TV take: Stanford easily handles Gonzaga women on national broadcast
It’s not an everyday occurrence for the Gonzaga women’s basketball team to have one of its games featured on the ESPN family of networks.
That’s why Sunday’s visit to Stanford was such a special occasion. That and a couple of other reasons – none of which we got to see.
That included the first 10 minutes, 51 seconds of game action.
Unless you wanted to watch it on the ESPN app. ESPN2, where the game was originally scheduled? That’s a story. One as poor as the new-look Zags’ performance against the new-look Cardinal.
When we finally got our chance to watch, Stanford was well on the way to a dominating 89-58 victory, avenging last season’s Gonzaga upset in Spokane.
The Cardinal hit 13 of their 24 3-point attempts, held GU to 34% shooting and led by as many as 35 points halfway through the third quarter.
Beth Mowins dealt with all of it well, as always, from the play-by-play chair and former Purdue and Florida coach Carolyn Peck adding occasional analysis.
What we saw …
A lot of nothing. At least of the first quarter.
ESPN likes to try to fit college games, men or women, in a two-hour window. Aspirational, sure, but rarely reality. The lead into the Gonzaga game on ESPN2? It was Michigan and Wake Forest in a men’s nonconference matchup from Greensboro, North Carolina.
That game came down to the wire before the Demon Deacons, keyed by former Zags Hunter Sallis and Efton Reid, earned a 72-70 win. It ran until more than 15 minutes after noon, the Zags’ start time.
In most instances, ESPN moves the delayed game to ESPN News. Not this time. As the tip occurred in Northern California, a yellow notice appeared on the bottom of the screen. “WCBB: Gonzaga vs Stanford Currently streaming on the ESPN App.”
Fine. Until the men’s game ended.
Time for a move to Stanford? Nope. The ESPN game, No. 1 South Carolina meeting No. 9 North Carolina State, was switched over to ESPN2. An SEC volleyball match stayed on the flagship.
The little yellow box remained on ESPN2. The South Carolina game as well.
At 12:31 p.m., viewers were surprised by Beth Mowins’ voice. The Gonzaga game was finally on.
The Zags trailed 26-4.
• The other miss, for us and ESPN? Any coverage of the pregame addition of a new label on the Stanford court.
Tara VanDerveer, who began her impressive 45-year college basketball head coaching career at the University of Idaho, was in attendance to watch her name added to the Maples Pavilion court.
All ESPN2 was able to do was show a highlight reel at halftime. A short clip of the pregame celebration did precede Mowins’ and Peck’s second-quarter interview with VanDerveer.
The conversation ranged far and wide, from her mom in attendance to her replacement (Stanford alum Kate Paye) to the state of women’s basketball. It also covered the honor bestowed and the game going on in front of them to christen the addition.
It was obvious the retired coach appreciated Stanford’s dominance the most.
“I like it when we are ahead like this so I can just relax and cheer,” VanDeveer said. She had plenty to cheer. And she also did quite a bit on air.
The conversation ended at halftime, with the Cardinal – and their former coach – enjoying a 48-24 lead.
“Enjoy retirement and enjoy the second half,” Mowins told her. “You can relax a little bit with the big lead.”
“I hate a big lead at halftime,” VanDerveer responded.
“But with the way the Cardinal are shooting the 3, I think you can enjoy the rest of this one,” Peck added.
What they saw …
• Anytime any ESPN network covers women’s college basketball this season, the subject of the game’s growth comes up.
In this one Mowins led off that discussion with some thoughts on Spokane, mentioning how these teams were aiming to play in March’s regional hosted by the city.
“The fan support there is incredible,” Mowins said, including the GU crowds along with previous NCAA playoff games.
Whether the momentum built by Clark, Angel Reese and the Gamecocks’ undefeated season last year would continue was part of the discussion.
“I think this year will be exciting as last year,” Peck said, naming players and teams from around the country.
Van Derveer had her opinions as well. Not having to watch this game at home, she praised ESPN and the broadcast crew. And pivoted from praise to explanation.
“It’s really bringing the game out to the fans,” VanDerveer explained. “We have a great crowd today. There are so many choices people have.”
The rest of her interview? The broadcast had transmission issues. The audio, and the video, chopped in and out for a while as VanDerveer talked about the honor bestowed and other subjects.
It seemed appropriate. The most successful women’s basketball coach ever watching her former team dominate a program that handed her last group one of its six losses. In a game ESPN may not have considered an afterthought but sure treated like one.