SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Four teams are in contention for the West Coast Conference regular season women’s basketball title in the final week. Each program has two games remaining, beginning with a full six-game slate tonight at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+. Gonzaga and LMU are tied for first place at 13-3, while Oregon State is a game behind at 12-4 and Santa Clara is two games behind at 11-5.
Gonzaga and LMU control their own destiny, as the Zags host Saint Mary’s tonight on ESPN+ and travel to Portland Saturday in a 5:00 p.m. game on ESPNU. LMU travels to San Francisco tonight and continues north to Corvallis Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. game against third-place Oregon State. Either Gonzaga or LMU can earn at least a share of the regular season title tonight with a win and loss by the other team.
Overall, Gonzaga, LMU or Oregon State each could earn a share of the title or win it outright. Santa Clara’s opportunity to win a regular season title would come via a four-way tie for the championship between the Broncos, Bulldogs, Beavers and Lions.
Seeding information and the bracket for the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship (March 5-10 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas) will be announced Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
GONZAGA-PORTLAND GAME TO AIR ON ESPNU SATURDAY
Saturday’s Gonzaga-Portland game will be televised on ESPNU with a 5:00 p.m. PT start at the Chiles Center in Portland. The contest is the first of two conference women’s basketball matchups that will air on an ESPN linear network this season. The Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Championship title game on March 10 at 1:00 p.m. PT will air on ESPN2.
LMU CONTINUES TO CHASE HISTORY
LMU has won seven straight and 10 of its last 11 contests after defeating San Diego Saturday. The Lions are 19-8 overall and 13-3 in the conference. They have matched the program record for most conference wins, initially set in 2003-04. The 19 overall wins are the most since the 19-win campaign in 2017-18.
LIONS PICKING UP THE PACE
LMU is averaging nearly 10 more points per game in its last 14 games. After averaging 66.3 points per contest in its first 13 games, the Lions are averaging 75.9 ppg over their last 14. They are 12-2 in that span.
WHITTAKER MAKES CASE FOR NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR HONORS
Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker, who is the lone freshman semifinalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award, is making a strong case for national freshman of the year honors. The forward leads the conference in scoring (19.0 ppg), rebounding (10.2 rpg) and field goal percentage (.556).
Whittaker posted her 15th double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Gonzaga’s 85-70 victory over Pacific this past Saturday. She has three more double-doubles than any other freshman in the nation and is tied for 13th overall entering Thursday’s games. Whitaker ranks second among all freshmen nationally in total points and points per game.
Overall, the Gonzaga forward ranks 22nd nationally in rebounds per game and 30th in points per game.
Whittaker, who was recognized in November as a Kay Yow Servant Leader, ranks in the top two among freshmen nationally in six categories. Along with double-doubles, she ranks first nationally among freshmen in field goal percentage. The forward is second among freshmen nationally in points, points per game, rebounds, and field goals made.
Whittaker has matched the conference record with 12 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week honors this season. She owns 13 conference weekly awards overall, also earning conference player of the week honors Dec. 22. Whittaker was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week Dec. 23.
30-POINT PERFORMANCES AMONG ACTIVE PLAYERS
There have been seven 30-point performances by conference players this season. Most recently, Sydney Ward of Pacific scored a career-best 30 points against Gonzaga last Saturday. Oregon State’s Kennedie Shuler had 31 points against Pacific without recording a three-pointer. Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker has the highest single-game total in the conference this season with 37 points to go along with 14 rebounds against Oregon State Jan. 22. Whittaker’s performance is one of two 30-point double-doubles this season, as San Diego’s Olivia Owens registered 31 points and 12 rebounds against Washington State Feb. 5. Oregon State’s Jenna Villa is the lone active conference player with multiple 30-point games in her career in the West Coast Conference, with both performances coming this season – 32 points against Pacific Jan. 2 and 31 points against Gonzaga Jan. 22. LMU’s Jess Lawson posted 32 points and nine rebounds against San Francisco Jan. 4.
Last season, there were 11 performances of 30 points or more. There are two active conference players with 30-point performances in previous seasons – LMU’s Maya Hernandez scored 33 points against South Dakota Nov. 13, 2024 and Maia Jones, who previously played for Saint Mary’s before transferring to Santa Clara, scored 31 points for the Gaels against Pepperdine on Feb. 17, 2024.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE RANKS AMONG THE TOP CONFERENCES IN SEVERAL CATEGORIES
The West Coast Conference ranks among the top eight conferences in Division I in six statistical categories. The league is fourth among conferences in free throw percentage (.729).
| CATEGORY |
RANK |
STATISTIC |
| Free Throw Percentage |
4 |
.728 |
| Assists Per Game |
6 |
14.5 |
| 3-Point FG Percentage |
7 |
.313 |
| Assists |
7 |
4,894 |
| Rebounds Per Game |
8 |
37.3 |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio |
8 |
0.89 |
DISHING OUT DIMES
The West Coast Conference boasts the sixth-highest assist per game average in the nation, at 14.5 assists per contest. Three conference players are averaging at least 5.0 assists per game and rank in the top 40 in the nation, including Santa Clara’s Ashley Hawkins (11th, 6.1 apg), Oregon State’s Kennedie Shuler (27th, 5.3 apg) and Pacific’s Daria Nestorov (37th, 5.1 apg).
ALLIE TURNER AMONG CONFERENCE CAREER THREE-POINT LEADERS
Gonzaga’s Allie Turner owns a career three-point field goal percentage of .453 (174-of-384), which ranks second on the West Coast Conference career three-point field goal percentage list (minimum 80 three-point field goals).
This season, Turner ranks 10th nationally in three-point field goal percentage at .448 (69-of-154). As a team, Gonzaga ranks third nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.385).
SANTA CLARA CONTROLLING THE GLASS
Santa Clara currently leads the conference and ranks eighth nationally in rebounds per game at 43.1 rpg. The current average is the highest in the conference for a season in 11 years since San Diego averaged 43.2 rpg during the 2014-15 season.
AWARDS WATCH LISTS
The West Coast Conference has been represented on several watch lists for major awards. Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker was the lone freshman named as a semifinalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award. On Jan. 27, Portland’s Julia Dalan, one of the nation’s leaders in blocks per game, was named to the midseason watch list for the Naismith Women’s College Defensive Player of the Year Award. On Jan. 28, Gonzaga’s Lisa Fortier was named to the midseason watch list for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award.
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 has 10 student-athletes from six countries. WSU has nine student-athletes from eight countries. The matchups between OSU and USF on Dec. 28th and Jan. 31st featured 21 international student-athletes between the two rosters. It is the second-most in a Division I game this season.