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Gonzaga Women's Basketball

BYU last regular-season stop for WCC champion Gonzaga women

Gonzaga women’s players celebrate after Thursday’s win against the San Diego at that wrapped up the West Coast Conference regular-season championship. (James Snook / For The Spokesman-Review)
By Whitney Ogden whitneyo@spokesman.com(509) 481-1067

One by one, Gonzaga players cut down the net that hung from one of the McCarthey Athletic Center’s hoops – a tradition only suited for champions.

After winning the West Coast Conference women’s basketball title outright on Thursday night against San Diego, the Zags took part in the century old ritual of snipping off a memento of the night that also honored the seniors in their final showing in Spokane.

The Zags had to win at least one of their two games this week to ensure a WCC regular-season title and avoid sharing the top spot with conference rival BYU.

“We’re not a team that likes to share,” head coach Lisa Fortier said ahead of this week’s final matchups. “It’s important for us to prove that we’re the best team, not as good as another team, but the best team in the conference.”

They certainly proved that notion. The Zags took the top spot in the WCC for themselves and rightfully held up their first place trophy in front of a packed house in the Kennel on Thursday.

But the season is not quite finished and Gonzaga has one more stop to make before heading to Las Vegas next week for the WCC conference tournament. The Bulldogs head to Provo, Utah, and will face BYU on Saturday in their final game of the season, a showing that could be pivotal in securing an NCAA Tournament bid.

The Zags currently sit at No. 74 in the national RPI, which still offers a chance for Gonzaga to get a spot in the NCAA Tournament, even if the Zags get all the way to the WCC championship game and lose.

That would mean at least closing out the season with a victory on Saturday, which seems promising if the Cougars forget to show up again.

When the Zags welcomed BYU to the Kennel at the beginning of the month, they showcased one of their best home performances this season.

Last time, Gonzaga hit a school-record 17 3-pointers, with junior guard Emma Stach leading the way with five 3s. Gonzaga ran away from the Cougars almost immediately and toppled BYU 87-52. The 35-point margin tied the largest win margin this season – a 35-point victory over Portland in January.

But, there’s always talk of the fluke excuse. After all, BYU still sits right below Gonzaga in the standings and trails the top dogs by only two wins in the conference, something Fortier keeps reminding herself.

“Everybody … understands how good BYU is, regardless of the score we’ve had,” Fortier said.