Chanelle Molina is thriving at Washington State

Chanelle Molina is defining the program at Washington State.

The saying ‘bet on yourself,’ has become increasingly popular in today’s society. When it comes to basketball, the saying often refers to players believing in themselves to make a difference and achieve success on the court in whatever situation they find themselves in.

For Washington State’s junior point guard Chanelle Molina, that saying certainly held true three years ago when it came time for her to choose which college she would take her talents to. A five-star recruit out of Konawaena High School in Hawaii, she was recruited by multiple Division 1 schools including Pac-12 conference powers Oregon and Oregon State.

In the end, she chose Washington State, a team not really known for landing top women’s basketball recruits. She chose the Cougars for a multitude of reasons, but a key one was the opportunity to have a featured role on the team.

More from NCAA

• Your Day in Women’s Basketball, April 6: Stanford defeats Arizona in a tightly contested matchup to win the national title
• Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 30: UConn and Baylor deliver a classic battle of storied programs
• Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 26: Louisville and Texas A&M survive and advance
• Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 23: Highlights from the first round of the NCAA Tournament
• Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 16: Tournament bracket released

“I didn’t want to go to a really top program and kind of just blend in, I kind of just wanted to create my own footsteps,” Molina told High Post Hoops. “They did a good job of recruiting me, I knew I wanted to play for them and play for that program and make something of it.”

Her decision to come to Pullman seems to have paid off. As a freshman, she made an impact immediately despite suffering a season-ending injury about midway through the 2016-17 season. She put up 12.8 points per game on 51.5 percent shooting from the field.

That season, she led the Cougars to one of the biggest upsets in school history over the UCLA Bruins who were ranked No.7 in the nation at the time. She powered the Cougars, tying a freshman scoring record with 33 points in the win.

Although she returned to the lineup for her sophomore season, most of the year was spent recovering and getting back into game shape. Now as a junior, her game has flourished.

“My sophomore year I thought I’d have a big comeback year, but that didn’t turn out so good that year. So I just wanted to continue on and just build off of last season,” Molina said. “I got my body right, I’m attacking the basket more, I improved on my shot, I’m just contributing to the game.”

Molina is currently putting up 15.9 points per game, second only to Borislava Hristova’s 22.0. She’s shooting 52.1 percent from the field and 48.6 percent from the three-point line. She recently had a season-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds, seven assists, and five steals on Nov. 29 in a win over San Francisco.

That she’s doing so well this season is a testament to her basketball IQ, considering the fact that the team is learning an entirely new system under Kamie Ethridge, in her first year as Washington State’s head coach.

While early in the season, Ethridge has been thoroughly impressed with what she’s seen from Molina, especially after dealing with such a big injury.

“As a new coach, I knew nothing about her. I knew she was a phenom in high school and wasn’t quite the same after her injury,” Ethridge told High Post Hoops by phone. “She’s an unbelievably skilled point guard. She’s got all-around versatility, she can shoot, she can handle the ball, and she can attack the rim. She wants to be good, she wants to be coached.”

As one of the upperclassmen, Molina has a role as one of the team’s leaders. It’s a role that is doubled up a bit being that as the starting point guard, she’s the team’s floor general, their extension of the coach on the court.

It’s a role that she’s embracing. She’s stepped to the forefront in a brand new system and is trying to set an example for the rest of her teammates.

“I’m just keeping everyone together. I feel like when things don’t go our way, I’m emotionally good, just handling it good,” Molina said. “I’m just trying to get everyone emotionally and mentally good throughout the game. When things go good or bad, it’s keeping everyone together, I feel like that’s my role. I’m trying to build on that.”

Ethridge has definitely noticed that desire and passion to lead. In her eyes, everyone is essentially a freshman when it comes to incorporating the new system and Molin has stood out in that aspect.

“I’ve seen her taking charge more. We want to get her to continue to push the plays with pace,” Ethridge said. “She’s buying into the system and that helps us be a better team. She’s taking on everything we’ve asked of her.”

It’s been a tough past few seasons for the Cougars. Their last winning season was the 2015-16 season, the year before Molina arrived when they went 17-15. Last season, they managed only three wins. They’ve already got four this season.

It’s a task that Ethridge is looking forward to, especially with Molina at the helm.

“It’s a great challenge. For the growth of the program you want players to buy into the culture, the look on the court, to compete in games, and to do all the intangibles,” Ethridge said. “I see it in Chanelle, she’s one of those players. It’s ground zero building. I don’t know when the wins will happen but we’ll continue to build.”

Molina echoes that sentiment and she believes that the team is coming together early on. She is optimistic about what she’s seen on the court so far. She hopes it will continue as the season progresses.

“I feel like right now at this stage in the season, we’re still trying to find our roles individually, just kind of seeing what we can contribute individually and as a team too,” Molina said. “How we’re going to run the system, everyone is still trying to learn the system. I feel like once everyone knows their roles and once they trust it, it’s going to be smooth sailing from there.”