Mar. 10—LAS VEGAS — Kind of magical, really, how this group of players turned a basketball tournament into a dance party.
The whole Gonzaga women’s team, decked out in their new tournament title swag, hats and T-shirts, shaking on the stage to music piped over the loudspeaker at Orleans Arena.
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Not just mindless eurhythmics, either, but routines, in lines and pairs and singles, modern fusion mixed with some moves they might use when fighting through a ball screen or being doubled on the low block.
And fun, man, this was the joy of victory. All well-deserved, made more poignant considering the powerful subtext of shared pain over the past few years.
Tuesday afternoon, they came in with a No. 2 seed, and fought off a physical Oregon State club 76-66 to win their first West Coast Conference Tournament title in four years.
Last year’s team failed to make the NCAAs, and the Zag women had been on a streak, since 2007, where they’d never miss advancing to the Big Dance two years in a row.
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And for both teams, a loss meant being passed over by the NCAA.
They played like it, with 15 lead changes and 10 ties.
This was the last time Gonzaga (24-9) and Oregon State (23-11) would play in the West Coast Conference, both schools moving into the newly reconfigured Pac-12 Conference.
But this game might have been a preview of what might turn into a terrific rivalry in the Pac-12.
“Going forward, it’s gonna be fun,” coach Lisa Fortier said of the future meetings with OSU. “I have a ton of respect for (coach Scott Rueck); he just is a great tactician and a great teacher.”
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But all that is for later. This day was for prepping for the Big Dance with this somewhat smaller dance — the highlight was when her capering Zags started chanting “Lisa … Lisa … Lisa.”
Fortier finally gave in and joined the party.
“We talked about how we want to have fun on the court, after the court, before the court,” Fortier said. “We’re basketball players, and we’re supposed to have fun.”
Two years ago, at conference tournament time, Fortier kept her fight against breast cancer quiet from the public, having only recently shared the news with her team.
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Last season, at the tournament, she told the press how much strength she had taken from her team’s support, and how the bond among them had been so deeply forged.
This year, it was all about playing hard, battling on the boards, defending their reads, and having a blast.
When broadcast commentator Sean Farnham briefly interviewed Fortier on the stage after the trophy ceremony, he prefaced it by mentioning to Fortier, who had led GU to 10 straight 20-win seasons, that they hadn’t won the tournament in four years.
“Really, that’s what you’re going to lead with?” Fortier volleyed.
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The Zags trailed at halftime 28-27. Second-leading scorer, Allie Turner, was scoreless.
In the third period, though, Turner pumped in 10 points and conference Player of the Year, freshman Lauren Whittaker, added nine more points and four rebounds, on her way to 26 points and nine rebounds.
“They did a great job in the third quarter,” Fortier said. “We got some rhythm with some of the things we were trying to run, and we got organized.”
Senior guard Ines Bettencourt, who added 12 points, said that they’d been hot in third quarters recently, and Fortier had stressed the need to do a better job on the boards.
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Another freshman, Jaiden Haile, came off the bench to grab five rebounds, including two down the stretch that were key, in addition to a putback basket and a free throw to help them stretch the slim lead in the final minutes.
“I had two people boxing me out for most of the game, so it made it harder than it usually is for me, but I knew that was what they needed from me,” said Haile, who last year was also cutting down nets, her West Fargo Horace High winning a South Dakota state title.
Bettencourt, the only senior starter, looked at her dancing teammates and laughed when asked if they were always like this.
“At practices, Lisa keeps us on our toes, but we’re a pretty goofy team,” Bettencourt said. “We’re dancing before the game, with the music on, and vibes were just immaculate for this tournament.”
Immaculate vibes.
They’ll need them in the upcoming NCAAs. And this should serve as a pretty solid rehearsal.
