BYU women proved they’re the best team in the WCC with another win over Gonzaga, but the Zags won’t shy away from a rematch

PROVO, Utah – As the BYU fans celebrated one of the biggest wins in program history Saturday afternoon, the Gonzaga women retreated to the locker room.

They stayed there for almost half an hour, contemplating a tough reality: BYU has the best women’s team in the West Coast Conference this season.

That’s not a surprise. BYU was picked to win the conference, thanks in part because several key players took advantage of the extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic.

But this felt different, and you could see it in the eyes of some GU players as they took the bench late in a 63-39 beatdown in front of a raucous crowd of 6,289 at the Marriott Center.

There was a look of helplessness, and not just by the players. By late in the third quarter, even coach Lisa Fortier and her staff were showing some pessimistic body language.

It added up to GU’s worst conference defeat in 10 years. Combined with the meltdown loss to BYU two weeks ago in Spokane, it means that Senior Day in the Kennel won’t include the traditional net-cutting ceremony.

That’s a tough one to swallow, considering how high the bar has been set by previous teams.

Gonzaga has won 16 of the past 17 regular-season WCC titles. The only exception was Fortier’s second season in 2015-16, when an injury-wracked squad wound up in the WNIT.

This year’s edition is healthy and whole, but may be headed for the same fate unless it can find a way to win the WCC Tournament. That probably means a third meeting with BYU, in the championship game on March 8 in Las Vegas.

That’s 16 days away – plenty of time to alter game plans and instill more accountability, something Fortier implied was lacking on Saturday.

The defensive breakdowns, the lack of hustle after some of the 15 turnovers, the emotional carryover onto the offensive side – those also happened in the first meeting.

This time it happened sooner and more often – a troubling trend as the postseason looms.

Yet for all that, the players were already picking up the pieces. Three more home games await next week, followed by a chance for redemption in Las Vegas.

Asked about a possible rematch with BYU, senior forward Melody Kempton said she was optimistic that the Zags can put the “mental lapses” of Saturday’s game behind them.

“Definitely,” Kempton said. “I think we can easily put it together, and come the proper time we can do that.”

BYU also has loads of motivation to run the table and raise both WCC trophies. The Cougars have a good shot at hosting first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games.

They also have a score to settle with GU from last year’s WCC title game, which went to the Zags at the buzzer.

Bring it on, Fortier said at the end of the postgame interview.

“I told our team that those are the games that are the most fun – that’s what you want,” Fortier said.