Tip-off: Monday, 2:30 pm in the Orleans Arena
TV: ESPN+
Line: Torvik: Broncos +3.3, 38% win probability; ESPN: no line, 34.9% win probability
Over/Under: No o/u
Torvik: Broncos #87, Zags #66
(Broncos #127, Zags #71 over Last 10 Games)
Gonzaga
Head coach Lisa Fortier is in her 12th season at the helm of the Zags, having finished 1st an incredible 9 times in that run. Few isn’t the only awesome basketball coach in Spokane. Her Zags this year are a step back from some of the vintage Gonzaga women’s teams of late, though. They finished 2nd in the conference to LMU and are not likely to make the NCAA Tournament without the autobid. Therefore, both Santa Clara and Gonzaga are playing for their lives today at 2:30 pm.
Much like on the men’s side generally, the Gonzaga women are an offense-first squad. They do an excellent job working the ball around, finding the open player for an efficient bucket. They shoot a blistering 38.4% from 3P on the season, good for third in the country. But the Zags don’t shoot the three-ball extremely often and are much more dedicated to actual efficiency by taking the best shot on a given possession. They are also an excellent rebounding team on both ends. The Zags are nearly a top-10 squad in bringing in offensive boards, and they are almost as effective pulling them in on the other end. 6’3" frosh Lauren Whittaker is monster rebounder for Gonzaga and key to their success there.
Our Broncos
Loree Payne has had about as good of a debut season as any SCU coach in recent memory. The Broncos only took 3 losses in the non-conference and then just 5 more in WCC play. Herb has fought for a decade now to get to a single-digit-loss regular season; Payne did it in Year One.
More impressive has been the team’s play since star forward Sophie Glancey went down with an elbow injury against Wazzu on January 10. Half of the Broncos’ losses have come since that injury, but that’s only 4 losses in total. Along the way, SCU beat a solid Oregon State team in Corvallis. They’ve won 6 of their last 7 games coming into today.
As a strange accident of WCC unbalanced scheduling, Santa Clara played both LMU and Gonzaga just once each. The Broncos beat the Zags in Leavey (albeit, when Glancey was still available), so there’s no reason that Santa Clara can’t sweep the Bulldogs on their way out.
Santa Clara’s women’s side is a classic “solid at everything, exceptional at one thing” kind of squad. That exceptional bit is preventing turnovers. The Broncos do not let go of the ball and are #1 in all of women’s college basketball in not giving it to the other team. They also block quite a few shots at the rim, though slightly less so with Glancey out—Ava Schmidt does quite good work blocking shots herself, though.
Yesterday was an absolute heater by Maia Jones in the second half who could not be stopped getting downhill to the bucket. Ashley Hawkins had a solid stat line with 11 pts, 4 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals. But the focus for today will really be on players like Ava Schmidt and Delainey Miller who will need to keep the Zags off the glass. A similarity of both Broncos games today is that the other team is an elite rebounding squad. The Broncos will need to keep Gonzaga from extra possessions, and rely on excellent play from Jones and Hawkins to set tempo and lead SCU to victory.
Give me 72-70 Santa Clara. Ashley Hawkins puts in a star performance with 21 points and 8 assists.