WEST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
BRONCOS BEAT GAELS FOR RESUME-BUILDING WIN
Santa Clara defeated Saint Mary's, 62-54, Saturday night, garnering a key Quad 2 victory and remain undefeated in the Leavey Center this season. Santa Clara improved to 7-1 in conference play in handing Saint Mary's its first conference loss of the season. SCU held the Gaels to shooting just 32 percent from the field. Christian Hammond scored 25 points with five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Elijah Mahi tied his career high with three steals defensively to go with his eight points and six rebounds.
It was a 2-0 week for the Broncos as they defeated Pacific at home, 85-69, on Wednesday. Hammond scored 18 points in the win, while Mahi collected 15 points and seven rebounds. Hammond's 43 points scored this week led all players in the West Coast Conference.
Santa Clara's NET currently stands at 44, while the Broncos' WAB is 77. The Broncos are now 9-1 in Quad 2 and Quad 3 games this season.
SIX TEAMS IN TOP 125 IN THE NET, THREE IN TOP 45
As of Sunday morning, six West Coast Conference men’s basketball teams stand in the top 125 in the latest NET rankings and three in the top 45 - No. 4 Gonzaga, No. 32 Saint Mary’s, No. 44 Santa Clara, No. 110 San Francisco, No. 112 Pacific and No. 124 Seattle U. In addition, four teams stand inside the top 105 in the latest WAB rankings - No. 8 Gonzaga, No. 36 Saint Mary’s, No. 50 Santa Clara and No. 102 Seattle U.
ZAGS WIN WITHOUT HUFF AND IKE
No. 9 Gonzaga picked up two wins this week while missing standout Braden Huff in both games and national honors candidate Graham Ike on Saturday. On Thursday, the Bulldogs won at Washington State, 86-65. Ike once again secured a double-double, scoring 23 points with 11 rebounds. Ike ranks tied for fifth in the nation in double-doubles. Defensively, the Zags secured a season-high 14 steals for the second time this season. On Saturday, Gonzaga defeated Seattle U on the road, 71-50, without Huff and Ike. Mario Saint-Supery scored 20 points in the win.
Gonzaga leads the conference in scoring offense (90.2 ppg), also 14th nationally, and the Bulldogs rank second in the league in scoring defense (66.9 ppg). The Bulldogs are enjoying a 12-game winning streak.
GAELS START WEEK WITH WIN AT SAN FRANCISCO
Saint Mary's picked up a solid road win at San Francisco to start the week on Tuesday. In the 82-68 Gaels' victory, Andrew McKeever picked up another double-double on 10 points and 18 rebounds, while Paulius Murauskas led the way with 21 points. The 18 rebounds by McKeever tie for 25th in the nation among single-game bests. Murauskas leads the conference in scoring both in overall (19.3) and conference (20.4) games.
DONS HOLD OFF COUGARS FOR SUNDAY WIN
Despite Eemeli Yalaho and Ace Glass each scoring 20 points for Washington State, San Francisco held off the Cougars for an 85-80 win at home on Sunday. For the Dons, Barry Wang scored 15 points while David Fuchs tallied 12 points with five rebounds. Ryan Beasley tallied 13 points, six assists and three steals.
HEIMBRODT SWATS FIVE MORE BLOCKS
In Seattle U's two games this week, including a 75-64 win over San Diego last Thursday, Will Heimbrodt collected five blocks. In the national ranks, he stands seventh, averaging 2.63 per game.
RALPH LEADS TIGERS OVER BEAVERS
Recording his sixth double-double of the season, Elias Ralph from Pacific notched 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Tigers' 81-64 win at Oregon State. The six double-doubles are second only to Graham Ike in the West Coast Conference. He has scored 20 or more points eight times this season.
NATIONAL TV GAMES THIS WEEK
West Coast Conference men’s basketball will be on national television twice this week with both games on CBS Sports Network. On Wednesday, Saint Mary’s hosts Oregon State at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Gonzaga hosts San Francisco at 5 p.m.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
CONFERENCE LEADERS CLASH IN CORVALLIS THIS THURSDAY
After a wild week in West Coast Conference play, Gonzaga and Oregon State are tied at the top of the standings at 6-1. The Zags and Beavers, who are both 14-6 overall, will clash in Corvallis Thursday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. It will be the first of two regular season meetings between the Pacific Northwest powers in a two-week span, with the second battle set for Thursday, Feb. 5 in Spokane.
LMU and Portland will meet in Los Angeles in a battle of 5-2 teams, both coming off a pair of victories as part of a full six-game conference slate Thursday.
ZAGS EARN CONVINCING WINS
Gonzaga has won three straight, all by double digits. The Zags are coming off an 87-42 win over San Diego. The 45-point win was its largest margin of victory of the season. The 42 points by the Toreros is the lowest point total by a Gonzaga opponent this season. Lauren Whittaker had 13 points in the victory. The freshman leads the conference in rebounding at 10.2 rpg. In her last five games, Whittaker is averaging 11.4 rpg. The forward’s 203 rebounds this season rank second among freshmen nationally.
THRILLER IN MALIBU GOES TO OSU
Oregon State erased a 14-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter as the Beavers stormed back to defeat Pepperdine 69-68. With the score tied and 0.3 remaining, Jenna Villa was fouled and she converted one of two free throw attempts to put OSU on top in the come-from-behind win. Villa, who leads the West Coast Conference in scoring during league contests at 20.9 ppg, finished with 25 points in Saturday’s contest. OSU rebounded from its first setback in conference play, Thursday at LMU. Pepperdine’s Ellison Guiney had a game-high and career-high tying 26 points in the defeat.
LIONS SURGING
LMU has won three straight overall after defeating Oregon State at home and Pacific on the road this past week. The Lions outscored Pacific, 22-9, in the first quarter and never looked back en route to the 74-54 win Saturday. The 20-point win was the largest margin of victory against a West Coast Conference opponent since the Lions defeated San Francisco by 21 (66-45) in its opening game of the 2019 West Coast Conference Tournament on March 8, 2019. Jess Lawson averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds in LMU’s two wins this week.
SANTA CLARA MATCHES BEST START IN 25 YEARS
Playing its second full game without the injured Sophie Glancey, Santa Clara outlasted Saint Mary’s, 68-63, Saturday. The Broncos are right behind Gonzaga and Oregon State at 6-2 in the conference standings. At 16-5 overall, Santa Clara has matched its best 21-game start in 25 seasons. Maia Jones and Ava Schmidt powered the Broncos Saturday with 17 points and six rebounds apiece.
PILOTS SWEEP THE WEEK
After a second-half come-from-behind win Thursday at Santa Clara, Portland completed the sweep in its two games this week with an 83-57 win over Seattle U at home in the I-5 rivalry Saturday. Junior Lainey Spear had a career day with career bests in points (17) and steals (8). The eight steals are the most by a Pilot since 2017, one shy of the program record held by her mother, Kristin Kepton, achieved in 1997. Spears’ eight steals are the most in a game by a West Coast Conference player since San Diego’s Steph Gorman had nine against California Baptist on March 17, 2022.