cougar women's basketball program for years to come," Ethridge said in the release. "I want to thank WSU President Kirk Shultz, Athletic Director Pat Chun, and Deputy Athletic Director Anne McCoy for their undeterred support, and for their vision regarding the potential of this program to become nationally competitive. Their firm commitment to providing an elite network of support services for our student-athletes is allowing us to attract student-athletes with exciting-to-watch talent, exceptional character, and the highest of aspirations!"

WSU’s program-best 23 wins last season helped the Cougars earn the No. 5 seed in the 2023 women’s NCAA tournament.

Ethridge came to Pullman in 2018 after four years as head coach of the University of Northern Colorado, where the Bears went 26-7 and qualified for the NCAA tournament in her final season.