LAS VEGAS - It was Wednesday morning in New Zealand when Lorraine Whittaker watched her daughter, Lauren Whittaker, lead Gonzaga on Tuesday afternoon to a title at the Credit Union I West Coast Conference Basketball Championship.
“It’s a little confusing,” Zags head coach Lisa Fortier said after Whittaker scored 26 points, grabbed nine rebounds and was named Most Outstanding Player while powering Gonzaga to a 76-66 victory over Oregon State at Orleans Arena.
Nothing confusing about the Zags recruiting Whittaker from halfway around the world even after she tore her ACL as a high school senior. She redshirted as a freshman in Spokane last year and this season was the best player in the conference, both the Player of the Year and the Freshman of the Year after leading the league in scoring and rebounding.
She was the best player again Tuesday — Wednesday back home — to help the Zags (24-9) to their first conference tournament crown since 2022 and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Lorraine Whittaker had just arrived at work, where she manages a gym, when Gonzaga tipped off in Las Vegas. “She had it on the big screen. She was bringing her Zag gear and she had all her work colleagues tuned in,” Lauren Whittaker explained.
Mother and daughter hadn’t yet talked on the phone when the Zags were cutting down the nets. And what would Mom have to say?
“Probably that she’s just proud of me,” the 6-foot-3 center said. “For her, it’s not about the points, the wins, anything like that. She just wants to see me succeed and enjoy where I’m at and the people around me. I think she’s just grateful that I’m in such an amazing community of Gonzaga.”
Whittaker knew she had found that place when Fortier and her staff continued to recruit her even after her knee injury. Back then, what she achieved on Tuesday wasn’t on her radar.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I’d have a moment like this,” she said. “Just to do it alongside these guys. And Lisa taking a big chance on me. She recruited me when I had torn my ACL in high school.
“The fact that they continued to put faith and belief in me meant so much and was why I ended up deciding to pick Gonzaga.”
Whittaker said she felt some pre-game nerves simply because of what was at stake. Win and go to the NCAAs. Come up short and be denied that goal.
“The best thing about Lauren is it doesn’t matter the stage,” Fortier said. “She’s just going to go to work every second. She just knows that she’s going to be at her best if she takes what they give her every time.”
The Beavers gave her the 3-point shot, dropping their post defender back into the paint, and Whittaker shot 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. “I felt like I haven’t been shooting it well from 3 recently,” she said. “For them to tell me to keep shooting it and have faith, really helped me.”
Whittaker played more than 27 minutes, but Oregon State outscored the Zags by 15 points over the time she was on the bench.
“I wish they would have kept her out (longer), based upon that” OSU head coach Scott Rueck said. “She is, obviously, a great player and changes everything. She is impactful at the rim and on the boards. She passes the ball and sets screens.”
BEAVERS DENIED REPEAT CROWN: Oregon State, a two-year affiliate member of the West Coast Conference, had designs on winning the conference tournament crown both seasons. The Zags had other ideas.
“There’s no shame in losing to that team. A lot of talent and a lot of physicality. It’s a big-time challenge,” Rueck said. “Really proud of our team for the composure that they played with, I love the way we handled adversity today, the way we fought back and seemed to answer everything. But they made the plays down the stretch.”
Rueck felt especially badly for junior guard Kennedie Shuler, who has been battling a sore hip and wasn’t at her best. The league’s Defensive Player of the Year, Shuler had a memorable game with 17 points, 10 steals and nine assists in OSU’s overtime win over the Zags early this season.
“We do ask a lot of Kenn and she delivers,” Rueck said. “I’ll roll with that kid forever. She’s every coach’s dream and she gave us everything she had.”
Gonzaga’s Fortier said Shuler is the kind of player she’d enjoy coaching. “She seems like that kind of player just because she’s a winner and she is a competitor,” she said. “That’s the type of players that I love.”
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Whittaker, named Most Outstanding Player after totaling 45 points and 18 rebounds in two games, was the headliner on the five-player all-tournament team. She was joined by teammate Allie Turner, who had 31 points and nine assists in two victories.
Also honored were OSU’s Jenna Villa, who racked up 52 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists over three games, and her teammate, Tiara Bolden, who posted 19 of her 40 points against Gonzaga.
Rounding out the group was LMU’s 5-foot-7 guard, Jess Lawson, who had 25 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists in the regular-season champion’s semifinal loss to the Beavers.