Gonzaga women fall to Colorado State 70-66, snapping long win streak in home openers
Lisa Fortier signed off on a difficult nonconference schedule.
The Gonzaga women’s basketball team didn’t open at home against a usual Big Sky Conference-level team.
The Bulldogs had challenges sustaining offense and breakdowns on defense, resulting in Colorado State snapping the Zags’ 22-game home-opening winning streak, 70-66, Thursday before a crowd of 4,936 at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Gonzaga (2-1) struggled to manufacture offense in the final 5 minutes. Redshirt freshman forward Lauren Whittaker, who had the best game of her short career, scored the Bulldogs’ final five points in the closing 5 minutes.
It wasn’t enough, though. For whatever reason, Gonzaga didn’t have anybody else step up and help Whittaker down the stretch. Sophomore guard Allie Turner, the Zags’ lone returning starter, struggled throughout, finishing with a career-low two points on 1-for-5 shooting and 0 of 3 from 3-point range. She didn’t take a shot from the field until the 4:23 mark of the second quarter.
Junior transfer guard Zeryhia Aokuso played well, but nobody else chipped in consistently enough.
“We didn’t actually take good shots,” Fortier said. “They (the Rams) were physical. We usually have a couple more players who are commanding some attention defensively and it seemed like mostly Z (Aokuso) and Lauren (Whittaker) were the only two who were really commanding very much attention. And when they weren’t in the game it was noticeable. The biggest thing for us is getting the right shots and we didn’t.”
Whittaker thought the game was lost on the defensive end. Colorado State scored 40 points in the key, and Rams guards many times either backed defenders down or got loose inside.
“It really came down to our defense and guarding one-on-one and taking ownership of that,” Whittaker said.
The 6-foot-3 Whittaker hit her first 3-pointer of the season and it sparked the New Zealander. She finished with a game-high 29 points on 12-for-18 shooting, including 4 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc. She also had seven rebounds.
“I think we moved the ball good in the first half and in the second half … we probably rushed a few shots,” Whittaker said.
Gonzaga’s best stretch of team offense came at the end of the third quarter. Boise State transfer and Mead graduate Teryn Gardner hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer off a nice pass from Ines Bettencourt to give the Zags a 53-47 lead going into the fourth.
But only two Zags other than Whittaker scored in the fourth. Meanwhile, Gonzaga had difficulty slowing down the Rams (3-0).
With CSU going deep into the shot clock on most possessions, the Zags didn’t get many opportunities to force pace.
It was a back-and-forth game throughout. In the end, the Zags didn’t get enough defensive stops.
“I think we let their pressure affect us,” Fortier said. “We let a little bit of the way the game was going affect us. We’re trying to build connection and chemistry. We’re trying to get to know each other and we’re trying to battle with each other. We’re still learning right now.”
Fortier said it will take a loss like Thursday coupled with what the Zags can learn over a blowout victory any time.
Aokuso had some key baskets off dribble penetration, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. She was the only player other than Whittaker to reach double-figure scoring.
CSU put four players in double figures led by Kloe Froebe, who had 17 points and six rebounds.
Storied program Stanford (2-0) visits Gonzaga on Sunday after the Cardinal stop by Washington State (0-3) on Friday.
The Zags will have a quick turnaround to prepare for Stanford.
“We’ve got to reevaluate what we did good and what we could have done better and tomorrow we are already starting to prepare for Stanford,” Bettencourt said. “It’s got to change quickly.”
Note
WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers was at McCarthey on Thursday, visiting Bettencourt, a former UConn teammate. She was introduced between the first and second quarters and the crowd applauded Bueckers.