The Gonzaga women, picked by every other West Coast Conference coach to win the Conference title this season, return with three double-digit scorers and added a transfer who put up 1,000 points at her previous stop.
But Zags’ head coach Lisa Fortier, as always, wanted to talk about defense.
“We graduated some pretty good defensive players, so we definitely need all of our players to step up on defense,” she said.
Leading the way at that end of the court will be junior forward Yvonne Ejim. “She’s capable of all things,” Fortier said. “She can guard every position on the floor. She’s going to be a major anchor to our defense. She’s our best defender and she enjoys it.”
Defense is often what separates the Zags from their competition. “We have a lot of potential,” Fortier said. “If we keep getting better, we’re going to be good.”
BYU, with a veteran team, won the 2022 WCC regular-season title, but the Cougars have a new coach in Amber Whiting and must replace four starters, including WCC Player of the Year Shaylee Gonzales.
“It’s been different for sure,” said junior Lauren Gustin, the Cougars’ top returning player. “A lot of girls are gone, but it opened up a lot of opportunity.”
Michael Meek, whose Portland team was picked second in the WCC, believes that opportunity exists for every team. His Pilots’ experience three years ago, winning the Conference tournament after being picked last in the preseason, demonstrated what is possible.
Portland senior guard Haylee Andrews shares that point of view. She likes her team’s chances, but won’t discount anyone.
“Now we’ve been on both sides of the poll. We’ve been at the bottom and now near the top,” she said. “It’s a great thing that anything can happen this year. Yeah, it would be great to win a WCC championship, but there are so many other great teams.”
Here’s our season preview, with teams ranked in the order of the WCC coaches poll: