Interesting weekend ahead for women
A nice week coming up for women's basketball. Idaho's game on Wednesday is on ESPNU, 8 p.m. tipoff and on Saturday afternoon Eastern Washington tries to add to its historic season. The Eagles, assured of a share of their first Big Sky title, try to win it outright - and the host role for the league tournament next weekend. That's the subject for this week's women's notebook (extended post). Then Gonzaga heads to the West Coast tournament, patiently awaiting the first two rounds to see who emerges from the first two rounds for their semifinal game Sunday morning. The title game is on ESPNU on Monday - but it's at noon.
Gonzaga is up to No. 17 in both polls - and still considered a bubble team at best in ESPN's bracketology, (and story) and still headed to Stanford (along with EWU) in the projections. I think Gonzaga's in, but considering the numbers the Bulldogs put up against league foes, it would be best to leave nothing to chance. The Realtime RPI bracket is sending GU to Norman, Okla, as a No. 6, which is quite complimentary, and a possible second-round rematch with Texas A&M while EWU would go play Tennessee. The problem with that - no Oklahoma at Oklahoma ain't gonna happen. Realtime has Gonzaga's RPI at 31 and Strength of Schedule at 121, which is impressive considering their two "victims" last weekend are 302 and 304. However, Sagarin RPI has GU at 21, but Santa Clara and USF are 273 and 280, respectively. (When in doubt, go with NCAA RPI, which dropped GU four spots to 34 after 31 and 48 point wins. However, USF went from 301 to 298 after losing to the Zags and Portland, Santa Clara fell from 300 to 301.) In other words, ignore it all.
Also, Tennessee junior Angie Bjorklund (U-Hi) earned first team All-SEC honors and while Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt may never be pleased, her team still rebounded from last year's disappointment to win the SEC without a senior on the roster.
By Dave Trimmer
davet@spokesman.com; (509) 927-2154
The
Already qualified for the Big Sky Conference Tournament after a three-year absence and assured of a share of their first league title ever, the Eagles can win the championship and host the tourney for the first time with a win against
“It’s been a tough couple of years,” said coach Wendy Schuller, whose teams made the league tourney her first five seasons. “We’ve gone through quite a bit of adversity. We’ve had some people support us through thick and thin, we’re excited to be in the position we’re in.”
The Eagles (18-10 overall, 11-4 BSC) could have the title in their hands before taking the court if second-place Sacramento State loses at third-place Idaho State Friday night.
“Obviously that doesn’t make the game as big in terms of overall ramifications but the bottom line is we want to be playing well and go into the conference tournament on a high note,” Schuller said. “
If the Eagles lose their 2 p.m. game and Sac also wins at
“Going into the season everybody would have said the conference race was wide open, nobody just stood out among the rest, and it has played out that way,” said Schuller, whose team was picked seventh in the preseason, said. “Looking at it, we could finish first with a five-way tie for second. That’s kind of crazy.”
The past three seasons EWU has gone 24-63, 11-37 in league play.
“We have had unbelievable team chemistry this year,” Schuller said. “Everything starts there. We have a really diverse group of kids that have come together. We enjoy going on the road together and spending time around one another. That’s made a big difference. On and off the floor they have each other’s backs.
“And the experience we have makes a big difference. The senior class and the junior class have been through the battles and we have some young kids that gives us an edge. … That combination is exactly what we’ve needed.”
Gonzaga rolled through the West Coast Conference, winning all 14 games by an average of 30.6 points. The closest game for the Bulldogs, now ranked 17th in both polls, was 14 points.
“It’s a great feat, it’s a great honor to do that,” five-time WCC Coach of the Year Kelly Graves said. “I don’t think people outside of the coaches and players know how hard it is to go through conference undefeated. I’m real pleased how we went about our business the last 14 games.
“What I’m most proud of is we didn’t have a let up game. We were pretty consistent in our effort and our production.”
The Bulldogs averaged 84.5 points and gave up 53.9, getting stronger as the season went on. Their lowest out-put was 70 points and in their last game allowed just 35.
The reward is a bye into the WCC Tournament semifinals Sunday morning in
Tonya Schnibbe (U-Hi) poured in 26 points but it wasn’t enough as
Emily Kuipers (U-Hi) scored 15 points as Regis defeated Colorado Springs 78-67 on Senior night last Friday, her final collegiate game. … Jessie DePell (Freeman) ended the regular season at Montana Tech by leading the Frontier Conference in scoring at 15.6 points a game while redshirt sophomore Alysha Green (Mead) was 15th at 11.0 for
Ashley Michelson (North Central) had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds but Eastern Oregon dropped a 70-67 decision to