WEST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
FOUR TEAMS IN NET TOP 100
As of Sunday, four West Coast Conference men’s basketball teams rank in the top 100 in the latest NET rankings - No. 4 Gonzaga, No. 32 Saint Mary’s, No. 43 Santa Clara and No. 100 San Francisco. In addition, three teams stand inside the top 100 in the latest WAB rankings - No. 9 Gonzaga, No. 37 Saint Mary’s and No. 46 Santa Clara.
ZAGS TAKE FIRST MATCHUP OVER GAELS
Returning to action after missing the last three games, Graham Ike scored 30 points in Gonzaga’s 73-65 win over Saint Mary’s on Saturday. The Bulldogs increased their winning streak to 15 games and are 10-0 in conference play and 11-0 at home this season. Joshua Dent paced the Gaels in scoring with 16 points and also added six rebounds. The nation’s top free-throw shooting team, Saint Mary’s connected on 23 of its 25 attempts at the charity stripe. These teams will meet again in Moraga on the final day of the regular season on Feb. 28.
BRONCOS’ STAMPEDE CONTINUES
Owning the conference’s current second-longest winning streak, Santa Clara made it six in a row with its 104-73 road win at LMU after defeating San Francisco at home earlier in the week. Freshman Allen Graves posted a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) while Brenton Knapper paced the Broncos in scoring with 22 points.
After both of their wins on Saturday, Gonzaga and Santa Clara rank in the top three nationally in scoring margin in conference games with Gonzaga at No. 2 (17.7) and Santa Clara in third (17.5).
On Wednesday, Santa Clara looks to give Pacific its first loss at home while Gonzaga heads to Portland.
DONS TAME TIGERS
Ike was not the only West Coast Conference player to reach 30 points in scoring on Saturday. David Fuchs from San Francisco just missed a double-double with 30 points and nine rebounds in the Dons’ 87-82 win over Pacific. Tyrone Riley IV added 16 points and six rebounds. Elias Ralph once again led the way for the Tigers, scoring 23 points with four rebounds and two steals. The Dons remain at home on Wednesday to face LMU before trekking to Moraga to face Saint Mary’s on Saturday night.
BEAVERS BATTLE BACK AT SAN DIEGO
The comeback of the night happened in the Oregon State-San Diego game. The Beavers overcame a 10-point deficit with less than two minutes remaining in regulation and forced overtime before winning, 78-76. Johan Munch just missed a double-double (15 points, 9 rebounds) and Josiah Lake II tallied 12 points and eight assists, including a trey late in regulation to force OT.
COUGARS COLLECT 30-POINT VICTORY
Washington State picked up a decisive 104-74 win at home over Portland. Eemeli Yalaho paced the Cougars with 26 points and nine rebounds while Rihards Vavers added 18 points and five rebounds. The Cougars have won their last three in a row, all double-digit victories, and WSU next heads to Corvallis to face Oregon State before hosting Santa Clara on Saturday.
THIS WEEK’S NATIONAL BROADCASTS
West Coast Conference men’s basketball will be on national television twice this week. On Wednesday, Oregon State hosts Washington State at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. On Saturday, Saint Mary’s hosts San Francisco at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
BATTLE OF CONFERENCE LEADERS SET FOR THURSDAY
Two weeks after their overtime thriller in Corvallis, conference leaders Gonzaga and Oregon State will battle again. The McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane will be the site of Thursday’s 6 p.m. tipoff between the Zags and the Beavers. OSU (9-1) holds a one-game lead on Gonzaga (8-2) and took the first meeting of the season, 92-87, on Jan. 22 in Corvallis. Shuler was the star, nearly posting a triple double with 17 points, 10 steals, nine assists, five rebounds and three blocks in that matchup. Whittaker posted a career-best 37 points for Gonzaga in the defeat.
Oregon State has two challenging road tests this week, as the Beavers will travel to Portland on Saturday to face the surging Pilots (7-4) at 2 p.m.
BEAVERS, BULLDOGS AND LIONS CONTINUE TO ROLL
Oregon State and Gonzaga are locked in a tight battle at the top of the conference standings after both won their games this week. The Beavers (17-6, 9-1) have won their last four games and 11 of their last 12 overall. The Zags (16-7, 8-2) own a two-game win streak and have won 10 of their last 12 overall. LMU (14-8, 8-3) has won six of its last seven games after two convincing wins this week.
OSU posted a pair of double-digit victories at home, holding San Diego to just 43 points in an 18-point win Thursday and San Francisco to 53 points in a 22-point victory Saturday. The Beavers rank second in the conference defensively, holding their opponents to an average of 60.6 points per game. After scoring a career-best 24 points and pulling down seven rebounds in Thursday’s win over the Toreros, junior guard Kennedie Shuler registered 19 points, seven assists and four rebounds in the win over San Francisco Saturday.
Gonzaga pulled out a 74-66 come-from-behind victory in overtime at San Francisco Thursday before a six-point win at Washington State Saturday. In Thursday’s thriller on the Hilltop, Lauren Whittaker nearly posted her sixth double-double in her last seven games, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds against the Dons. Her bucket with four seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime and the Zags used a 12-4 run in the extra session to secure the win. Gonzaga used a 27-point fourth quarter to pull away from Washington State and secure the win. Whittaker (18), Paige Lofing (17) and Allie Turner (16) combined for 51 of Gonzaga’s 81 points in the victory.
LMU OFF TO BEST START IN CONFERENCE PLAY SINCE 2006
LMU outscored its two opponents by a combined 62 points this week, with a 21-point win over Pacific Thursday and a 41-point victory over Seattle U Saturday. Saturday’s 41-point victory was its largest margin of victory over a Division I opponent since a 45-point win (95-40) over UC Irvine on Nov. 28, 2015. Maya Hernandez posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds as one of five LMU players in double figures in Saturday’s victory. After an 18-point performance in Thursday’s win, Carly Heidger scored 10 points in 14 minutes in Saturday’s victory.
The Lions own an 8-3 conference record, their best start in conference play since also beginning 8-3 in the 2005-06 season. That team finished 10-4 in league action and earned the No. 3 seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament. This year’s LMU team is tied with Santa Clara for third place in the conference standings.
PEPPERDINE RIDING A WAVE OF MOMENTUM
Pepperdine has won three straight in conference play for the first time since the 2019-20 season as the Waves toppled Seattle U by 27 points Thursday and earned a hard-fought 74-72 road win over Santa Clara Saturday. The current win streak started with an 18-point victory over Portland Jan. 24. Pepperdine is averaging 83.3 points per game, 17.0 assists per game, has shot 54.0 percent from the floor overall, 42.9 percent from three-point range and connected on 24 three pointers during its current win streak. Defensively, the Waves are averaging 9.3 steals per game and 35.3 defensive rebounds per contest in the three wins.
Saturday’s win over Santa Clara featured six lead changes and four ties with Pepperdine responding to each Bronco bucket over the final stretch to secure the win and snap Santa Clara’s four-game win streak. Lina Falk and Shorna Preston each had 15 points to lead the Waves offensively. Falk added 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.
PORTLAND STORMS BACK TO DEFEAT SAN DIEGO AND SWEEP THE WEEK
Portland erased a double-digit third-quarter deficit to defeat San Diego Saturday and sweep the week (defeated Saint Mary’s 68-42 Thursday), positioning the Pilots right in the mix for the conference regular season crown at 7-3. San Diego used a 15-0 run to took a 10-point lead with 1:41 left in the third quarter, but Portland responded with the next seven points to cut the lead to three heading into the final period. The Pilots took the lead with 4:48 to play in the contest, en route to securing the 64-59 win. Florence Dallow recorded a career-best 18 points and matched her career high with eight rebounds in the win. Freshman Jada Kennedy averaged 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the two wins this week.
Two of Portland’s next four games are against conference leader Oregon State, beginning with a Feb. 7 date with the Beavers at the Chiles Center.