Zags state case in WNIT rout
Actions speak louder than words.
Four days after being snubbed by the NCAA, Gonzaga routed UC Davis 81-60 in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament before 1,718 fans at McCarthey Athletic Center Thursday night.
“It seemed like they were sending a little message to the NCAA Selection Committee,” Davis basketball coach Sandy Simpson said. “Justifiably so.”
Though none of the Bulldogs mentioned the NCAA, one fan had a sign that said: No Clue about At-large Bids.
What the Zags (25-8) did was dominate a solid Davis (19-12) team that they defeated by 13 in December and earn a second-round game at Colorado (16-13) on Monday.
All 11 GU scholarship players scored, four in double figures. The Bulldogs forced the Aggies into a season-high 26 turnovers that GU converted into 33 points.
“I’m proud of the way we played,” Bulldogs coach Kelly Graves said. “It took a while to get our legs under us. It’s been almost two weeks since we played. Sometimes that’s tough. Starting the second half we got our legs under us and just took off.”
The Bulldogs got separation after a sluggish first 5 minutes. They put together a 19-4 run, not with spectacular offense but stellar defense, to lead 21-10 with 7:50 left in the half.
In that nearly 10-minute stretch, Davis was held to 2-of-9 shooting with 10 turnovers, all of which came after Gonzaga switched to a 2-3 zone.
“I think the key to this game was we came in really well-prepared,” said senior Michelle Elliott, who led the Bulldogs with 19 points. “We had seen these guys before this year, we knew what to expect. We had a little bit of motivation coming in off a tough loss.
“When we played them the first time at their place it was all zone. … The game plan was to switch it up, but the zone had so much success, why change something that’s working?”
The lead stayed between 10 and 14, with the margin 33-19 at the break when Elliott stole the ball and swished a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
The Bulldogs shot 34 percent in the first half but Davis shot 32 percent, including 0-7 on 3-pointers.
“They’re long, they have good size across the board, their guards have good size,” Simpson said. “When we got down a little bit we tried to force things against the zone. We made some bad decisions, things that are uncharacteristic for us.”
Then the Bulldogs came out firing in the second half, shooting 61 percent while keeping the defensive pressure on. The lead reached 36 with more than 5 minutes remaining.
“I told the team it’s the mark of a smart team – we started to figure out that zone,” Graves said. “They did it on their own. It was nothing we called. Once they did, it was all over.
Heather Bowman added 12 points, becoming the first sophomore in school history to joint the 1,000-point club. Vivian Frieson and Tiffani Schives added 10 apiece. Elaina Renius, a 6-4 junior, came off the bench to pull down a game-high seven rebounds and was a big presence in the middle of the zone.
“It’s nice to have that anchor in the middle,” Graves said. “That’s probably more zone than we’ve played combined since December. … They run that Princeton offense. They do such a good job of it. What’s the sense of chasing those kids around when you can go to that zone and make them shoot it over the top of you?”
With an offensive surge in a sloppy final 5 minutes, Davis ended up shooting 50 percent in the second half. Standout senior Jessica Campbell led the Aggies with 23 points, but the last eight came in the closing minutes.
If the Bulldogs win at Colorado they could possibly play at home in the third round.