Gonzaga women ready to go
STANFORD, Calif. – Looking for good omens, conveniently ignoring 17th-ranked Middle Tennessee State with its 26-game winning streak and All-American candidate Chrissy Givens for a moment, this place provides one for the Gonzaga women’s basketball team – even if it is a stretch.
When the Bulldogs men’s team burst into the national spotlight back in 1999 on its way to becoming a household name in college basketball, the Zags knocked off second-seeded Stanford on their way to an improbable Elite Eight appearance and they haven’t missed an NCAA tournament since.
The women aren’t facing Stanford or a second seed, but they are on the Cardinal’s Maples Pavillion Court for this evening’s 5 p.m. game against fifth-seeded Middle Tennessee in the first-round of the NCAA tournament.
“Yeah, that’s right,” GU coach Kelly Graves said, brightening until he was reminded of his days at Saint Mary’s when the Stanford women, “quite frankly took it to us” on this floor.
So it is a stretch, and the men beat the Cardinal in Seattle, but maybe it’s enough to help calm the Bulldogs in their first appearance on the big stage, one that senior co-captains Katy Ridenour and Stephanie Hawk were chosen to talk about in the pre-practice press conference Thursday afternoon.
“Hawk and I have been playing together for so long, even before college, and to be able to make the tournament our senior year is what you work for and what you look up to as a child,” Ridenour said. “I’m just excited to be here and hope to make everyone proud.”
The Bulldogs have their work cut out for them.
MTSU (29-3) is becoming a midmajor power that is making its 11th appearance in the tournament and fourth in a row. The Blue Raiders have aspirations of finally getting beyond the second round, their high-water mark during Givens’ career.
“It’s in the back of our minds but we don’t think about it,” she said. “We have to take care of Middle Tennessee and, hopefully, we’ll have five or six games left. No matter what, we’re going to give everything we have. If we do that, then we’ll come out victorious.”
The Blue Raiders are an explosive offensive team averaging 77.4 points a game, but it is their defense that gets them there. They press full-court full time, hounding opponents into almost 26 turnovers a game and allowing 60.6 points.
“We have tried to prepare for that the best we can,” Ridenour said. “We have tried our best to remain focused. We have to remain calm and try to get into our offense the best we can.”
To that end, Graves has had his offense practicing 5-on-7 all week.
“You have to be able to do a few things against pressure,” he said. “Primarily, be confident. All of our players will have to handle the ball against a double team. The two most important things, though, are to never relax, even after you break the pressure, and you have to attack.”
Then there is the task to handling Givens, who averages 22 points a game and, Graves reminded, 6-foot forward Amber Holt, who scores 16 points a game.
“They are very athletic all-around and very strong inside,” Hawk said. “We have to be patient and be able to get into our half-court offense.”
Though MTSU is a huge cut above GU’s West Coast Conference rivals, the Bulldogs have been outstanding lately on defense and all year have done an excellent job of stopping individual players.
In the WCC tournament, three opponents shot 37 percent, 21 percent and 29 percent and the leading scorer never got untracked.
In one conference game, the leading 3-point shooter in the nation at the time was held to one point.
“It is tough to compare Givens to any one person,” Graves said. “We will definitely focus on her. If our game plan will work remains to be seen, but Givens is definitely up there in terms of the better players we have seen. (And) that’s a pretty good inside-outside combination. We have our work cut out for us, no question.”