GU women prepare for Gaels’ inside strength
LAS VEGAS – It’ll be a clash of styles when Gonzaga faces Saint Mary’s today in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference women’s basketball tournament.
The fourth-seeded Gaels edged No. 5 Pepperdine 67-63 at Orleans Arena on Friday. Gonzaga head coach Kelly Graves and his team arrived to see the final 4 minutes, but a couple of Bulldogs assistants were on hand throughout for scouting purposes.
Top-seeded Gonzaga (25-4) split with the Gaels (21-9) in the regular season. Saint Mary’s ended GU’s 34-game WCC winning streak with a 66-63 upset in Spokane. Gonzaga pulled out a 75-70 win in Moraga, Calif.
“Both of those games could have gone either way,” Graves said.
“They pose problems because they have those two big inside kids (Danielle Mauldin and former Coeur d’Alene Viking Carli Rosenthal) and they’re physical. We play a finesse game. I think we play the game the way it’s supposed to be played, but they’re real physical inside and if we don’t push back we struggle.”
Saint Mary’s senior guard Alex Carbonel, sidelined since Feb. 4 with an ankle injury, returned to play 6 minutes against Pepperdine.
“She has killed us in the past,” Graves said.
Asked if Gonzaga is more vulnerable than previous seasons, Saint Mary’s coach Paul Thomas said, “They still won the league, so they have the utmost respect from our program.”
After Mauldin answered a question on today’s matchup, Thomas added, ‘And Courtney Vandersloot isn’t in uniform, thank God. I was reading something and I think she set the record against us with 16 assists here last year. I’m glad we’re not playing against her.”
Saint Mary’s 67, Pepperdine 63: Danielle Mauldin finished with 17 points and nine rebounds as the Gaels eliminated the Waves (14-15).
Pepperdine’s Lauren Bell scored a career-high 30 points, including six 3-pointers.
The game featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes.
San Diego 70, Portland 60: Dominique Conners scored 25 points and Amy Kame added a career-best 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting from the field as the Toreros eliminated the Pilots (12-20). San Diego recorded its program-best 22nd win of the season.