Feb. 7—It's common for a basketball team coming off a signature win to have an immediate letdown in its next game.
Throw in the atmosphere of a cancer awareness theme and the Gonzaga women could have been ripe for a flat effort Saturday afternoon.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Bulldogs fended off the temptation and Pacific, rolling past the Tigers 72-44 in a West Coast Conference game before a sold-out crowd at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Minutes after the final buzzer, the Zags learned they're in first place by themselves after Portland knocked off visiting Oregon State 53-50.
Oregon State, which was drubbed by Gonzaga 67-37 on Thursday, went from solo first to tied for second with Loyola Marymount in three days.
The Zags knew not to overlook Pacific, which upset Santa Clara two days earlier.
Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier was concerned about how her team would respond after such an emotional win Thursday coupled with the significance of honoring women who have lost and won their battles against cancer.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"We've had different people crying all day — me mostly," said Fortier, who was diagnosed two years ago this week with breast cancer. "So trying to honor people who we care about and then also stay focused on the task at hand. It's good to have these kinds of games, but it also brings another layer, right? So I was a little worried."
Whatever concerns Fortier had, though, were put aside quickly by the Zags after the first quarter. A 3-pointer from Allie Turner, a basket in the key from Taylor Smith and a 3-pointer from Teryn Gardner finished off an 8-0 surge that gave Gonzaga a 37-22 lead with 1 minute, 6 seconds to go before halftime.
Gonzaga was on its way to dispelling any thought of a trap game.
The Zags (18-7, 10-2 WCC) have won four in a row and have a two-game lead over Santa Clara, the team responsible for one of their two WCC losses.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMost of the Bulldogs' lead in the second quarter was built with standout freshman forward Lauren Whittaker on the bench for the final 9:48 after picking up her second foul 12 seconds into the period.
Whittaker still had solid contributions, finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds. But she played a season-low 15 minutes because of foul trouble.
Stepping up in Whittaker's stead was another freshman, Jaiden Haile. She had her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. She had 11 rebounds Thursday.
"Bringing me off the bench is a part of being able to bring size and more physicality," Haile said. "I know what my role is on the floor, and it is to be physical and get into the other team and get rebounds."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGonzaga took a 58-31 lead into the fourth when Whittaker received a lofted pass in the air from Ines Bettencourt off an inbounds play and made the shot at the buzzer.
Haile rebounded her own miss and got a putback, giving the Zags their biggest lead at 67-38 with 3:57 to go.
For the second game in a row, Gonzaga played solid defense. It's something the Zags can build on as they finish the regular season and position themselves for the WCC Tournament.
"Defense was probably one of our weaknesses through the season so far, and we've kind of turned a page," Whittaker said. "And so just trying to keep building on that every day."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGonzaga won the battle on the boards for the 24th time out of 25 games, outrebounding Pacific (9-14, 4-8) by 17. The Zags finished with 19 assists, nine steals and just nine turnovers.
Whittaker broke the freshman record for points in a season, moving past Tammy Tibbles who had 475 in 1984-85. Whittaker has 488 and should be able to surge past 500 points and rebounds in time. She broke Heather Bowman's freshman record for rebounds earlier this season.
Turner supported Whittaker and Haile with 12 points and three assists, Bettencourt had five assists, Smith added four assists and four steals and Gardner and Sierra Lichte combined for 17 points and six rebounds.
Gonzaga travels to southern California for two games, beginning Thursday at San Diego.
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