Women's Basketball

Faraudo: Women's Quarterfinal Recap

By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops Columnist | ARCHIVES
2020 WCC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

LAS VEGAS — Coming from Australia, Alex Fowler didn’t know quite what to expect from her freshman season at Portland. But she knew how she felt about facing a Pacific team on Saturday that had beaten the Pilots twice this year.

“It’s hard for a team to beat another team three times in a row,” she said. “We just came out with the mentality that we’re going to win. We weren’t worried about the past. For me, I didn’t want to let them win three times.”

The third time was the charm for the Pilots, who turned up the defensive intensity in the third quarter and survived a a wild finish to post a 76-69 victory over the Tigers in the quarterfinals of the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament at Orleans Arena.

“We’re really proud of where we are,” first-year Portland coach Michael Meek said.

The fourth-seed Pilots are where they haven’t been in years. At 19-11, they have matched their highest win total since 1997-98 and are one victory shy of 20 wins for the first time since the year before that.

The next one will be tough, as Portland faces top-seeded and 12th-ranked Gonzaga (28-2) in a Monday afternoon semifinal. The Zags have beaten the Pilots 23 straight times.

Still, this season already has been a big success by any measure. The Pilots were 15-75 in WCC play the previous five seasons and were picked to finish last by the conference coaches.

Meek, who came from tiny George Fox University just a short drive from the Portland campus, had no clear notion about his first season.

“I really had no idea what to expect. This team’s been awesome,” he said. “First and foremost, we’ve tried to focus on the experience and the journey. It’s been such a fun ride. Win or lose, this team has stuck together. They haven’t gotten too up or too down all season long.”

The ride has been a lot more comfortable because of the performance of Fowler, a 6-foot-1 forward. She led the WCC in scoring — including 35 points in one game — and earned first-team all-conference honors along with the WCC Newcomer of the Year award. 

She was very good against Pacific, scoring a game-high 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting, with eight rebounds and three steals.

But Fowler says she has taken it a day at a time. “It’s been an amazing experience. All the girls and coaches have been lovely,” Fowler said. “Coming in, I didn’t know what to expect. I figured, first year of college, I’ll just do what I can. I’ve been able to adjust to things real quickly.”

Meek is plenty happy Fowler is on his side. 

“Alex has had a phenomenal year, regardless of her being a freshman,” he said. “She’s such a great teammate, so humble about things. If anything, there’s times she needs to be a little more selfish when she has advantages. 

“That’s just not her personality and that’s what makes this team so great. When your best players really care about the team more than anything else, you’ve got a great chance to have a strong year.”

A decisive third quarter: Portland held a 41-36 halftime lead, then took charge in the third quarter when Pacific misfired on its first 12 shots and wound up 1-for-16 over 10 minutes.

“We’ve really tried to be good defensively,” Meek said. “We’ve done a great job of putting pressure on teams and taking teams out of their comfort zone, especially a team like Pacific because they’re so athletic.”

Tigers coach Bradley Davis lamented his team’s missed opportunities. “There were some things beyond our control that didn’t go out way, but the things that were within our control we didn’t take advantage of,” he said. 

By the end of the quarter, Portland led 58-44 and it seemed the outcome was settled. But Pacific kept battling and actually got with 74-69 in the final 30 seconds before time ran short.

“I never lost faith that we were going to come back,” said Pacific junior Valerie Higgins, who 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists, but battled foul trouble before finally picking up No. 5 with 1:10 left. “Up until the buzzer I still had belief that we could come back and win with the players we had on the court.”

Tigers expect to roar again: Four of Pacific’s starters are scheduled to return, including two-time All-WCC guard Higgins.

“If Valerie Higgins has anything to say about it, with her leadership, we should make a really strong push next year. I like what we will put on the floor,” he said. 

“I’m excited,” Higgins confirmed. “Preparation starts now for next year. We’re going to come back to this tournament next year and we’ll be ready.”

Stat of the Game: Portland won despite shooting 1-for-17 on 3-pointers because it scored 38 points in the paint and turned the ball over just eight times.

Quote of the Game: “The thing we’ve tried to do all year is just focus on ourselves and be the best version of our team we can be and whatever happens happens. We’re hoping to give them a great battle. We know they’re a great team. And we like our team, too.” — Portland coach Michael Meek on facing top-seeded Gonzaga in the semifinals on Monday.

PEPPERDINE 62, BYU 51

The sixth-seeded Waves (16-14) pulled off the first surprise of the tournament, sending home the No. 3 Cougars (18-11) after a display of aggressiveness at both ends of the floor.

“We talked about it before the game: If you win the rebounding, you win the game. And that’s tough for us because we’re not very big,” first-year coach Kristen Dowling said. “But we won the rebounding battle by 10 and that’s heart.”

Starting no one taller than 6-foot-1, Pepperdine not only forged a 43-33 edge on the boards, but they attacked on offense, spreading the BYU defense and finding creases to drive the ball.

Senior guard Barbara Sitanggan made the most emphatic drive to the hoop with 1:38 left when she watched her shot roll over and through the net, drawing a foul that sent 6-foot-7 Sara Hamson to the bench with her fifth personal.

The first-team All-WCC standout knew the Waves were in charge at 57-49 (before the free throw she converted), and briefly celebrated.

“Just doing that little dance and jumping up and down with my teammates is something I don’t normally do,” she said. “But I was so hyped and so excited.”

Sitanggan, all 5-foot-6 of her, finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and drew the ultimate compliment from BYU coach Jeff Judkins. 

“Their point guard — she’s good. I’m glad she’s graduating,” Judkins said. “She hits big shots and makes big plays.”

Pepperdine’s defensive aggressive also kept the Cougars off balance. BYU shot just 32.7 percent from the field, including 3-for-15 on 3-point tries.

“Because we’re small we have to be aggressive, we have to pressure,” Dowling said. “That was the absolute difference in the game.”

Pepperdine never trailed by more than one point and held the lead throughout the second half.

Fifth-year senior guard Paige Fecske, who scored nine points, said the Waves embraced the chance to play a team that had beaten them twice previously.

“Our team always has the underdog mentality,” she said. “We play solely on heart. And we play for each other. I think that’s what’s carried us this whole year.”

A welcome off day: Pepperdine faces No. 2 seed San Diego in the semifinals, but the Waves get a day off before that Monday afternoon matchup. They have won twice in a row here, but Dowling said the rest is welcome.

“We talked about that early this week. If we get through the first two, we can rest on Sunday and then it’s a sprint to the finish,” she said.

The Waves and Toreros split their two regular-season games, with USD prevailing 66-64 on the final weekend of the schedule.

“Their more similar to us than anyone else in the conference. They’re smaller and they like to pressure and they like to push the ball,” Dowling said. “It’s going to be a good matchup. We love where we are and we’re just excited to keep playing.”

Cougars excited for 2020-21: This was a challenging season for the Cougars, especially offensively. Point guard Shaylee Gonzales, the reigning WCC Newcomer of the Year, tore her ACL in July and missed the entire season.

As a result, BYU averaged just 58.7 points in WCC games, worst in the conference. Saturday was the 10th time this season the Waves have failed to score more than 55 points.

But Judkins likes his returning talent, and believes Gonzales will be the key to making it all click. “We’ve got a pretty good player coming back next year,” he said. “We could have a real special team next year.”

Stat of the Game: Pepperdine secured 15 offensive rebounds, paving the way for 12 second-chance points.

Quote of the Game: “At the end, they made the plays and we didn’t make our plays. My team didn’t play their best tonight, but they didn’t give up.” — BYU coach Jeff Judkins.