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Gonzaga Women's Basketball

Gonzaga women work to clean up turnovers before WCC opener against LMU

Gonzaga guard Christabel Osarobo steals the ball and drives down the court to score against Arizona State on Dec. 16 at McCarthey Athletic Center. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Greg Lee The Spokesman-Review

The Gonzaga women’s basketball team is poised to begin West Coast Conference play.

The Zags weren’t flawless in their first 13 games as turnovers became a pattern. They’re averaging 19.1 per game and are on pace to top the worst season mark under 12th-year coach Lisa Fortier, set last season.

Gonzaga finished with 598 turnovers last season, averaging 17.1 per game.

Not every turnover is created equal. Nonetheless, the turnovers the Zags (8-5) have committed this season have comein bunches many times, resulting in fewer field goal attempts than opponents.

Had the Zags committed four fewer turnovers on average, they’d likely be starting conference play with a couple more wins.

The Bulldogs have committed 20 or more turnovers in seven games so far this season. In the Zags’ final three nonconference games, they committed 26, 22 and 21.

Whatever the reason for the Zags’ lack of consistency during nonconference play, it’s an area they need to shore up to be sure.

With the addition of Seattle U, the WCC switched to an 18-game unbalanced schedule. This means that teams will play seven teams two times and four teams once – split evenly with two at home and two on the road.

Gonzaga begins its conference slate at home against teams it will face once, starting Sunday against the Loyola Marymount Lions (6-5) at 2 p.m., then against the Pepperdine Waves (9-3) on Tuesday at 6.

Redshirt freshman forward Lauren Whittaker has been nothing short of impressive for the Zags. She’s averaging a team-leading 19.5 points, 58.1% field goal percentage and 9.3 rebounds, all tops in the WCC. Sophomore point guard Allie Turner averages 14.5 points and 3.5 assists.

The Zags have made 92 of 238 from 3-point range (38.7%). Opponents are shooting 31% from behind the arc.

Gonzaga has long put a premium on rebounding. The Zags are outrebounding opponents by nearly 10 per game.

While LMU and Pepperdine ’s nonconference schedules weren’t as challenging as Gonzaga’s, the Waves did face North Dakota State – a team GU handled easily.

Gonzaga faced North Dakota State on the road in a season opener, winning 81-66. Pepperdine lost Dec. 16 to visiting NDSU 82-80 in overtime.

Fortier said the Zags need to focus on consistency and competitive stamina as they dive into WCC play. A good place to start is committing fewer turnovers.