All season, Gonzaga women showed resilience after setbacks

It’s been that kind of season for the Gonzaga women, with more than the usual number of ups and downs.

But don’t compare it to a roller coaster, because that would imply that the Zags simply rolled their way to the peaks after every setback.

On the contrary, this was team of “grinders” – a phrase senior captain Melody Kempton used more than once this season – as the Zags willed their way up to the West Coast Conference Tournament title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

From the beginning, the GU women dealt with the pandemic, pushback on the decision by some players to kneel during the national anthem and several deflating defeats.

But not long after hitting the low point of the season at BYU, the Zags are 26-6 and ready to climb a few more rungs.

“They’re been really fun to coach and I hope to keep coaching them for a while,” coach Lisa Fortier said.

Here’s a look at how the Zags responded to adversity this season.

Missoula, Nov. 14 – The Zags had been dealing with uncertainties since the end of the previous season.

Fans would be allowed back in the Kennel, but COVID-19 was still raging. Everyone tried to stay positive.

On the court, the Zags had graduated Jill Townsend and Jenn and LeeAnne Wirth, while a loaded BYU team was picked to dethrone the Zags as WCC regular-season champions.

“We have that gritty feeling of wanting to prove people wrong,” Kempton said.

“This team is like no other team I’ve been on … the chemistry is very different, and I would take a bullet for this team.”

The Zags took their first shots in the second game of the season, at Montana.

“It’s a hostile environment and a great crowd,” Fortier said. “It always has been a tough place to play.”

And so it was.

In their first true road game of the year, the Zags relied on their depth to overcome foul trouble and take a 67-60 nonconference win over the Lady Griz.

Spokane, Dec. 8 – During several home games, the Zags had hoped to send a message about racism by kneeling during the national anthem.

They did that, but also got some major pushback from fans who felt the action was disrespectful to veterans and to the flag.

But the Zags sent a different message before their home game against Washington State.

The screens above the McCarthey Athletic Center floor offered a message from the GU players before the national anthem and tipoff .

Crafted during a players meeting on Monday, it was a message of hope, unity and reconciliation with offended fans – no easy feat in today’s political climate.

“All people should be treated with respect,” “promote justice for all,” and “create a more inclusive society for everyone” were some of the messages shared by GU student-athletes during the roughly 40-second video on the jumbo screens.

The crowd reacted with almost universal applause.

Spokane, Dec. 12 – The Zags went on to blow a 15-point third-quarter lead against the Cougars, and the pressure was on four days later.

GU hadn’t lost back-to-back home games in almost 20 years, but it trailed underdog Stephen F. Austin for most of the second half.

But with the game threatening to play out as it did four nights earlier, Cierra Walker flipped the script, hitting a pair of 3-pointers to help give GU a 64-54 win.

“It feels great,” said Walker, a senior who had missed a potential winning shot against the Cougars.

Portland, Jan. 6 – As the omicron variant surged through basketball locker rooms – mostly those of other teams – the Zags were forced to take two weeks off.

That’s the longest idle stretch anyone could remember, but the Zags responded with their best in-the-paint performance of the season.

The Zags were utterly dominant inside at host Portland 76-65 in the WCC opener. They not only controlled the boards against their Northwest rival, but got career scoring games from Kempton and Yvonne Ejim.

Kempton got rolling early, scoring 19 points in the first half and finishing with a game-high 25.

Ejim came off the bench and played only 21 minutes, but she posted a double-double – 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Spokane, Feb. 7 - It wasn’t pretty, but the Gonzaga women did just enough against San Francisco to avoid making some unwelcome history.

GU was coming off a disheartening loss to BYU two days earlier, and the hangover appeared to linger in front of a sparse crowd at the Kennel.

USF led most of the way in a game that included sluggish offense in the first half, a remarkable performance off the bench from forward Ejim and finally some clutch plays at the end.

The Zags closed out the game with a 10-1 run to beat the Dons 55-49 and remain tied atop the WCC with BYU.

“I thought we were really gritty,” Fortier said after a game in which neither team had a double-digit lead at any point.

Spokane, Feb. 19 – The Zags’ response mechanism was tested again after a 24-point loss at BYU that would cost them the WCC regular-season title.

But there’s no better way to bury the memory of a bad loss than burying the next team that comes your way.

The Gonzaga women did just that, rolling past visiting Santa Clara 74-58 to stay within a game of first place.

Soon after the game was over, the celebration began as Fortier marked her 200th win.

As she walked into the locker room, players doused her with water.

“How do I feel? Wet,” said Fortier, who reached the 200 mark in her eighth season while losing only 52 games going into the last two games of the regular season.

Las Vegas, March 8 – The Zags came to Vegas riding a three-game winning streak, but doubts filled the Orleans Arena as they warmed up for the WCC title game against BYU.

One day earlier, GU had outlasted USF in the semis to improve its shot at an at-large NCAA berth. That wasn’t good enough, the players said after that game.

They responded.

Patient with the ball and almost ferocious on defense, the Zags kept 15th-ranked BYU off-balance all afternoon and won the title 71-59 at the Orleans Arena.

The Zags came out strong, withstood rallies big and small and kept their poise in the second half – something that didn’t happen in the two regular-season games.

The lead was down to 46-43 with 8 minutes left, but Kempton hit back-to-back shots to push the advantage to seven.

Six minutes later, the Zags were up 60-48 and the celebration began.

“I’m just so proud of our team, after (BYU) cut it to three,” Fortier said. “That’s just very telling.”