May 1, 2018 / WSU Women's Basketball
Coach Kamie Ethridge Signs Her First Two Recruits for 2018
The Cougars added a pair of international players to their 2018-19 class.
From WSU Sports Info
PULLMAN, Wash. – Making her first moves as the head coach of Washington State women's basketball, Kamie Ethridge announced a pair of international signees Tuesday to bolster her 2018-19 roster.
Joining the Cougars on the Palouse in the fall are Shir Levy (Ness Ziona, Israel) and Ula Motuga (Loganholme, Australia). Levi and Motuga team up with Cherilyn Molina (Kailua Kona, HI), who signed with the Cougars in November during the early signing period, as freshmen on the 2018-19 roster.
"I am thrilled to announce the signing of Ula Motuga from Australia and Shir Levy from Israel," said Ethridge. "These are two fantastic players that complement our current personnel and system. Ula and Shir bring a wealth of elite level experience.
"They have both played for their national teams and are currently playing in their countries pro and semi-pro leagues, which have them competing against 18-30 year old professional athletes."
A 5-9 wing, Levy joins the Cougars after completing her mandatory military service in the Israeli armed forces. A 2015 graduate, Levy has competed in an array of international competitions for Israel throughout the national team system most recently as a member of the U-20 team.
As a member of the U-18 national team, Levy helped Israel to a third place finish at the European Championships in the B Division, earning her country a promotion to the top division. In addition to 5x5 competitions, Levy has played on Team Israel's 3x3 team, competing in the European Championships where they placed third in 2015. For the last three years, Levy has played in the Israeli League First Division, most recently with Bnei Yehuda in Tel Aviv, after graduating from high school.
"Shir is a dynamic wing player that has tremendous perimeter skills," continued Ethridge. "We love her ability to shoot the three and slash to the basket. Her size and length will be great assets in the Pac-12. Shir, will come to WSU with a mature game since she has completed her military duty for Israel while playing in their top Division of basketball."
Joining the Cougars' front court in 2018, Motuga is a 6-0 versatile forward from Canterbury College who plays for the Logan Thunder basketball club.
Last summer, Motuga was picked to play for the Australian U-18 3x3 National Team at the World Championships in China where they tied for second in pool play while picking up an impressive 15-12 win over No. 1 ranked Hungary. This summer, she will be attending National Australian U-19 camp where she will compete for a spot on the national team that will participate in the Asia Cup competition and world qualifiers.
Playing for her state team of Queensland, Motuga won a gold medal in the U-16 national tournament in 2015 while taking a silver medal with the U-18 team last year while averaging eight points and eight rebounds per game. Earlier this year, she was promoted to the Queensland's U-20 team to play in the 2018 U-20 National Championships as well as the Ivor Burge Championships.
"Ula brings a versatile game that we value," said Ethridge.
"She has the ability to play any number of positions.
Primarily, we envision her as a stretch-4 player who will play in Pick & Roll and Pick & Pop situations that will allow her to showcase her range, hands, IQ, and power."
"Beyond their athleticism and talent, Ula and Shir are exactly the kind of students, people and competitors we want to build our program on and around. They are high character young people, from tremendous families, who have chosen the challenge of playing at the highest level in the Pac-12 Conference and at Washington State. Coug Nation, let's welcome Ula Motuga and Shir Levy!"
Levy and Motuga will join the team in August as the new look Cougars begin training for the 2018-19 season.
