WCC title ‘means everything’ for Gonzaga tournament MVP Melody Kempton

LAS VEGAS – This one meant a lot – for the Gonzaga coaches and players but especially for senior Melody Kempton.

This was her team from the beginning, an underdog squad led by a hardworking senior who’d toiled since her freshman year for this moment.

And it was better than she could have imagined.

The Zags had just knocked off 15th-ranked Brigham Young 71-59 to win the West Coast Conference Tournament title.

They won this game by “flying around” on defense, as Kempton put it, and they celebrated the same way.

After the final buzzer sounded Tuesday afternoon at the Orleans Arena, Kempton gathered her teammates – her family for four years – at center court.

Then she dashed to the stands and embraced her other family – parents, grandparents and friends from Post Falls, all proudly wearing her No. 33 jersey.

“It was just amazing,” Kempton said, “to be able to bring them down here and feel that joy.”

Then things got even more amazing.

As hundreds gathered at midcourt, WCC officials announced the all-tournament team.

The MVP: Kempton. That was a mild surprise, but so fitting.

Her stats – 22 points and seven boards in two games – were decent enough, but from the opening tipoff in the semifinal against USF, it was Kempton who set the tone for an epic tournament performance by the Zags.

Following her lead, they brought a controlled energy to the court in both games. They scrapped for loose balls, dominated in the paint and didn’t let up until the final buzzer.

That was a reflection of Kempton, who put herself on the line so often that she fouled out of both games.

It’s been a long road for a kid grew up only 20 miles from the Kennel.

The Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Post Falls High School, she earned her minutes from the first practice at the Kennel.

She shared the paint with Zykera Rice, then the Wirth sisters, but never as a starter until this year.

Now it was her team, a hardworking reflecting of herself.

And this year they were underdogs as well – an odd place for a program that had won 16 of the 17 previous WCC regular-season titles.

The preseason favorite BYU team – no surprise, considering the Cougars returned every key player.

But that didn’t set well with Kempton.

“We have that gritty feeling of wanting to prove people wrong,” she said before the season. “This team is like no other team I’ve been on … the chemistry is very different, and I would take a bullet for this team.”

Certainly the Zags took some shots this year. They blew some leads, they got embarrassed two weeks ago at BYU. And they didn’t win the regular-season title.

But this felt pretty good.

Kempton usually chooses her words carefully in postgame interviews, but this wasn’t the occasion. She walked in wearing a basketball net around her neck and talked about the journey.

“This means everything,” said Kempton, her eyes moistening.

“All my hard work that I put in, year after year,” she said. “And having teammates who have more confidence in me than I do.”