Gonzaga women learned from Portland loss, enter NCAA Tournament with renewed focus

The layoff before the West Coast Conference Tournament and the wait for the NCAA Tournament may be similar in length for the Gonzaga women – nearly two weeks – but they’re distinctly different.

Gonzaga has had five days to prepare for its NCAA first-round opponent. The Zags had a day to prepare for their West Coast Conference Tournament semifinal matchup.

“The week we had off (before WCC), we had a long time before we had an opponent to zero in on,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “This is different.”

Before the Zags turned their full attention to the NCAA Tournament, though, they had to process what happened in the WCC Tournament championship game, a 67-66 loss to Portland.

“It hurt and it wasn’t anything we were expecting,” Gonzaga graduate wing Brynna Maxwell said. “Looking back, I think all of us have a different perspective on it now. We learned a ton from that game. I don’t think we would have unpacked as much if we had won.”

The Zags picked everything apart.

“We were really digging into the film,” Maxwell said. “We’ve been going over a lot of stuff, fixing and tweaking a few things. I think a lot of it would have been swept under the rug if we would have won. So the loss showed some stuff that we need to work on, some things we need to fix, off the court stuff.”

Fortier is hopeful the Zags got their stinker out of the way. A reset so to speak.

The Zags were thankful the loss didn’t keep them from earning a No. 4 seed and the right to host first- and second-round games.

The 16th-ranked Zags (30-3) take on No. 13 UC Irvine (23-8) at McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Gonzaga has won 34 straight at home, dating to 2022.

The Zags said the loss to Portland was an eye-opener.

“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions, a whole roller coaster,” Eliza Hollingsworth said. “I was extremely emotional after that loss (Portland). That team in our last game is not the team that we are.”

The Zags are determined to make the loss worth it.

“It stung like any loss,” Gonzaga graduate guard Kaylynne Truong said. “I didn’t want to throw away the whole season after one game. We worked really hard for this.”

Gonzaga didn’t play like it had all season against Portland.

“We need to have that joy,” Maxwell said. “We didn’t have any joy against Portland on the court. You could tell we were super intense. We need to play loose and have that joy and focus on the game plan we’ll be OK.”

Fortier believes the Zags learned much in defeat.

“I’m glad that we didn’t play bad and win, because I think that tricks you a little bit into thinking we’re just doing fine,” Fortier said. “(The loss) has the potential to be something great for us. Hopefully, there won’t be a repeat of that now that we’ve had an opportunity to work through it and the conversations about it. I’m hoping it will turn into a positive for us. If you’re not fundamentally sound offensively, they will get you.”

NOTE: The Zags announced senior forward Destiny Burton has been lost for the rest of the season with a knee injury. … Gonzaga is still without redshirt sophomore Calli Stokes (concussion). The Zags will suit up just eight players Saturday.