first of two road games tips off tonight against USF
The Women will face off later today in a road game against the University of San Francisco Dons which marks the first WCC game of the season. The match will be shown on ESPN+ and tip-off is currently scheduled for 9:00pm.
The Zags have had an up and down season to date. From the big win against Montana State to kick off the season to their 41-point defeat at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles, we have seen almost every type of performance from these Bulldogs to date.
Some of this can expected given the overall player turnover from last season compounded by injuries to various players like Tayla Dalton, Lauren Whitaker, and Esther Little have forced players like Allie Turner, Christabel Osarobo, and McKynnlie Dalan into larger roles than what was likely expected during the off-season.
However, some of the struggles we’ve seen owe themselves to poor execution by the players and a persistence by this coaching staff to run essentially the same offense as last year, despite the dearth in experience and potentially talent comparative to the ‘23-24 squad. As such, this squad rolls into the War Memorial Gymnasium with a 5-6 record where they will take on the 3-6 San Francisco Dons.
As the record might indicate, the Dons are having a fairly rough year thus far, but thankfully for them, they are at least heading into tonight’s game with a win against Arizona State, which broke their 5 game losing streak.
One obvious reason for their struggles comes in the form of Debra Dos Santos. The 6’0” senior forward was the lone selection to the 2024-25 All-WCC Women’s Basketball Preseason Team and averaged 15.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks last season.
However this season, Dos Santos has struggled as she’s posting a stat line of 10.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks. Not only is she not scoring and rebounding as much as last year, the senior is also turning the ball over nearly 3 times per game after averaging just under 2 the year prior.
Hopefully the Brazilian senior sees her struggles continue and the Zags walk away with the win tonight. Hit the feed below to give your thoughts on the game as it progresses. Catch you around!