Role players Abby O’Connor and Anamaria Virjoghe excel in Gonzaga’s WCC semifinal win

LAS VEGAS – In perhaps the two most important wins on Gonzaga’s NCAA Tournament resume, Abby O’Connor showed up.

Another Zag role player, post Anamaria Virjoghe, has made her presence felt during the team’s surge toward the Big Dance.

The two seniors provided impact performances Monday in GU’s 69-55 victory over San Francisco in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament at the Orleans Arena.

“Our role players have to be ready, just as much as our go-to players,” Bulldogs coach Lisa Fortier said. “We have four or five go-to players who are averaging 10 or 11 points, and then Ana and Abby come next.

“So, it was good to see that, obviously.”

O’Connor entered the tournament averaging 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. She was shooting just 39.7% from the field and had been mired in a funk from beyond the arc throughout most of the season, going 20 of 75 (26.7%) from 3-point range on the year.

In two tilts with USF earlier this season, she totaled 12 points on 3 of 16. She’d been held scoreless in the first matchup.

O’Connor shined in a win over Utah – the Pac-12 Tournament’s runner-up – in November, pouring in 21 points on 9 of 11.

In Monday’s consequential third showdown against USF, the senior out of South Bend, Indiana, came up with one of her most productive games of the season, helping the Zags (25-6) all but clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

“It felt really good to hit some shots,” she said. “Credit to my teammates for finding me the open shots, and having confidence in me.”

Known most for her defense, O’Connor logged 11 points, corralled five rebounds and buried three 3s on six attempts versus the Dons (17-15). Her three makes from deep tied for her most in one game across two seasons as a Zag.

She drained a timely 3-pointer midway through the second quarter to stop a GU cold spell and splashed another from deep early in the fourth quarter to help the Zags pull away.

“I tried to play my role – playing defense, rebounding for the team, hitting open shots when it comes to me,” said O’Connor, who played her first three collegiate seasons at Loyola-Chicago. “I think the game just came to me today.”

Virjoghe came into the WCC tourney with averages of 3.2 ppg and 5.5 rpg, but she’d been playing her best ball down the stretch of the regular season, scoring 30 points and pulling down 18 rebounds combined over her past three showings – all blowout wins for GU.

The 6-5 Romania native harassed the Dons in the paint Monday and logged eight points (4 of 10) and nine rebounds, adding a block, a steal and an assist.

Virjoghe flipped in a layup and snagged five rebounds during the Zags’ breakaway stretch in the third quarter.

“I believe that we, as a team, complement each other, so each has a role in the team,” she said. “I believe my role during the year was mostly on defense, but when my team needs a basket or assist, I make sure to show up.”

“Today, I felt like I needed to be a presence on the court on both ends.”