GU punches its ticket
PORTLAND, Ore. – Kelly Graves somehow managed to locate his three sons amid the crush of reveling fans that had gathered at one end of the court in the University of Portland’s Chiles Center late Sunday afternoon.
Graves had just watched his Gonzaga Bulldogs knock off Loyola Marymount 64-47 in the championship game of the West Coast Conference tournament to earn the school its first berth in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
And as the Zags’ seventh year head coach leaned over and spread his arms to embrace Max, Jack and Will, he asked, “How about your daddy’s basketball team? How about the way they played today?”
Rhetorical?
Sure.
But then Graves wasn’t really searching for additional confirmation on just how well his top-seeded Bulldogs (24-9) had performed in fighting off third-seeded LMU (19-12) in a memorable title game that had the feel of a back-alley brawl.
“Excited, elated, ecstatic, all of that,” Graves said, when asked how it felt – after a couple of near-misses in recent years – to finally reel in a WCC tournament title and the league’s automatic berth in the NCAAs. “I’m really proud of our basketball team.
“We had to play a style that we’re not always comfortable with – a knock-down, drag-out kind of tough battle. But we showed that we can play that way, and that if you punch us in the nose, we’re going to punch you back.”
All-tournament senior forward Stephanie Hawk, who was on the GU teams that lost in the finals of the WCC tournament in 2004 and 2005, finished with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Heather Bowman, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, added 14 points and five rebounds as the Bulldogs beat the Lions for the third time this year.
“It was just an amazing feeling,” Hawk recalled of watching the final seconds tick off the clock. “Your senior year, to win the conference and get yourself an automatic bid and not leave (your fate) up to the (NCAA selection) committee … it’s just a great feeling.
“There are no words to describe it.”
When asked if she was worried about suffering another title-game disappointment when LMU sliced the Zag’s once-comfortable 18-point second-half lead to 54-45 with just over 3 minutes remaining, Hawk added:
“It actually didn’t cross my mind. I felt pretty good about this game the whole way. I felt very confident, because we were playing very well and I just had a gut feeling we were going to pull it out.”
It helped that junior point guard Rachel Kane, who finished with eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists, was able to play through some uncalled hand checks and settle her team down. But it was the efficient and productive play of Hawk and Bowman on the low blocks that finally did in the Lions.
Hawk made seven of her 15 basket tries and also blocked four shots, while Bowman, a former standout at Lewis and Clark High School, finished 6 for 9 from the floor and also came up with a couple of steals.
Bowman, who scored 47 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in her first WCC tournament, said she wasn’t even aware the league named a tournament MVP.
“It felt good, I guess,” Bowman said about first hearing she had won the award. “But it felt better to win. This whole thing just feels amazing, because this team is so close. And to be able to help our seniors finally do this is incredible.”
Graves said he felt fortunate to have two dependable low-post scoring options in Hawk and Bowman all season long. And he added that Bowman’s MVP award was well-deserved.
“She’s been awesome,” he said of his rookie sensation, who was also a first-team all-conference selection. “I’ve been in this conference for 15 years, and there’s no question that she’s the best freshman to ever play in the conference.
“It’s not often that you find a freshman you can go to down the stretch and trust to make big plays for you.”
With Hawk and Bowman scoring early and often, the Bulldogs converted on 12 of their first 16 field-goal attempts and breezed to a 34-19 halftime lead. They built their advantage to 54-36 on Kane’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 7 ½ minutes left, but then put their large contingent of fans on edge by letting the Lions loose on a 10-0 run.
Kane finally answered LMU’s surge with a pair of free throws and sophomore Jami Bjorklund, who was also named to the all-tournament team, followed with a putback bucket 30 seconds later that sealed the deal.
“We finally got over the hump,” Kane said.
“I’m really glad for Spokane, too,” added Graves. “It’s been a men’s basketball town for a long time, and I’m happy we could finally give them another team to cheer for in the NCAAs.”
ESPN will air the women’s NCAA tournament pairings show at 5 p.m. on Monday, March 12.
NCAA tickets
Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth said information will be forthcoming on fan information for the NCAA tournament.
“Until the selection show next Monday when we find out where we are going we won’t have ticket information,” Roth said Sunday. “As soon as our site and opponent are announced we will get information out via the website and media outlets regarding NCAA Tournament tickets.”
The four first/second round sites for March 17-19 are Austin, Texas; Minneapolis, Minn.; Stanford, Calif., and Los Angeles, Calif. The four first/second round sites March 18-20 are East Lansing, Mich.; Hartford, Conn.; Pittsburgh, Penn., and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Gonzaga 64, LMU 47
Loyola-Marymount (19-12, 9-5)—Ogoke 3-6 1-3 7, Dunlap 4-13 2-4 10, Decoud 3-9 1-2 7, Patton 1-8 5-6 8, Goss 0-5 0-0 0, Moore 1-3 0-0 2, Helmers 0-0 0-0 0, Sybesma 1-1 0-0 2, Vargas 1-5 1-1 3, Hall 4-12 0-0 8, Totals 18-62 10-16 47.
Gonzaga (24-9, 13-1)—Bowman 6-9 2-2 14, Hawk 7-15 2-2 17, Kane 2-6 2-2 8, Ridenour 2-5 00- 4, Bjorklund 3-5 0-0 6, Polishchuk 0-1 0-0 0, Hassett 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Elliott 3-6 0-0 0, Frieson 0-0 0-0 0, Santos 4-6 0-0 8, Totals 27-53 6-6 64.
Halftime–Gonzaga 34, LMU 19. 3-point goals–LMU 1-11 (Patton 1-6, Goss 0-4, Moore 0-1). Gonaga 4-10 (Hawk 1-1, Kane 2-3, Ridenour 0-1, Bjorklund 0-1, Polishchuk 0-1, Hassettt 0-1, Elliott 1-3). Fouled out–None. Rebounds–LMU 31 (Dunlap 13), Gonzaga 39 (Hawk 12). Assists–LMU 7 (Decoud 4), Gonzaga 18 (Kane 7). Total fouls–LMU 13, Gonzaga 16. A–1,192.