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Gonzaga Women's Basketball

Gonzaga women have strong chance to upset No. 1 seed Texas despite lack of parity in women’s bracket

Gonzaga forward Yvonne Ejim (15) and Gonzaga guard Brynna Maxwell (22) as the Zags defeat Utah 77-66 during a NCAA Division 1 second round college basketball tournament game, Monday, March 25, 2024, in the McCarthey Athletic Center. (COLIN MULVANY)
Gonzaga forward Yvonne Ejim (15) and Gonzaga guard Brynna Maxwell (22) as the Zags defeat Utah 77-66 during a NCAA Division 1 second round college basketball tournament game, Monday, March 25, 2024, in the McCarthey Athletic Center. (COLIN MULVANY)
By Jim Allen The Spokesman-Review

At first glance, this year’s women’s NCAA Tournament bracket is much like previous years, even more so.

More than usual, chalk dominated the first two rounds. All of the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16, along with two No. 5 seeds and a No. 7.

In other words, not much Madness. Or parity.

That’s partly because of the format, with top-four seeds playing at home for the first two rounds before advancing to regionals.

That’s been agreeable for the Gonzaga women, who got past Utah on Monday thanks partly thanks to a supportive crowd at the Kennel.

Now it’s on to Portland and a Friday night matchup with top regional seed Texas at the Moda Center.

The matchup looks daunting at first, but a closer look shows just how competitive this year’s tournament has been, at least in the second round.

UCLA, a No. 2 seed in the Albany 2 Regional, barely held off seven-seeded Creighton by four points.

Stanford, another No. 2 seed, needed overtime to beat seventh-seeded Iowa State.

Last week in Austin, Texas, fifth-seeded Alabama stayed in the game deep into the fourth quarter before the host Longhorns prevailed 65-54. That’s the same margin as GU’s 77-66 win over Utah, and apparently the oddsmakers noticed.

As of Wednesday, the Zags are a 5½-point underdog against a team that is 32-4 overall and went 14-4 in the Big 12.

On top of that, the Zags are making a relatively short trip to Portland and figure to draw decent fan support.

“I’m really excited for us to get down there,” Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier said after the win over Utah. “You know, it’s not a home environment, but I think that we’re pretty comfortable in that underdog space.

“I know the Zags are everywhere, but it’s nice to have to only go an hour away, five hours in a car, and hopefully, Spokane will show up down there, too.”

Even more encouraging, the Zags have an outstanding record under Fortier in games played in Oregon.

Yes, they’ve struggled recently against Portland in the West Coast Conference Tournament, but the Zags haven’t lost in Portland since 2001.

And don’t forget Fortier’s first year as head coach in 2015, when a 10th-seeded GU team knocked off George Washington and Oregon State to reach the Sweet 16.