Boosts off the bench: No. 18 Gonzaga women aided by reserves Maud Huijbens, Calli Stokes, Esther Little

Through 15 games, the Gonzaga women’s basketball team’s starting lineup has varied just once, and that was because of an injury.

It features four graduate students and one senior. You know their names.

But you get bonus points if you can pinpoint the top contributors off the bench.

The three key reserves in coach Lisa Fortier’s eight-player rotation – through the majority of the nonconference schedule – have been 6-foot-3 junior forward Maud Huijbens, 5-foot-11 redshirt sophomore guard Calli Stokes and 6-foot-2 junior guard Esther Little.

Usually, player rotations tighten up when a team begins conference play. That’s not likely to be the case for Gonzaga, which opens West Coast Conference play Thursday at Portland.

The Zags’ bench deepened just before Christmas break when redshirt sophomore Bree Salenbien and senior Destiny Burton returned from injuries that had sidelined them since preseason camp.

Conference play won’t look anything like the nonconference schedule, which ESPN rated as the fifth-most difficult in the country. It certainly is the toughest in Fortier’s 10 years as head coach.

So WCC play could afford Fortier the opportunity to tinker with what has worked through a 13-2 start for her No. 18-ranked team.

Just what that could look like, she wasn’t sure headed into the holiday break.

“We’ll have to figure that out,” Fortier said.

Finding playing time for a bench that could get deeper won’t necessarily be a shuffling around of minutes already shared by the substitutes.

“The (starters) have logged some pretty heavy minutes,” Fortier said. “Having Bree back, we could take more minutes from the starters and not fewer minutes from the bench. I’d prefer to play the starters 25 to 28 minutes per game.”

Kayleigh Truong is averaging a team-leading 30.4 minutes per game. Kaylynne Truong is next at 29.9, and Brynna Maxwell, Eliza Hollingsworth and Yvonne Ejim are each at 27.9.

Answering the call

Huijbens, Stokes and Little have provided valuable minutes even if their contributions can’t necessarily be measured in the statistics.

Nor do they need to be. Gonzaga has a potent offensive starting lineup. Anything else the Zags get is just a bonus.

Huijbens and Stokes check into a game usually before 5 minutes have expired in a quarter. Just behind them is Little.

Easily Huijbens’ best game came in Gonzaga’s 96-78 upset of then-No. 3-ranked Stanford. She finished with a career-high 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the floor.

“It helped my confidence a lot,” said Huijbens, a transfer from Syracuse by way of Hilversum, Netherlands, who played in just 12 games last season, missing a chunk of the season with concussion issues.

It was the kind of game Huijbens expects to have any time her number is called.

“Our starting five are such a big offensive threat that I’m learning to find my opportunities,” Huijbens said. “I’m learning that every game can be a learning opportunity and I don’t have to be perfect.”

Fortier has been pleased with Huijbens growth and play.

“She’s physical, she brings intensity,” Fortier said. “She’s becoming more consistent with her finishing and field-goal percentage.”

Consistency is one of Huijbens’ trademarks.

“She doesn’t have a bad day in practice very often,” Fortier said. “She’s so vocal. She helps our team be organized and on the same page.”

Huijbens also is counted on to be a stopper near the basket.

“We can count on her to be physical around the basket,” Fortier said. “She put in the time to get better and that’s one of the things I most appreciate about her.”

Little hails from Ipswich, England – about 2 hours northeast of London. She rarely scores, rarely looks to shoot – and that’s just fine with Fortier.

“Esther is one of the best defenders we’ve ever had,” Fortier said. “Some people put their hands up and have to move their hands down to move. Esther can move fast with her hands up. She rarely fouls and is good at shot blocking.”

Little has become a Swiss Army knife. She’s played all five positions this year and probably is least comfortable at point guard. But in a pinch, she can do it.

“She never gets wildly excited about anything, but she never gets wildly down or upset about anything,” Fortier said. “She’s steady.”

Little said her approach is simple.

“Just coming off the bench and bringing energy in whatever way is needed for that game,” Little said. “I have a big defensive role and that’s how I try to contribute the majority of my minutes – energy and the little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.”

The temperature on the court often changes when Stokes is summoned off the bench. Fortier never has to remind Stokes to bring energy because Stokes is a walking ball of energy. You can see immediate intensity on her face.

“It’s important that when we come in that the energy doesn’t dip and that we maintain focus,” Stokes said. “I think we’ve done a pretty good job with it.”

“She’s another great defender,” Fortier said. “When you have Calli and Esther out there, we have so many defensive options. We can run any defense that we have.”

Gonzaga coaches challenged Stokes to focus on rebounding. She’s averaging 4.1 rebounds in 18.4 minutes.

“She’s rebounding well and finding a way to score a little bit,” Fortier said.

Stokes’ best game came in a win at Cal when she scored eight points, including a big 3-pointer, and had nine rebounds.

Salenbien’s return gives the Zags another versatile player who has 3-point range and can score off dribble-drive penetration.

She has fought back from two ACL surgeries and a meniscus tear that she suffered just before the season began. She’s the highest-rated recruit in school history.

“I feel emotional for her,” Fortier said about Salenbien’s return. “To have one injury is hard enough. I tore my ACL, so I know what that’s like.

“She played great for us (this summer) in Europe and we were so excited about what that was going to look like. She brings so much to our team. We’re just better with her.”

Moving forward

The dynamic of the Zags’ bench could change moving into conference play.

“It’s super good being back with my teammates,” Salenbien said. “My first game back, I was shaking some rust off. It’s been a little bit (since I last played). I haven’t really practice much either.”

The Zags are on pace to nab the highest seed they’ve had for an NCAA Tournament. And that could mean a season that stretches well into March.

Ejim – Gonzaga’s best player, who ranks second in the nation in field goals made – appreciates everything the bench brings.

“We have Esther and Calli coming in and playing amazing defense,” Ejim said. “I’m glad they’re hounds, because I couldn’t do what they do. They give a lot of energy on defense which flows into our offense.

“Maud is just a dominating force. She comes in and wants to beat people up. That’s what we need.”

Ejim paused and looked at Salenbien.

“I’m proud of what you’ve gone through and what you’ve overcome,” Ejim said. “It’s rewarding to know that I have a dedicated, committed and persistent teammate like you.”