Gonzaga, Cougars look alike
There only seems to be one significant difference between the Gonzaga and Brigham Young women’s basketball teams.
GU’s Bulldogs finished the regular season 27-3, shattering all kinds of school records along the way.
BYU went 19-10. Part of that can be attributed to schedules because the Cougars played in the Mountain West Conference, which is certainly tougher than the West Coast Conference that the Zags steamrolled this year.
But studying the rosters and statistics – and listening to the coaches – it sounds as if the teams are interchangeable.
“Coach has been telling us they match up really well to what we do,” GU junior forward Stephanie Hawk said. “They’re very similar.”
That should produce a good showdown tonight when the teams meet at the McCarthey Athletic Center in the first round of the women’s NIT.
That’s where the Bulldogs have a huge edge, which could be critical if there is any letdown because they were left out of the NCAA Tournament when the pairings were announced Sunday.
“I think that’s the advantage of playing here at home,” GU coach Kelly Graves said. “I don’t think the crowd will let us (let down).”
More than 2,100 tickets were sold by Tuesday afternoon, including all reserved seats. The winner faces the survivor of Thursday’s game between Southern Methodist and Southwestern Missouri and a big crowd could help GU get another home game.
“They probably should have gone to the NCAA tournament,” BYU coach Jeff Judkins said of GU. “I don’t know how they didn’t make it – it’s shocking. … When they didn’t make it, I had a feeling that they’d match us up against them. It will be like playing Utah or Wyoming, where they execute well.”
The NCAA snub isn’t the only motivation for the Bulldogs. They put themselves in that position because their last game was a 77-66 loss to Santa Clara in the championship game of the WCC tournament.
“That was a rough deal,” Hawk said. “We want to go out and show that’s not us. That was one bad game. We want to show we are a special team and we can still do really good things. We’re using it as motivation because we don’t want it to end on that bad note.”
Gonzaga will have to bring it’s best game to move on.
“They are skilled,” GU senior forward Ashley Burke said of BYU. “Inside they’re big and have some experience. It will be a nice battle.”
The teams have played five similar opponents, which made preparing – physically and mentally – somewhat easier despite the quick turnaround.
“It’s tough to have to go through this, but it’s good to have a game so soon,” Burke said. “We have to get over it right away. We look forward to this. We have a chance to do something good here.”
The Cougars have six players averaging more than 7.5 points. Four of their seven players have averaged more than four rebounds.
“The area they’re really strong is they board well,” Graves said. “They’re very athletic. They’re like us. They’re long and lean so I’m sure they always had a matchup advantage. … We’re not going to have that advantage against these guys. Their help defense is a lot like ours. They fly at you.”
Point guard Julie Sullivan leads the Cougars, finishing 10th in the conference in scoring (11.6) and fifth in assists (3.79), to earn first-team All-MWC honors. She’ll match up with two-time all-WCC point guard Shannon Mathews, GU’s second-leading scorer (11.7) and all-time assist leader (6.6 this year).
The BYU inside game revolves around Danielle Chessman, a 6-foot-2 senior forward who averaged 8.1 points and 7.9 rebounds, fourth in the MWC. That’s the matchup for 6-1 Burke, who leads the Bulldogs at 14.3 points and 5.9 rebounds.
No only are the starters similar, but their top reserves match up.
The Cougars’ most athletic player is 6-2 junior Ambrosia Anderson, who averages 10.6 and 4.7 rebounds. The Zags counter with 6-0 junior Ann Bailey, who averages 9.8 and 5.0. Both earned all-conference recognition without starting. After making the NIT last year and losing at Oregon State in the first game, Graves is looking for his program to make another step, even if it is not where the Bulldogs hoped.
“Last year we were happy we made the NIT. This time we want to win a game,” he said. “We’d like to prove we belong in the other tournament. Anytime you win a postseason game it helps with your confidence, because somewhere along the line you’re going to rely on that experience.”