Zags’ Hawk honored
Stephanie Hawk was named co-Player of the Year in the West Coast Conference on Monday and this weekend Gonzaga could finally reach the NCAA tournament, which is about all a senior could ask for as her career winds down.
But the objectives Hawk had when she left Ontario, Ore., were met long before the stretch run of her basketball career arrived.
“Basically, my goal was to finish with a good education,” Hawk said. “I knew coach (Kelly) Graves was improving the program. I knew he was going to take the program to a whole other level. I looked forward to him developing me as a basketball player and a person. I’ve gotten everything I wanted and expected.”
All that has come to pass, though there is no question a first WCC tournament championship and the NCAA tournament berth that goes with it would be a great parting gift.
Hawk, twice an Academic All-District selection, has already earned a degree in marketing and has started on a graduate degree.
The team has continually improved under Graves, who was voted WCC Coach of the Year for the third time by his peers.
In Hawk’s four years, GU is 83-39, 48-8 in the WCC. The Bulldogs (21-9 overall, 13-1 WCC) just wrapped up their third-straight WCC regular-season title and reached 20 wins for the third time in school history.
Hawk, a 6-foot-3 forward, set the GU career record for blocked shots (153) in Saturday’s regular-season finale and is fourth in career rebounds (649) and 10th in points (1,194).
She made all-league for the second straight season on the strength of averaging 14.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. Freshman teammate Heather Bowman, named the Newcomer of the Year, also made the all-league team.
For Hawk, the personal honors and team accomplishments pale in comparison to the experience.
“The best part is definitely the girls on the team,” she said. “I’ve had so much fun. We’re like sisters. We’ve had so many different personality types. I’ve got so many memories. They’ve definitely made the whole experience.”
Hawk hopes there are more memories, specifically a date for the Big Dance, something that even eluded the 2005 team that went 14-0 in league and finished 28-4 with a win and a loss in the NIT. However, she isn’t losing any sleep worrying about it.
“We’ve played each team twice,” she said. “We know everything about each team; we know the personnel. As long as we take care of ourselves, execute and play defense, we’ll be fine.”
Winding down
Washington State heads to the Pac-10 tournament in San Jose, squaring off in the opening game against UCLA at 6 p.m. Friday. A win earns the Cougars a date with second-seeded and ninth ranked Arizona State.
•Joanna Chadd and Leah Gonnella (Mead) close out their careers at Eastern Washington when Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona visit Reese Court. The Eagles are two-games behind sixth-place Portland State for a berth in the Big Sky Conference tournament.
•Idaho closes with Hawaii and San Jose State at home before heading to the Western Athletic Conference tournament at New Mexico State.
Tip-ins
San Diego junior guard Amanda Rego, the nation’s leader in assists, and coach Cindy Fisher shared WCC honors with the Zags. Joining Bowman on the All-Freshman team is San Francisco’s Heidi Heintz (Central Valley). … Kate Benz snared the WSU career rebounding record in style, grabbing 11 and 14 in the last two regular-season games when she needed five to pass Cassandra Overbay (1981-84). … Brynn Kelly (Ferris) and Davidson (22-7) earned the third seed in the Southern Conference tournament and play Wofford Thursday morning.