SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Nine West Coast Conference women’s basketball programs will be in action across a busy slate of 12 games this weekend. Friday’s action features three programs hosting teams from the ACC, Big Ten and Big East, as Washington State welcomes Stanford to Pullman for a 4 p.m. game, San Francisco hosts Seton Hall at 6 p.m. and Oregon State hosts Illinois at 6 p.m. Seattle U hosts Cal Poly at 1 p.m. in the lone game on Saturday’s schedule. Sunday’s six-game slate is highlighted by Santa Clara hosting Arizona State at 1 p.m., Gonzaga hosting Stanford at 2 p.m. and Pacific hosting Seton Hall at 2 p.m.
All 12 games this weekend will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE COAST
UNDEFEATED GAELS, BEAVERS AND WAVES
Saint Mary’s, Oregon State and Pepperdine are undefeated through the first 10 days of the season. The Gaels are 3-0, while OSU and Pepperdine are 2-0.
BOLDEN LEADS OSU
Oregon State senior Tiara Bolden matched her career high scoring total at OSU with 23 points Monday night in the Beavers’ 11-point win over Air Force. Oregon State is 2-0 on the season with a big early season test coming Friday night as the Beavers welcome Illinois to Corvallis.
EYEING WIN NO. 200
Washington State head coach Kamie Ethridge is one win away from No. 200 for her career. She owns a 199-151 overall record in her 12th season as a head coach. Ethridge owns 116 wins in her eighth year at WSU.
INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
The West Coast Conference has the greatest percentage of international student-athletes of any Division I conference in the nation. Overall, 44.1 percent of rostered student-athletes across the 12 women’s basketball programs in the West Coast Conference are from outside of the United States. There is a total of 71 international student-athletes on rosters in the West Coast Conference this season. San Francisco boasts the most with 11 international student-athletes from eighth different countries. Oregon State has10 international student-athletes of its 15 from six different countries. Washington State has nine international student-athletes from eight different countries.
BALANCED BRONCO ATTACK
Santa Clara has a balanced scoring attack with all five starters averaging double figures. Sophie Glancey leads the Broncos at 13.3 points per game. She is also averaging 5.3 rebounds per contest. Kylee Fox and Maia Jones are each averaging 12.7 points per game, while Ashley Hawkins (12.3) and Ava Schmidt (12.0) round out Santa Clara’s double-figure scorers. Hawkins is also tied for the team-high in rebound with 6.0 boards per game.
MAYA MAGIC IN LA
LMU junior Maya Hernandez picked up where she left off last season when she finished with seven double-doubles on the year. The forward collected a game-high 25 points and added 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season in LMU’s win over Denver last Sunday. The 25 points is the third-most scored in a game in the conference so far this season. Hernandez is averaging 17.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game through LMU’s first three contests of the season.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Gonzaga freshman Lauren Whittaker, the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week, is averaging 19.3 points per game through the Zags’ first three contests. She ranks second in the conference and is among the national freshman leaders in scoring entering play on Friday. She scored 29 points in Thursday’s game against Colorado State, marking the most by a player in the conference this season.
GAELS OFF TO BEST START IN 10 SEASONS
Saint Mary’s has started 3-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 season. The Gaels have earned decisive wins, while holding each of their three opponents under 50 points. SMC held San Francisco State to 38 points, the lowest opponent scoring total since holding LMU to 38 during the 2018-19 season.
NEW DON MAKING INSTANT IMPACT
San Francisco added 11 new players to its roster this season. One of those newcomers to the roster is Candy Edokpaigbe, who joined the Dons from Seattle U. Edokpaigbe scored a career-high 26 points in USF’s 64-40 win over UNC Greensboro last week. The point total is the second-most in a game this season in the conference.
PACIFIC’S NEW RECORD HOLDER
Bradley Davis collected his 141st career victory as Pacific’s head coach in the Tigers’ season-opening victory over UC San Diego. With the victory, he became the winningest coach in program history.
WAVES OFF TO BEST START IN FIVE YEARS
Pepperdine is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2020-21 season. The Waves earned double digit wins over CSU Fullerton (84-70) on the road and Westmont College (74-51) at home.
TURNER, GLANCEY ON PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Gonzaga’s Allie Turner and Santa Clara’s Sophie Glancey are each on the preseason watch list for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year. The preseason watchlist includes 25 individuals across 12 conferences.