the Zags stop Ralphie and the Buffaloes in their tracks
The Women’s season continues onward and upward as earlier today the Bulldogs defeated the Colorado Buffaloes on the road with a final scoreline of 64-55. The victory means that the Zags will advance to the WBIT Quarterfinals for a date with the Minnesota Gophers on Thursday at 5pm PST.
The Bulldogs started out the contest looking a bit sluggish as in the first three minutes, we watched two turnovers and allow the Buffs to jump out with a 10-2 lead. Fortier looked understandably dissatisfied with her team’s performance and called a timeout that I’m sure was filled with some pointed comments towards the players. Thankfully though, this early decision by the Head Coach paid off as the Zags crawled back to tie the game with just under four minutes remaining in the period. Despite the available time remaining, neither team could capitalize as only three points were scored and the first quarter ended with the Zags down 15-16.
The offensive doldrums of the first continued into the second period with neither team capable of making much happen from an offensive perspective. In fact, after Claire O’Connor’s three pointer with 3:50 remaining on the clock that helped the Bulldogs regain the lead, just 1-point but still, neither team would score again and we saw the second quarter end 26-25. Gonzaga finished with 11 points on 5-16 overall shooting and 1-5 from beyond the arc while Colorado somehow performed worse with their 3-10 field goals and 1-6 from deep. Probably the best takeaway from this period was the Bulldogs only committing 2 turnovers after coughing up 5 in the first while also forcing the Buffs into 5 turnovers.
The third began vaguely similar to the the preceding twenty minutes with both teams capable of making mini-runs, but neither capable of securing the strong foothold necessary to outpace their opponent. However, six minutes into the quarter, with the game tied 36-36, the game broke open for the Bulldogs. Ines, on back to back possessions, secured a defensive rebound and connected with a teammate for a three pointer, first with Allie and then second with Bree. The Colorado coaching staff tried to break the Zags momentum by calling a timeout, but the Bulldogs dominance persisted with Yvonne Ejim making another one of her long midrange jumpers and Allie Turner adding to her season-setting records of three pointers made. Over the final four minutes, GU ended with a 15-6 point run that saw the period end 51-42, Bulldogs. While the 9-17 overall shooting and 5-8 three pointers should and does stand-out from, I was thrilled with the Zags only committing 1 turnover and forcing the Buffs into 5.
The Colorado coaching staff opened up the fourth quarter with a major defensive adjustment as they dialed up the pressure, sometimes employing a full-court press, as they tried to climb back into game. While this change to their game plan certainly slowed the Bulldog offense, the Buffaloes couldn’t generate enough offense for their attempted comeback as they only attempted 9 shots, making just 3 and couldn’t control the ball with their 4 turnovers that sealed their fate as the game ended with 64-55, Gonzaga victory.
Yvonne Ejim finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Tonight’s double-double performance represents her 14th of the ‘24-25 campaign. While the senior was active in the paint, Ejim’s midrange shooting should serve as a clinic for players looking to add such wrinkle to their game.
Allie Turner completed her afternoon with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and just 2 turnovers. The freshman’s 3-4 three point shooting means that she currently stands at 101 successful threes on the season and she remains in the top 10 nationally in this category.
But it wasn’t just these two players that helped propel the Bulldogs to victory. Ines Bettencourt chipped in 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal. Maud Huijbens added 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 steals. Bree Salenbien contributed 8 points on 2-3 3FG to go along with 3 steals. And Tayla Dalton finished with 7 points and somehow only 2 steals despite being seemingly everywhere on the court.
Today was a very good team performance on the road against a Colorado squad with a NET ranking 50 points higher than Gonzaga. The 12 turnovers committed rank tied for 4th for the Bulldogs this season while the 11 steals 2nd, 4 blocks tied for 6th, and 31 rebounds tied for 4th as well. With the Bulldogs getting some time off until their matchup Thursday against Minnesota, let’s hope the players and staff can scheme up another W.