SAN BRUNO, Calif. – A battle of last season’s regular season co-champions – Gonzaga and Portland – highlights Saturday’s four-game West Coast Conference schedule. The Pacific Northwest powers will meet at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane at 2 p.m. Two other Pacific Northwest teams will battle as Seattle U faces Oregon State in Corvallis. Santa Clara will head to Washington State and Pepperdine heads south to San Diego as part of the conference’s four-game slate Saturday afternoon.
THREE TEAMS IN THE TOP 75 OF THE NET
Three West Coast Conference teams are in the top 75 of the NET, one of the evaluation tools for NCAA Tournament selection. Santa Clara is at No. 61 with a record of 14-4. Gonzaga is at No. 70 with an 11-6 mark and a pair of Quad 1/2 wins in Marquette and North Dakota State. Oregon State is at No. 74 at 12-5 with a win over Illinois for a Quad 1/2 victory.
OSU EXTENDS WINNING STREAK TO SIX TO IMPROVE TO 4-0 IN THE CONFERENCE
Oregon State (12-5) won its sixth straight game and improved to 4-0 in conference play with a 78-64 win in Pullman Thursday night. Tiara Bolden finished one shy of her career-best point total with 24 points in the contest to lead the Beavers. One of the conference’s top scorers in league play – Jenna Villa – added 17 Thursday for OSU. The six-game winning streak is the longest since also winning six in a row during the 2023-24 season.
SANTA CLARA MATCHES BEST START IN 25 YEARS
Santa Clara earned a 77-67 win at San Francisco Thursday to improve to 4-1 in the conference and 14-4 overall. The overall record matches the Broncos’ best start in 25 seasons. The 2000-01 team also started 14-4 overall and tied for the conference regular season championship. In all, 13 of Santa Clara’s 14 wins this year are by double digits. Maia Jones led the Broncos offensively on Thursday with 24 points. Aniya Hooker matched her career-high with 14 points to go along with four steals.
LMU IN OT AGAIN
On Thursday, LMU found itself locked in an overtime battle for the third time in the last five games. After falling in its previous two overtime contests, the Lions came out victorious Thursday night with an 83-78 win over Pepperdine in the PCH Cup rivalry. It is LMU’s third win in its last four games. Maya Hernandez led LMU with 21 points, while Andjela Matic matched her career-high with 20.
GAELS USE LATE SURGE TO DOWN PACIFIC
Saint Mary’s outscored Pacific 23-8 in the fourth quarter Thursday night to erase a 10-point deficit after three periods and defeat the Tigers, 60-55. The defensive-minded Gaels held their ninth opponent this season to 55 points or less. They lead the conference defensively, surrendering 56.9 ppg on average.
BRUBAKER AND STRICKLIN GUIDE SEATTLE U TO A W
Seattle U captured its first West Coast Conference victory with a 68-62 win over San Diego Thursday at home. Ella Brubaker and Tamia Stricklin each poured in 20 points for the Redhawks. It was the third 20-point game of the season for Brubaker, who ranks fifth in the conference in scoring overall at 15.4 ppg.
FORTIER AND MEEK AMONG TOP SIX WINNINGEST ACTIVE DIVISION I HEAD COACHES
Gonzaga’s Lisa Fortier and Portland’s Michael Meek are in the top six in career winning percentage among active Division I head coaches with at least six full years of experience at the Division I level. Fortier is fourth at .790 and Meek is sixth at .780.
WHITTAKER MAKING CASE FOR NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR HONORS
Gonzaga freshman Lauren Whittaker is a candidate for national freshman of the year honors. She was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week Dec. 23 following another stellar week where she averaged 19.7 points and 12.7 rebounds in three games. Whittaker has captured West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week honors six times already this season, including this past Monday.
Whittaker leads the West Coast Conference in scoring (19.5 ppg) and field goal percentage (.565) and ranks second in rebounding (9.9 rpg). The Gonzaga forward ranks in the top two nationally among freshmen in nine statistical categories. She leads all freshmen in defensive rebounds per game (8.0), free throws made (70) and double-doubles (8).
PRESTON CONTROLLING THE BOARDS
Pepperdine’s Shorna Preston leads the conference in rebounding at 10 rpg. Preston, who transferred in to Pepperdine this season from Dodge City Community College, is averaging 12.4 boards per contest in her last five games. The forward is coming off back-to-back 15-rebound performances against Saint Mary’s last week and LMU on Thursday.
CARGOL WITH THE ASSIST
San Francisco freshman Aina Cargol, the West Coast Conference Co-Freshman of the Week this week along with Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker, registered seven assists Thursday against Santa Clara. Cargol, who is fifth in the conference in assists at 4.6 apg, is averaging 6.8 assists per contest in her last four games. She had six assists each against Portland and San Diego and eight against LMU prior to Thursday’s performance.
RAY SCORING IN BUNCHES
San Diego’s Kylie Ray, who is fourth in the conference in scoring at 16.4 ppg, has increased her offensive production in the last four games. Coming off a 23-point performance on Thursday at Seattle U, she is averaging 23.3 ppg in the Toreros’ last four contests.
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 eight 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.
The Dec. 28 game between Oregon State and San Francisco featured 21 international student-athletes between the two rosters. It was the second-most in a Division I game this season. Two games (South Florida vs. Florida International and Wagner vs. Columbia) featured 22 international student-athletes.