SAN BRUNO, Calif. – At the midpoint of the conference schedule, Oregon State (7-1) holds a half-game lead over Santa Clara (7-2) and a one-game lead over Gonzaga (6-2) for sole possession of first place in the conference standings. The Beavers and Broncos will only face each other once during the regular season, meeting in Corvallis Thursday, Feb. 12. Santa Clara won its lone meeting with Gonzaga, 77-73, at home Jan. 4. Oregon State outlasted Gonzaga in an overtime thriller last Thursday in Corvallis, and the two will meet again next Thursday in Spokane.
Right behind the top three are LMU and San Francisco at 6-3. The Lions handed the Beavers their only loss in conference play so far and the two will meet again on the final day of the regular season in Corvallis. San Francisco is 1-3 against the other top teams, with an overtime win against LMU.
MIDSEASON WATCH LISTS
The West Coast Conference has been represented on several midseason watch lists for national awards the past two weeks. On Tuesday, Portland’s Julia Dalan, the nation’s leader in blocks, was named to the midseason watch list for the Naismith Women’s College Defensive Player of the Year Award. On Wednesday, Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier was named to the midseason watch list for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award. Last week, Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker was named to the midseason watch list for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award.
SHULER NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kennedie Shuler of Oregon State was named a U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week on Tuesday. Shuler, who was also the West Coast Conference Player of the Week, nearly recorded a triple double in leading Oregon State to a 92-87 overtime victory over Gonzaga. Shuler finished with 17 points, 10 steals and nine assists. The junior guard also contributed five rebounds and three blocks in the win. Shuler was the first West Coast Conference player to record at least 10 steals in a game since Haiden Palmer’s 10-steal performance for Gonzaga on March 23, 2013. She is one of four players in the country since at least the 1999-2000 season to record at least 10 steals and at least three blocks in a game.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE RANKS AMONG TOP CONFERENCERS IN SEVERAL CATEGORIES
The West Coast Conference ranks among the top eight conferences in 14 statistical categories.
| CATEGORY |
RANK |
STAT |
| Free Throw Percentage |
6 |
.724 |
| Assists Per Game |
6 |
14.6 |
| Total Assists |
7 |
3,675 |
| Field Goal Percentage |
7 |
.417 |
| Three-point FG Percentage |
7 |
.315 |
| Three-point FGs Made |
7 |
1,602 |
| Total Blocks |
7 |
869 |
| Blocks Per Game |
8 |
3.45 |
| Field Goals Made |
8 |
6,264 |
| Field Goals Made Per Game |
8 |
24.9 |
| Total Points |
8 |
16,924 |
| Total Rebounds |
8 |
9,412 |
| Defensive Rebounds |
8 |
6,438 |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio |
8 |
0.87 |
SANTA CLARA MATCHES BEST START IN 25 YEARS
At 17-5 overall, Santa Clara has matched its best 22-game start in 25 seasons. The Bronc have eight wins by at least 20 points this season and their
Thursday’s 35-point win over Seattle U marked the Broncos’ eighth win by at least 20 points this season. Their 81.5 points per game leads the conference in scoring. Santa Clara’s 16.2 margin of victory leads the conference by eight points.
BRONCOS LEAD CONFERENCE IN NINE CATEGORIES
Santa Clara leads the West Coast Conference in nine statistical categories, including scoring (81.5 ppg), rebounding (44.0 rpg), offensive rebounding (15.3) three-point field goals per game (9.7), assists (370), scoring margin (+16.2), turnover margin (+5.6), and assist/turnover ratio (1.49).
SURGING SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco has won three straight and is right in the mix with the top teams in the conference. The Dons earned wins over San Diego and Pacific last week as Candy Edokpaigbe averaged 23.5 points in the two games. Aina Cargol is fifth among freshmen nationally in assists, averaging 4.6 per contest. USF will be tested this week with a Thursday battle against Gonzaga at home and a trip to conference leader Oregon State Saturday.
LOCK DOWN DEFENSE
Saint Mary’s, the Conference’s top defensive team surrendering just 57.5 points per game, held Pepperdine to 51 and Seattle U to 53 points in two victories last week. With the results from this past week, the Gaels have now held their opponent to 55 points or less 11 times this season.
PEPPERDINE SETS SEASON HIGH POINT TOTAL, DOWNS PORTLAND FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2018
Pepperdine scored a season-high 86 points and shot 55.4 percent from the field in an 86-68 win over Portland this past Saturday. The Waves snapped Portland’s 12-game winning streak in the series, earning their first win over the Pilots since Dec. 29, 2018. Pepperdine’s 18-point win was its largest margin of victory over Portland since a 27-point win over the Pilots on Feb. 3, 2007.
ZAGS LEAD THE NATION IN THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Gonzaga leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 40.6% from beyond the arc. The Zags, who are the only team shooting better than 40% in the country, have connected on 156 of 384 attempts. Sophomore Allie Turner is third in the nation, shooting 47.0% (55-of-117) from deep.
WHITTAKER CONTINUES TO MAKE CASE FOR NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR HONORS
Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker was the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week this week, earning the award for the sixth week in a row and ninth time this season. She has recorded a double-double in five of her last six games after posting a career-high 37 points and 14 rebounds against Oregon State last Thursday. Her 11 double-doubles on the year are first among freshmen nationally and tied for the 10th-most overall. Whittaker also leads all freshmen nationally in defensive rebounds (175). She continues to lead the West Coast Conference in scoring (20.1 ppg), rebounding (10.3 rpg) and field goal percentage (.564). Overall, Whittaker ranks seventh nationally in defensive rebounds per game (8.3), 17th in points per game and 18th in the country in rebounds per game.
DALAN LEADS NATION IN BLOCKS
Portland freshman Julia Dalan leads the nation in blocks (65) and blocks per game (3.42). She has recorded a career-best eight blocks in a game on two occasions, at No. 11 USC (Nov. 18) and at Santa Clara (Jan. 15). Dalan has posted multiple blocks in 15 of 19 games she has played in with at least five blocks in six contests. The freshman is one of just five players to record at least eight blocks in a game this season, and the only individual to record at least eight blocks in multiple games this season. Dalan’s 65 blocks rank as the eighth-most in a season in program history and the second-most by a Portland freshman, one shy of the record set by Rosemary Adams during the 1990-91 season. Dalan has the most blocks by a freshman in the West Coast Conference since BYU’s Sara Hamson had 112 blocks during the 2017-18 season.
SHULER ONE OF ONE
Oregon State’s Kennedie Shuler is the only Division I player averaging at least 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game this season. She is one of seven players to meet these thresholds in the last 10 seasons. Shuler is averaging 11.0 points, 5.7 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 2,1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. She ranks 15th nationally in total assists (120) and 19th in the country in assists per game.
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% of rostered student-athletes across the 12 programs are from outside of the U.S. There are 71 international student-athletes on rosters in the conference this season. San Francisco boasts the most with 11 international student-athletes from eight different countries. OSU has10 student-athletes from six countries. WSU has nine student-athletes from eight countries. The Dec. 28 game between OSU and USF featured 21 international student-athletes between the two rosters. It was the second-most in a Division I game this season.