Gonzaga sharpshooter Paige Lofing shows her range in dramatic fashion | Notebook
It was the 23rd field goal attempt of her young collegiate career, but Paige Lofing no doubt will long remember her first significant contribution to the Gonzaga women’s basketball team.
It likely won’t be her last, either.
Gonzaga sophomore guard Teryn Gardner had just fouled out when coach Lisa Fortier summoned Lofing. Fortier would say after Gonzaga fell 92-87 in overtime at Oregon State that she had told Lofing to be prepared to go into the game at some point.
Lofing, who made a career out of making 3-point shots in high school near Billings, Montana, walked onto the Gill Coliseum court with 7.9 seconds remaining.
Oregon State led 79-76 when Lauren Whittaker took an inbounds pass at midcourt. She fired a pass to Lofing on the left wing, near Gonzaga’s bench. Lofing didn’t hesitate, launching a high-arcing shot from 26 feet that swished through the net, forcing overtime.
“I kept telling her multiple times to stay ready, and she was ready,” Fortier told a Spokesman-Review reporter afterward. “I’m really glad that she came in and had the confidence in herself that we have in her.”
It wasn’t a fluke. Lofing has made shots from that distance and beyond in high school, but never in such a dramatic moment in the waning seconds between West Coast Conference leaders.
Of the 23 shots Lofing has taken this season, 17 have been from 3-point range. She’s made eight (47.1%), second-best behind Gardner (47.8%). Sophomore Allie Turner, who set the school record for made 3-pointers last season (105), is shooting 47% – an impressive percentage based on volume of shots (55 of 117).
As it turned out, Lofing’s shot was the last made basket by Gonzaga. The Zags went 0 for 5 from the field, 0 for 3 from 3-point range, in the 5-minute overtime. They stayed close by making 8 of 12 free throws.
Worth revisiting
The Zags and Beavers meet again soon. In fact, it’ll be Gonzaga’s first game back in McCarthey Athletic Center following three on the road.
It will carry much significance. OSU can all but secure the top seed to the WCC Tournament with a second win over Gonzaga.
The Zags need a win to keep pace and stay in the hunt for one of the two byes into the tournament semifinals. Gonzaga must avoid a tie with Santa Clara after the Broncos beat the Zags in the teams’ lone meeting.
Like Gonzaga, Oregon State faces Santa Clara once in the unbalanced schedule. The Beavers/Broncos showdown is Feb. 12 in Corvallis, Oregon. Gonzaga traveled to Santa Clara for the lone matchup.
Oregon State coach Scott Rueck called the win over Gonzaga an “epic game” and “must-see TV.”
“These guys (Gonzaga) were too good,” Rueck said. “You know they were going to throw punches back when we threw them.
“Everytime we play (Gonzaga), it’s overtime or a buzzer-beater,” he continued. “I have complete respect for the way that they play. It takes your best to beat them.”
We’ll take a closer look at the rematch in next week’s notebook, particularly at the box-and-one zone the Beavers used to shut down Gonzaga guard Allie Turner.
This week
The WCC reaches the halfway point of the season this week. That means five weeks of the 10-week regular season remain.
Gonzaga (14-7, 6-2), which sits in third, will be challenged Thursday when it visits San Francisco (13-7, 6-3). The Zags cap a three-game stretch on the road when it visits Washington State on Saturday.
The Zags can’t afford to lose ground on Oregon State (15-6, 7-1) and Santa Clara (17-5, 7-2).
It’s a challenging week for struggling WSU (4-18, 3-6), which travels to Santa Clara on Thursday before facing Gonzaga at home on Saturday.
Santa Clara topped WSU 98-92 on Jan. 10 when the Broncos made 16 of 40 3-pointers.
“They’re a confident team. Everybody on the floor can pretty much shoot it,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said. “They shot the ball so incredible the first time. So we’ve got to guard the 3.”
The Cougars will fly commercially to Santa Clara but charter back so they have a little more time to prepare for Gonzaga.
“They’re just so disciplined. I would say we’re on the extreme of no discipline whatsoever,” Ethridge said. “They get exactly what they want in every possession. They don’t have a million plays; they’re just so good at what they do.”
Ethridge said defending 6-foot-3 Lauren Whittaker will be a challenge.
“She’s just a big, strong kid that creates a hole and a problem for players that don’t want to be active and guard her,” Ethridge said. “They’ve always had those post players that can create. If you’re guarding them one on one then you’re probably going to get in foul trouble because (Whittaker) gets to the (free-throw) line so much. It’s a hard matchup.”
Around the Big Sky
Idaho moved into a tie with Montana State in the loss column atop the Big Sky with a road sweep last week.
The Vandals (15-5, 6-1) have won four in a row and hit the road again this week. Idaho goes to Northern Colorado (15-6, 6-2), a half game behind the Vandals, on Thursday and before going to Northern Arizona (7-14, 3-5) on Saturday.
Eastern Washington, which started conference play 0-2, has been on a win-lose split in league games. The Eagles visit Northern Arizona on Thursday and are at Northern Colorado on Saturday.
Montana State lost to Idaho State 79-60 last week. The Bobcats are 14-5, 7-1.
• EWU sophomore forward Kourtney Grossman ranks second in the nation in rebounds per game (13.1). She’s also second in total rebounds (262).
She’s the only player in the nation to have two 22+ rebound games and has no recorded 10+ rebounds in 13 consecutive games.
• EWU struggled in a 61-54 loss Saturday at Sacramento State.
“We are happy to get a road split, but disappointed that we were not able to get a win (Saturday),” EWU coach Joddie Gleason said. “Our defensive rotations and stops kept us in the game, but giving up 15 offensive rebounds gave them too many extra possessions.”
Weekly honors
For a sixth straight week, Gonzaga freshman forward Lauren Whittaker was named WCC Freshman of the Week.
It’s the ninth time Whittaker has been given the honor. She also was named WCC Player of the Week simultaneously with a Freshman of the Week honor.
Whittaker tied Gonzaga’s single-game high for points with 37 in the Zags’ 92-87 loss in overtime at Oregon State last week. The 37 also topped the most points by a freshman set by Heather Bowman (32).
Whittaker also had 14 rebounds for her 11th double-double. She broke the freshman record at five and continues to add to it.
She leads freshmen nationally with double-doubles and is tied for 10th for most in the nation.
Whittaker leads the WCC in points (20.1), rebounding (10.3) and field goal percentage (56.4).
Watch list
Gonzaga’s Lisa Fortier has been named to the midseason watch list for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year award.
Fortier, who won the award in 2024, is one of 10 members of the list. The award is in its third year.
In her 12th season as head coach at Gonzaga, Fortier picked up her career 300th victory earlier this month, becoming the fastest active coach to reach 300 wins in her 379th game and tying LSU’s Kim Mulkey.
Fortier is 14 wins shy of becoming the winningest coach in school history, eclipsing Kelly Graves, who she succeeded in 2014-15.
Gonzaga is 68th in the NET rankings. Santa Clara is 64th and conference-leading Oregon State is 84th.
Gonzaga leads the nation in 3-point percentage (40.6).
The five finalists for the award will be named in March with the winner being named at the Final Four.