Gonzaga notebook: Bulldog women could still host NCAA Tournament games despite WCC championship setback

Portland women’s basketball coach Michael Meeks predicts more wins to come for Gonzaga.

“Gonzaga’s a phenomenal team with a phenomenal coaching staff,” Meeks said after his Pilots upset Gonzaga for a second consecutive year, 67-66 in the West Coast Conference Tournament finale Tuesday afternoon at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

“I expect them to make a great run in the (NCAA) tournament.”

The loss for the Zags (30-3) may not be devastating. ESPN women’s basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme, who was at Orleans Arena on Tuesday, said before the game broadcast he believes Gonzaga will be a No. 4 seed and host first- and second-round games at McCarthey Athletic Center even if it lost to Portland.

Creme posted an updated bracket Wednesday morning showing Gonzaga still a host and No. 4 seed. But the team to watch that could jump over Gonzaga is Kansas State, which Creme has as the best No. 5 seed.

The Zags will find out their fate Sunday during the Selection Show.

Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier is hopeful.

“We’ve been one of the best teams in the country all year when it comes to NET and efficiencies,” Fortier said. “Our offensive efficiency is like third in the country. We have quality players. We’ve won some tough games. We have a ton of Quad 1 wins. We have a ton of Quad 1 and 2 games. They’re (the selection committee) smart people who care about our game.”

Fortier had some other things to say about NCAA seeding.

“I’d love for them to see our team for what it actually is,” she said. “I don’t think (Tuesday) was a great depiction of what we are. … I think all the coaches want to get up here and plead their case. I don’t think they listen to that. I think they’re more likely to watch what happens out there. I say yes, put us on the four line.”

Gonzaga senior forward Yvonne Ejim was emotional when asked about possibly staying in Spokane next weekend. She just wants more basketball, period.

“I feel like we’ve earned the right to play,” Ejim said. “Whether we host or go anywhere else … I just want to play basketball – however that comes to us.”

Happy to be dancing

Former Liberty High standout Maisie Burnham – she of the famous State B basketball family who started her collegiate career at Eastern Washington before transferring to Portland – was asked how the Pilots bounced back from getting beat by Gonzaga 90-40 two weeks ago to winning Tuesday.

“Mike (Meeks) kind of touched on it, the season has been a bunch of highs and lows,” said Burnham, who was named to the all-tournament team. “The biggest thing to be proud of is we all believed in ourselves and we all believed that if we kept working and stay together that we’d be in the spot that we are today. We didn’t need other people to believe in us, but as long as our coaching staff and our players were together, which we were, that we could be here today.”

Meek agreed.

“We talked about the fact that there were going to be hills and valleys throughout every season,” Meek said. “It’s always been our goal to come ready to play in March. I feel like we played our best three games of the season (here).”

Take a breath

The Zags will take some time to refresh from disappointment.

“Our team has proven the quality of team we are … over a very long season,” Fortier said. “We’re ready to rock on to what’s next.”

Gonzaga shot poorly, making 26 of 70 shots from the field (37%) and 5 of 20 from 3-point range (25%).

The Zags will evaluate the stretches of below-average defense and lack of offensive rhythm.

“We showed spurts of it (playing like they usually do),” GU’s Kayleigh Truong said. “We didn’t put together enough good possessions and we talk a lot about that – this idea of stacking. We didn’t stack possessions.”

“It’s like any game,” Ejim said. “Just make sure we’re taking care of ourselves, taking care of our bodies and just focusing on what we need to focus on. We have to bounce back and continue to work on ourselves.”

Fortier and the players said the loss had no connection to the upset at the hands of Portland last year in the WCC finale.

“We’re a different team than we were last year,” Ejim said. “We have a different mindset and different experience as well.”

Fortier was asked what she shared with her team afterward.

“Part of me doesn’t want to talk about (it) – we’re still playing,” Fortier said.

So Fortier didn’t go there.

“I ended up talking about how much I love them,” she said. “We love each other, we’ve done a ton of work. What Yvonne said about us not being the same team is true. We are very different people. We have a lot of the same personnel, but we’re not the same. That was part of the message that we have grown tremendously over the past 12 months. Kind of left it at that. We all know it. We don’t have to say those things (like), ‘You’re still in, you’re still playing,’ right now. It doesn’t take away the feeling that we’re having right now.”

Fortier said she and the Zags will take some time to absorb what happened Tuesday.

“We don’t need to move on from that too quick,” Fortier said.