Notebook: Sizzling Gonzaga women set for home opener against CSU on Thursday, with Stanford looming

It was a fantastic opening week for the Gonzaga women’s basketball team.

The Bulldogs prefer starting a season at home. But they could not find any opponents to play at McCarthey Athletic Center last week so they had to arrange a two-game trip to the Midwest.

What the Zags learned about themselves is they are going to be very good this season. Gonzaga pulled away for an 81-66 win over North Dakota State last Friday and followed up two days later with a 72-69 victory at Toledo.

The polar opposite of Gonzaga’s start happened at Washington State. The Cougars have dropped their first three, beginning with a wild 87-85 setback to an Idaho team that has a huge upside. That loss was all the more difficult to swallow considering the Cougs were done in by one of the six players who transferred after last season.

Kyra Gardner had 26 points and eight rebounds to lead the Vandals. The 5-foot-11 senior did not get much playing time in Pullman and that probably explains why she moved eight miles east.

WSU followed that up with a tough 64-51 loss at UNLV, which is favored to win the Mountain West. A couple days later, the Cougars fell 77-64 at Southern Utah.

The hole is likely to get deeper for WSU in the next week.

Former Pac-12 Conference power Stanford (3-0) swings through the region this week, stopping at WSU on Friday before a Sunday afternoon matchup with Gonzaga.

WSU has never beaten Stanford. The Cardinal have won all 75 meetings with the Cougs.

It is a streak that is bound to be broken. But not likely Friday. Tip at Beasley Coliseum is at 4 p.m.

Gonzaga entertains Stanford on Sunday, tipping off at 2 p.m. The Zags would love to recreate the same atmosphere and outcome the last time Stanford visited two years ago.

The Cardinal were ranked third in the nation, but the Zags took it to them in a 96-78 decision.

Stanford, under first-year coach Kate Paye, got a measure of revenge last year at Maples Pavilion.

Before the Zags face off with the Cardinal, they meet Colorado State on Thursday. Tip is at 6 p.m.

It will be the third time the Zags are at McCarthey Athletic Center after FanFest and an exhibition. This time it is for real.

Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier would like to see the team that started with a road sweep with a few changes.

“Our pace of play, execution – there’s always room to grow,” Fortier said. “We still have a long road ahead of us as far as developing (as a team), but where we’re at right now is an OK spot to start from.”

Colorado State will move into the new Pac-12 with Gonzaga next year.

Gonzaga played one of its finest halves last season when the Rams and Zags faced off in Ft. Collins, Colorado. But in the same game, the Bulldogs played one of their worst halves of the season, eventually falling 74-72 in overtime.

Colorado State is picked to finish third in the Mountain West.

Even though Zags fans are excited about the pending showdown with Stanford, Fortier says Colorado State has her full attention.

Gonzaga’s lone returning starter, sophomore guard Allie Turner, is looking forward to the home debut.

“We played really well together (last weekend),” Turner said. “We can’t underestimate (Colorado State or Stanford). They’ll be really good games.”

• WSU’s difficult early schedule continues next week with a home game against former Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves’ Oregon Ducks. Then the Cougs have a neutral-court game in Orlando, Florida, against Missouri.

And, if things fall right, WSU could face powerhouse LSU at the Paradise Jam.

WSU coach Kamie Ethridge’s young, new team must grow up in a hurry.

“It’s a disappointing start to our season,” Ethridge said. “Losing is one thing. The way we lost is concerning. … We have a long way to go, but I continue to be unbelievably excited about this team. We’ve bitten off a lot with this (nonconference) schedule.”

Early returns

The Zags have played just two games but it appears that Fortier has settled on a starting five. The only way it is likely to change is if an injury occurs.

Turner is sharing starting duties with redshirt freshman forward Laura Whittaker, senior guard Ines Bettencourt, junior Weber State transfer forward Taylor Smith and Saint Mary’s junior transfer guard Zeryhia Aokuso.

Turner has picked up where she left off when she was named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and to the All-WCC first team. She has made 6 of 8 3-pointers in the first two games, averaging a team-leading 17 points.

Although Whittaker has much international experience, it should be noted she is still a college freshman. She is going to have ups and downs that come with being a freshman. But the ups are going to be exceptional and the downs will be brief.

Bettencourt is much improved over last year. There is a maturity in her game. She has caught up with the speed of the game and is not forcing bad passes that often came in bunches last season.

Smith is going to be a steady hand all season, capable of doing multiple things.

The wild card could be Aokuso. She is talented and one of the Zags’ more versatile players.

A separation is happening among players off the bench. Going into the season opener, there were at least 12 players who could have played. That rotation has shrunk to nine. Boise State transfer and sophomore guard Teryn Gardner, freshman guard Julia Wilson, freshman forward Jaiden Haile and junior forward McKynnlie Dalan are going to provide solid minutes off the bench.

Milestones

WSU junior guard Eleonora Villa is within nine points of reaching 1,000 for her career.

• Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier sits at 291 career victories (291-74, .797 winning percentage).

Fortier was an assistant previously under Kelly Graves, who had a 316-136 (.699) record in 14 seasons.

Weekly honors

Gonzaga swept the WCC weekly honors with Turner voted Player of the Week and Lauren Whittaker voted Freshman of the Week.

Like last year with Turner and Yvonne Ejim, this year’s duo of Turner and Whittaker is likely to win multiple weekly honors.

In the Zags’ opening two wins on the road, Turner, a sophomore guard from St. Louis, Missouri, averaged 17 points and 3.5 assists. She also had six 3-pointers.

Whittaker, a redshirt freshman forward from Canterbury, New Zealand, averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.

• Idaho’s Gardner was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week.

After spending three seasons at Washington State, Gardner transferred last spring to Idaho. And in an interesting twist, Idaho opened the season at WSU.

Gardner took advantage of the opportunity and had her best collegiate game. She scored a game-high 26 points, had eight rebounds, five steals and made three 3-pointers while blocking WSU’s final shot in an 87-85 win by the Vandals.

In Idaho’s next game against UC Davis, Gardner had 16 points, four rebounds and four 3-pointers. In just 12 minutes against Walla Walla, she had 10 points, five assists and three steals.

• Former Gonzaga guard Bree Salenbien had a terrific debut at Ball State last week.

Salenbien, who graduated last spring from Gonzaga, transferred to Ball State with a year of eligibility remaining. She was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week after helping the Muncie, Indiana, school to a 2-0 start.

Salenbien, who suffered two ACL injuries at Gonzaga, averaged 14 points and 12 rebounds. She had a career-best 20 points and 12 rebounds last Sunday.