Dancing again: Coach Lisa Fortier managed to guide Gonzaga back to the NCAA Tournament despite distractions, and a retooled roster

On closer examination, Lisa Fortier and her staff just turned in one of the best efforts in their eight years at Gonzaga.

And that was before the Zags knocked off 15th-ranked Brigham Young last week in the finals of the West Coast Conference Tournament and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Problem is, the bar is already set quite high, thanks to Fortier and her predecessor, Kelly Graves.

When the season began, the Zags were trying to replace more than half their points and rebounds from the previous season – yet many fans expected GU to simply reload and win its 17th regular-season title in the past 18 years.

If not for a second-half meltdown against a loaded BYU squad in the Kennel five weeks ago, the Zags would have done that, too. Still, they finished the WCC regular season at 15-2 – good enough to win the title most years.

All this from a team that came in with the lowest expectations of any in recent years.

With the graduation of Townsend and the Wirth sisters, Fortier had to replace 51% of the Zags’ points and rebounds, not to mention their leadership.

Several returning players were moved to new roles, newcomers struggled and injured point guard Kayleigh Truong was at half strength in narrow losses to Washington State and UC Davis.

COVID continued to impact the Zags more than their rivals, as many in their older fan base were reluctant to put themselves at risk.

Crowd were the smallest in years, about 2,500 for most games. Those who remained were muffled by masks, and couldn’t eat or drink after concessions were closed during the omicron surge.

A major distraction came early in the season.

As some GU players protested racial and other injustices by taking a knee during the national anthem, others took offense.

Some fans booed and others stopped attending before the issue was settled with hand-wringing and meeting that eventually involved players, coaches and senior administration.

On the court, Fortier and her staff had to work with players who lacked the versatility of Townsend and the Wirths.

Starting bigs Melody Kempton and Anamaria Virjoghe aren’t consistent shooters, and neither is wing Abby O’Connor. Guard Cierra Walker is a strong shooter but not a big threat to drive.

Five-star recruit Bree Salenbien struggled to adjust to the speed of the college game, while four-star Makayla Williams, a sophomore was inconsistent.

That left Fortier with a seven-player rotation during big games, with Yvonne Ejim and Kaylynne Truong coming off the bench and getting starters’ minutes. Both were productive – at one point they were the team’s top two scorers – which brought criticism on social media.

“I’ve been chastised throughout the year for my starting lineup, because some people think it should be something different,” Fortier said after the WCCs.

After all that, the Zags still managed to go 26-6 and reach the NCAAs for the seventh time in eight years under Fortier. During the past four years, GU is 106-18 overall and 64-6 in the WCC.

For fans nostalgic about the good old days, it’s important to remember that during the Courtney Vandersloot years (2008-11), the Zags were only 115-22 overall and 57-3 in the conference.

Vandersloot’s last team reached the Elite Eight, but casual fans are quick to forget that all four games were played in Spokane – two in the Kennel against higher-seeded Iowa and UCLA, and the regional in the Arena against Louisville and top-seeded Stanford.

BYU entered the WCC the next year, which didn’t help the Zags; of their six conference losses since 2018, five came against the Cougars.

Fortier’s NCAA Tournament record is only 3-5, with only one win in the past five seasons. The pandemic, however, cost her best team – the 28-3 squad of 2019-20 – a chance to host first- and second-round games.