Women’s basketball: Area programs must limit turnovers as conference play approaches

A team can’t get enough of them and a team can get too many of them.

The answers are: assists and turnovers.

Having more turnovers than assists isn’t the sole reason area women’s basketball teams have struggled , but it’s a good place to start.

Gonzaga (5-6 ), Washington State (5-6) and Eastern Washington (3-8) are painfully aware of what turnovers do to an offense and the pressure they on defense.

Gonzaga has 202 turnovers (18.4 per game) and 163 assists (14.8); WSU has 171 turnovers (15.5) and 144 assists (13.1); and EWU has 166 turnovers (15.1) and 136 assists (12.4).

“I don’t think we’re handling the ball like we need to,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said. “More turnovers than assists is an indication of us not quite being together on the court. That is the one big area I’m most concerned about and we’ve got to improve immediately if we want to see better results.”

After having just six assists and 15 turnovers Sunday at Gonzaga, EWU bounced back Monday to record a season-high 28 assists against a season-low nine turnovers Monday in a dominating win against NAIA Warner Pacific.

Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier knows how troublesome turnovers have been.

“We’re trying to stop them,” Fortier said. “We’re playing heavily through our forwards, who are being double- and triple-teamed different times. (There are) some decision-making things that we’re working through.”

Fortier is hopeful.

“We’re going to get better at it,” Fortier said. “We’re showing them in practice (and) we’re tracking it. We’re doing the things that we know. But a lot of it comes with experience and getting to know each other better.”

Roster turnover for all three area teams has made developing continuity a challenge. As a result, teams have had as many unforced mistakes as forced from time to time.

Reducing the unforced turnovers is pivotal as teams begin conference play this month.

Peek at the WCC

For Gonzaga and new West Coast Conference affiliate member WSU, the next season begins this week.

In a quirk of the schedule, Oregon State, the other new affiliate member, opened conference Dec. 5 when the Beavers fell 66-63 in an overtime loss at Pacific.

After playing its first game at home in more than three weeks in a 79-50 win over EWU on Saturday, Gonzaga starts WCC with a road trip. The Zags go to San Francisco (2-6) on Thursday and San Diego (4-5) on Saturday.

San Francisco was picked to finish sixth and San Diego ninth in the WCC preseason poll.

WSU would have had two conference games this week, but a previously scheduled game against Oregon State for Saturday was moved to Jan. 27. The Cougars open Thursday at San Diego.

Oregon State (3-7, 0-1) was picked to finish fourth and Pacific (5-6, 1-0) tabbed for fifth. The Beavers finish nonconference play this week with two games in Maui.

Portland is the lone WCC team to go undefeated in nonconference play. The Pilots (11-0) were picked to finish third behind Gonzaga and WSU.

Just three other teams are above .500 – Loyola Marymount (6-2), Pepperdine (5-4), coached by former Lake City standout and Oregon State assistant Katie (Baker) Faulkner, and Santa Clara (6-4).

The sentiment going into the season was the WCC would be down this season even with the addition of WSU and Oregon State, which lost eight players to the transfer portal off an Elite Eight team a year ago.

Here’s what the WCC teams’ strength of schedule are going into this week: Oregon State is ninth, WSU (13), Gonzaga (86), San Diego (88), Portland (90), Loyola Marymount (94), Pacific (96), Santa Clara (105), Saint Mary’s (108), San Francisco (115) and Pepperdine (129).

“Wish we would have performed a little better through some of it (nonconference), but that’s always what our schedule is going to look like,” Fortier said. “We’re never going to schedule a (nonconference) schedule that’s 335th in the country. … The competition is good. We were tested and some things were exposed.”

Quotable

Ethridge on the Cougars: “I feel like we’re getting better on a daily basis and managing the games a little bit better. I certainly feel like we might be prepared for what we’re going to see going forward because of what we’ve already seen.”

• Ethridge on playing six of 11 nonconference games on the road, including games at Iowa and Oregon: “There’s some real positives having played the teams we have and having been on the road and having to deal with some tough adversity and playing environments and playing through things. There’s a lot to be hopeful for and clearly like any coach out there, there’s a lot to be concerned about.”

• Ethridge on preparing for the WCC: “We’ve seen a lot of different styles. That’s the hope that the (nonconference) has prepared us and sharpened us and made us become a better team and exposed us so we know what we have to work on in order for us to be successful the next two to three months.”

EWU coach Joddie Gleason noting her team’s struggles after loss at Gonzaga: “As a staff, we’ll continue to take a look at who can help us make shots and finish. We’re just not scoring enough points right now.”

• Gleason about her team’s schedule: “Our preseason schedule has been really tough. We’ve played top teams in each conference we faced. I’m proud of our players for their resiliency, sticking together and continuing to work.”

Fortier following her team’s 12-of-24 shooting from 3-point range in the win over EWU on Sunday: “We have to have a perimeter attack if you have really talented interior players, otherwise everyone drops off. Some (teams) are trying to do that. It becomes difficult when you have players that can shoot it like we can. (3-point shooting) was a little bit of a concern going into the season just because we’ve shot it so well the last few years.”

• Fortier about EWU graduate transfer Peyton Howard: “She’s so crafty and experienced. … She makes you pay when you make mistakes.”

This ’n’ that

WSU senior guard Tara Wallack reached 1,000 career points on Sunday. She has 1,006 points and 509 rebounds, and is 13 assists shy of 200. … Ethridge got her 100th win Sunday at WSU. Her record in seven seasons in Pullman is 100-96. … EWU snapped a three-game losing streak Monday against Warner Pacific. The Eagles play their final nonconference game Friday when they entertain UC Santa Barbara.

• Two Zags – fifth-year forward Yvonne Ejim and freshman Allie Turner – received WCC honors. Fifth-year forward Ejim was named WCC Player of the Week for the second time this season. She matched a career-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field to go with five assists and three rebounds in Gonzaga’s win over EWU on Sunday. It was Ejim’s 53rd straight time scoring in double figures. … Turner was named WCC Freshman of the Week for the third time this year. She had 19 points, five rebounds and three assists against EWU. She made a career-high five 3-pointers. She ranks first in the country among freshmen in made 3-pointers (34). … Gonzaga ranks last in the nation (353) in forced turnovers.