WEST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
GAELS NARROWLY ESCAPE LMU WITH THE WIN
LMU gave Saint Mary's all it could handle when the Gaels visited Gersten Pavilion on Sunday night. A back-and-forth contest for the duration, Saint Mary's emerged victorious, 78-73. Dillan Shaw notched a career-high 18 points. Two of his four three-pointers gave Saint Mary's leads in the second half. Paulius Murauskas just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. The LMU duo of Rodney Brown Jr. and Myron Amey Jr. were nailing shots from beyond the arc all night. Brown Jr. finished 4-for-8 and Amey Jr. went 3-for-8. These teams traded three-pointers in the final minute of regulation, highlighted by Rory Hawke connecting on a trey with three seconds left to make it 76-73 before the Gaels hit some free throws to end it.
DONS GET QUAD 2 WIN
San Francisco increased its recent winning streak to three games with a 67-59 win at Seattle U, snapping the Redhawks' six-game winning streak and giving the Dons a Quad 2 win on its resume. USF's defense was on point, holding SU to shoot just 27.4 percent from the floor and 17.4 percent from three-point distance. The field goal percentage defensive performance ranks fifth in the West Coast Conference this season. Four Dons reached double figures in scoring led by Vukasin Masic's 15 points, while David Fuchs posted 13 points and seven rebounds. Ryan Beasley added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. For Seattle U, Will Heimbrodt collected three blocks on the night with his 14 points. Brayden Maldonado also secured 14 points. Heimbrodt ranks ninth in the nation in blocked shots per game (2.75 bspg).
BRONCOS REACH THE CENTURY MARK IN CORVALLIS
Santa Clara posted a 102-64 victory on the road at Oregon State. The Broncos shot 63.6 percent from the floor, their best shooting percentage in a game since 2017. Santa Clara has now won its last nine straight conference openers. Elijah Mahi tallied 23 points in the win. The 23 points by Mahi were the most by any West Coast Conference player on the night. He was one of three players in the league to score 20 points on Sunday, as well. Mahi connected on five of seven three-point attempts, which tied for a conference best on the night.
NO. 7 ZAGS HANDLE WAVES
No. 7 Gonzaga went to Malibu and defeated Pepperdine, 96-56. The victory marked the Bulldogs' 30th consecutive conference season opening win. The conference's leading scorer Braden Huff, a reigning USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week and last week's West Coast Conference Player of the Week, tallied 10 points, four assists and three rebounds. Tyon Grant-Foster paced the Bulldogs in scoring with 18.
TOREROS TAME TIGERS
After hitting the game-winning three-pointer to lift the Toreros over UC San Diego, Ty-Laur Johnson tallied 22 points in San Diego's 66-54 win over Pacific on the home court. Johnson got it done at both ends of the court, also securing six steals, one shy of the program record and tied for 21st in the nation among single games. Johnson is averaging 18.8 ppg in his last four games, which include three 20-point performances. Pacific's Elias Ralph notched a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The rebounding total topped all West Coast Conference players on the night.
WASHINGTON STATE TAKES CARE OF BUSINESS AGAINST PORTLAND
Washington State extended its winning streak over Portland to nine games in a 67-62 Cougar victory. Rihards Vavers led the Cougars with 13 points. After WSU dominated most of the first half, the Pilots came out on fire in the second half, going on a 12-0 run, which turned into a 22-5 run, resulting in an eight-point lead. Vavers led the charge on an 8-0 run by WSU to reclaim the lead. Reigning West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week Ace Glass garnered 11 points, giving him 10 double-digit scoring performances in his last 11 games.
NEXT UP
Conference play continues with one more full slate of games in 2025 on Tuesday. San Diego looks to keep the momentum rolling when Gonzaga heads to town at 6:30 p.m. Saint Mary's remains in Southern California against Pepperdine at 6 p.m. The remaining four games all start at 7 p.m. with Santa Clara visiting Portland, San Francisco heading to Oregon State, LMU hosting Pacific and Washington State remaining in the state of Washington vs. Seattle U at Climate Pledge Arena. All games can be seen on ESPN+.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
DOUBLE OT THRILLER BETWEEN THE LIONS AND BULLDOGS
Sunday’s most exciting conference-opening contest was at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, as LMU and Gonzaga staged a double overtime thriller that ended with the Bulldogs defeating the Lions, 87-80. The teams traded leads early, with LMU taking a one-point lead into the half. Gonzaga pulled ahead by three after three quarters. The Lions pulled ahead in the fourth, but Gonzaga surged back, with Lauren Whittaker tying it up on a layup with 21 seconds remaining. An LMU game-winning attempt at the end of regulation did not fall, leading to overtime. Sophomore Allie Turner buried a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in the first overtime to tie it up and send the game to a second overtime. The Bulldogs outscored the Lions, 12-5, in the second overtime period to seal the win. Turner finished with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. Whittaker, a National Freshman of the Year candidate, posted her third double-double in as many games. She finished with 18 points and matched her career high with 16 rebounds. Whittaker has six double-doubles on the year, which leads the nation among freshmen.
Maya Hernandez led the Lions offensively with 18 points, to go along with five rebounds and two assists.
PORTLAND’S FOURTH-QUARTER SURGE LEADS TO THE WIN IN MORAGA
Portland outscored Saint Mary’s 14-6 in the fourth quarter to erase a four-point deficit entering the period and surge past the Gaels for the come-from-behind 63-59 victory. Freshman Julia Dalan, the nation’s blocks leader, had three rejections against Saint Mary’s. She is averaging 3.31 blocks per contest and has multiple blocks in each of her last eight games. Her season total of 43 is the most by a Portland freshman since Rosemary Adams in the 1990-91 campaign.
CLARKE CAREER-HIGH FOR GAELS
Saint Mary’s sophomore forward Edie Clarke led all scorers with a career-high 18 points in its battle with Portland. Clarke was 8-of-11 from the field overall and connected on her only three-point field goal attempt. She also registered seven rebounds in the contest.
SANTA CLARA CLAMPS DOWN ON DEFENSE FOR ITS FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN
Santa Clara won its fifth straight game and opened conference play 1-0 with a 68-46 win over San Diego at home. All 11 of the Broncos’ wins have come by double digits. Ashley Hawkins finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the win. Freshman Kate Schat led all scorers with a career-best 14 points for the Broncos in 19 minutes.
The Broncos’ defense held an opponent under 50 points for the fourth time this season. They previously held Wyoming to 45, San Diego State to 47 and Simpson to 43.
NESTOROV’S CAREER-HIGH LEADS PACIFIC PAST SEATTLE U IN REDHAWKS’ FIRST CONFERENCE GAME
Pacific sophomore Daria Nestorov finished with a career-high 10 points to lead Pacific to a convincing 85-66 win over Seattle U. Pacific scored 22 points off 17 turnovers by the Redhawks in the contest.
Sunday marked Seattle U’s first ever conference women’s basketball game as a member of the West Coast Conference. While the Redhawks previously were a member of the league from 1971-80, the first season of West Coast Conference women’s basketball was in 1985.
VILLA PROPELS OREGON STATE
Jenna Villa posted 20 points, five rebounds and three assists to lead Oregon State past San Francisco, 74-65.
WSU EDGES PEPPERDINE IN OPENER
Charlotte Abraham registered her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Washington State to a 66-63 win over Pepperdine at home.
BACK AT IT TUESDAY
All 12 teams will be back at it on Tuesday to complete the opening week of the conference slate. San Diego visits Pacific at 2 p.m., Oregon State makes its first trip to the Bay Area this season, to face Saint Mary’s at 5 p.m. LMU and Pacific will remain in the Pacific Northwest, with the Lions facing Washington State in Pullman at 6 p.m. and the Waves meeting Gonzaga in Spokane also at 6 p.m. San Francisco hosts Portland and Santa Clara hosts Seattle U at 6 p.m. All six games will be on ESPN+.