Gonzaga women focused on themselves as potential revenge game against Oregon State looms | WCC Tournament
Nothing says more about the mindset of the Gonzaga women’s basketball team than coach Lisa Fortier pooh-poohing any thoughts of revenge.
Winning the West Coast Conference Tournament for the first time in four years and returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in two years is the sole focus. Avenging a disheartening loss to Oregon State in the WCC Tournament semifinals last year hasn’t been mentioned and won’t be talked about.
“We don’t use the word revenge with (our players),” Fortier said. “Whatever they say (her players) is what they say, but we don’t use the word. We haven’t talked much about what happened last year. We don’t reference Oregon State or anything referencing that.”
And a possible rematch with Oregon State may not even happen. First, the Beavers are seeded fourth and on the opposite side of the bracket. They have to win a quarterfinal game to get a semifinal matchup with No. 1 seed Loyola Marymount.
So if a rematch happens it would have to come in the championship game. And second-seeded Gonzaga (22-9) has to win what should be a competitive semifinal showdown against third-seeded Santa Clara, which is expected to win in the quarterfinals.
Talk of a rematch or revenge is, well, all talk and very premature. Especially in a season when the WCC has seen the most parity in more than 33 years.
Any one of the top six teams could win the WCC Tournament. Most seasons two and maybe three teams have a legitimate chance to win the tourney championship.
It’s almost as if a competitive switch was flipped for this season. Perhaps the best explanation for what has transpired is the transfer portal.
Gonzaga could very well see two teams not traditionally part of crowning a WCC Tournament champ each year.
Transfers have leveled the playing field. Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara and No. 6 Pepperdine are just three examples of teams that have used the portal for immediate success. Even Gonzaga, Oregon State and Portland have dipped into the portal to fill holes.
“There’s a lot of parity at the top,” Fortier said. “It’s going to be a fun WCC Tournament. You’re always expecting the teams that are higher ranked to be the ones you face when you have the double-bye or whatever. This year it’s going to be interesting because (lower-seeded teams) like San Francisco, Saint Mary’s, Washington State have all beaten some people. And the top four or five have beaten up on each other quite a bit. So it’s gonna be real interesting and fun for the fans.”
The top four seeds may not be standing come Monday.
As many as five teams should end up playing in postseason tournaments. Five teams will have more than 20 wins after the WCC Tournament and two others have respectable records.
How good WCC teams are on a national level remains to be seen. Certainly that’s debatable. What isn’t open for argument is the competitive depth within the conference.
That will be on display in Las Vegas.