The Cougs lost to Cal, and it was not pretty. But if you only read the box score, you missed the part that actually matters for the rest of the season. The final buzzer told us more about what Kamie Ethridge is building than the 80-58 deficit ever could.
We saw this movie last year. The team opened cold in Berkeley, fell behind by double digits in the second quarter, and never recovered. Cougs open season cold in Berkeley with 80-58 loss to Cal and Year two under Riley starts the same way as year one: a loss both captured that early-season frustration. But here is the difference: Ethridge did not let the scoreboard dictate her message. What stood out after the buzzer was not the loss, but the response. She pointed to specific things that worked, even when the overall picture looked grim. That is not spin. That is coaching.
This loss means less than you think for the big picture. The Cougs got punched in the mouth on the road against a Cal team that is deeper and more experienced right now. That happens. What matters is whether the team that flew home from Berkeley is the same team that showed up in Pullman next week. The Cal drops Cougs but can't stop a few standout Palouse performances story already hinted at the bright spots, players who kept competing when the game was out of reach. That is the thread to follow. Ethridge has a track record of taking November lumps and turning them into February wins. She did it last year. She is doing it again.
The specific thing to watch: how the freshmen respond in practice. The first road trip is always a shock to the system. The speed, the physicality, the crowd noise. Some kids shrink. Some kids learn. Ethridge's postgame comments suggested she saw more of the latter. If that holds, the Cougs will be a different team by the time conference play rolls around. If it does not, we are looking at another long rebuild. But we know this coach. She does not waste losses.
So do not panic. Do not write off the season because of one ugly night in Berkeley. The Cougs opened cold, but the furnace is still on. Go Cougs.