No. 20 Gonzaga women battle Portland for first place in West Coast Conference
It’s not exactly a rivalry, but the Portland Pilots certainly have Gonzaga’s attention.
How could they not? The winner of Saturday’s game at Portland will have sole possession of first place in the West Coast Conference.
“We’re pumped to be back on the court,” point guard Kaylynne Truong said Thursday as the Zags prepared for their only game this week.
At 16-2 overall and 6-0 in the WCC, the Zags are in a strong position to reach the NCAA Tournament should they suffer an upset in the conference tournament. But a loss at Portland (12-5, 6-0) would dent those hopes.
The teams will meet again in Spokane on Feb. 11, but the winner of Saturday’s game will have the inside track for a title that recently has been decided by a single game. Case in point: last year when GU finished one game behind BYU.
Still, coach Lisa Fortier said she didn’t feel the need to “be extra amped up this week.”
“This week we’ve been able to break things down a little more,” Fortier said. “A little more micro attack to their offenses and their defenses.”
But there was no talk about a rivalry. After all, GU has won 27 of the past 28 meetings going back to 2009.
“I think that just the simple fact of our locations in the same region and being travel partners isn’t enough – there has to be some competitiveness to it,” said Portland coach Michael Meek, now in his fourth year.
Long one of the lesser programs in the WCC, Portland got a big boost with its 70-69 upset of the Zags in the semifinals of the conference tournament in Las Vegas. Portland went on to earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament – the one that was canceled by the pandemic.
“I think this team is better than that team,” Fortier said.
The Pilots have built on that success. Last year, they handed regular-season champion BYU its only loss of the regular season and took Gonzaga to the limit in two meetings.
Portland has won seven straight – its longest streak since 2010 – and is coming off a 31-point rout of San Francisco on Saturday.
Forward Alex Fowler averages 17.6 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 64.7% from the floor.
Three other Pilots also average in double figures, including Liberty High (Spangle) product Maisie Burnham (11 ppg), Haylee Andrews (10.9), and Emme Shearer (10.4).
“I did watch a couple of their games with coach Craig (Fortier),” Truong said. “They’re going to do what they’re going to do.
“A win would be great, and it would be a big win if we could get it.”
Ranked 20th in this week’s Associated Press poll, the Zags offer multiple scoring threats as they try to build on a nine-game winning streak.
The Zags have four players averaging double figures, including Yvonne Ejim (16.4 ppg), Truong (16.1), Brynna Maxwell (14.5) and Eliza Hollingsworth (10.9).
The Bulldogs are shooting what would be a program-record 80.8% from the free-throw line, which also ranks second in the country and first in the WCC. Brynna Maxwell leads the team with 97.9%, which also leads the nation.