BYU vs Lady Zags

[caduceus]

Totally expected from the homers on the losing squad, we have some on this board who do the same thing.

Coach Judkins also said they did not lose it on the last play, Gonzaga totally outplayed BYU in the last minute of the game.

To the BYU fans; you had the game, the conference tournament trophy and a spot in the NCAA tournament gift wrapped for you when 6 zags came down with GI last night including 3 starters. Only 2 of those six affected players could play any minutes and even Coach Judkins admitted JT was not herself today. GU could not hit the ocean from the beach in the first half. You just had to have a regular offensive game and you would have put the game out of reach. You scored 42 points, yes only 42 points with essentially your entire line-up and super sub Teagan Graham. Your team did not perform offensively very well at all. Maybe it had to do with that ZAG DEFENSE and ZAG GRIT that would not let you win.

I do wish you luck on getting into the NCAA tournament, you certainly are in the best 64 teams in the nation and more deserving than many of the other teams currently shown in the latest NCAA Bracket.

ZagDad

Well said.

Since the video on ESPN is heavily edited, here's my contribution to add more context: the last five minutes of the broadcast.

[Section 116]

Post game presser: Fortier starts at about 14 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVcmv8JtVdU

[sittingon50]

Well said.

Since the video on ESPN is heavily edited, here's my contribution to add more context: the last five minutes of the broadcast.

Thanks for that cad. Was working so missed the game. Gives me a lot more context.

[sittingon50]

Post game presser: Fortier starts at about 14 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVcmv8JtVdU

Thanks 116.

Coach Fortier:
r.e. her teams grittiness "I'm a Zag & I'm going to show you what that means if you don't know."

[CG3Dad]

I didn’t see it, but my wife mentioned before the game was over that several BYU players started a little bit of celebrating within the last couple of minutes...which is something you never should do. There’s that unexpected but unmistakable will to win that sometimes transcends everything else, which is what makes sports special.

I actually hope that BYU gets into the tourney because Gonzales is another one of my favorite players and I also respect Coach Judkins talent and coaching ability. It would also be great to send a couple of WCC teams to the big dance.

We had a little taste of a Cinderella moment ourselves and are completely satisfied with the way things ended up.

Congrats Zags. You have heart!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ZagDad84]

First and foremost,

CONGRATULATIONS!!! to all of the Lady Zags; players, coaching staff, assistants, and administration. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't clean, but when you get that trophy home, wipe it off and nobody cares how you won it.

Call-Out #1 - Zag Defense - Minus a limping Hamson, BYU had their entire offense and super-sub Teagan Graham off the bench and the depleted Zags held the Cougars to 42 points. Yes, 42 points. Without the defense buckling down and tightening the screws, there is no last second shot for JT. Every Zag should be very proud of the defense. While JT and CW were offensively ineffective (until the last shot) both ladies buckled down and stood in the face of the Cougars and greatly impacted the defensive side of the ball. How many times did we see a Zag rip a rebound away from a Cougar. Both Truongs running around the backside of the rebounding Cougar, JT ripping the ball from both Hamson and Gustin, JW waking up in the second half and not giving BYU and space and maintaining her rebounds, YE simply outworking everybody on the court under the hoop. It was very obvious that the entire BYU team was tired in the last 3 minutes and YE took advantage of it. Little effort on the offensive side of the ball and simply getting outworked for rebounds on the Zag end of the court.

Call-Out #2 - Yvonne Ejim. YE was the leading scorer for the Zags with 13 points, the only Zag player in double digits. YE was also the leading rebounder for the Zags with 9. To complete her stat line she had only 1 foul, only 1 turnover and 1 block in only 21 minutes. Many of us on this board saw her potential and hoped CLF would giver her more minutes. Out of necessity, CLF gave YE more minutes today and a future Zag was born. YE was rewarded for her effort with a spot on the all-tournament team.

Call-Out #3 - Jill Townsend (and Cierra Walker) - Just imagining what you two and the other 4 Zags went through over the last 24 hours makes me cringe. The fact that JT took 2 IVs (lord knows what CW had to do) to make yourself available for the team and to put in 18 minutes (JT) and 15 minutes (CW) was an unbelievable effort. Even though your shots were not falling, your effort on defense was outstanding. When it came down to one shot for the game win, CLF had no hesitation to call on JT to hit the shot and as has happened many times over the past 4 years, it went in. Your Most Outstanding Player of the WCC tournament, Jill Townsend. Congrats JT, if you were only going to hit one shot, you hit the right one.

Call-Out #4 - 2nd Half Offense - That's right I said offense. Despite not having LW available, JT and CW not producing on offense, 3 other players not available and after only scoring 13 points and giving away 11 turnovers in the first half, the Zags and Coach CLF turned it around. They only had 6 turnovers and scored 30 points in the second half and this is with JW and K-11 both shooting a miserable 1-10.

Call-Out #5 - Coach CLF - While I am sure it was out of necessity, when GU started falling behind by double digits in the first half, She started making substitutions. I thought she did not leave some of the girls in long enough to get into the flow of the game at least she realized that the status quo was not working and something had to change. With LW out and CW and JT limited, BYU was able to focus on JW as they were not afraid of anybody else on the court for the Zags. Bring in YE, play JW at the top of the key and let YE work against the BYU bigs in the middle. With JW at the top of the key, BYU had to guard her to avoid giving her that little elbow jumper. For a few minutes CLF even had EH and YE in at the same time. Let's not forget the significance of EH in today's game. She only played 5 minutes but she had 3 rebounds and was 1-2 from 3 shrinking the BYU lead from 7 to 4. Much like when CLF was forced to bring in Jill Barta in her freshman year due to a Zag injury, today YE got her minutes because of the GI issue and she made the most of it. As I said yesterday, YE brings something to the table that none of the other Zag forwards bring with her speed, footwork and effort (as does EH with her 3 point shooting). Both YE and EH should be part of the normal rotation (instead of AV) to just present a different look for the opposing teams. Today I actually think that CLF outcoached Judkins during the game (Judkins got to passive with BYU only taking four 3-point shots in the 2nd half). Well done coach, just don't forget what you learned about your team today when the tournament starts.

A true Zag, refuse to lose, effort today by the entire team, coaching staff, medical staff, assistances and administration. A hearty WELL DONE to all.

Onward to San Antonio (and maybe a 4th seed??). Selection day for the women is this upcoming Monday.

ZagDad

[Kemo 1966]

Well ZagDad, they didn't score over 60 (GU) and STILL WON! Glad for JT, CLF finally going to the well; and a new rising star for the next few years! I do hope they get into the #4 teams ranking even if towards the bottom! Still believe BYU will be an 11 or 12!

Missed game, as I had medical appointments out of town and was traveling. Now I'll count on Few's Team, to finish off the Cougars tonight! Anyone who watched last nights Ref 'fiasco calls' which heavily favored BYU over Pepperdine...... have no clause to "whine" PERIOD! GO LADY ZAG'S...SHOCK SAN ANTONIO!!!!

[ZagDad84]

Well ZagDad, they didn't score over 60 (GU) and STILL WON!

But I did say they would win!!

[ZagDad84]

Game Recap from GoZags:

Townsend Buzzer Beater Lifts Zags Over BYU for Ninth WCC Tournament Title
Townsend Most Outstanding Player, Yvonne Ejim All-Tournament
Women's Basketball
3/9/2021

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The No. 16/14 Gonzaga women's basketball team overcame a tough shooting performance and an array of obstacles to upend No. 2-seeded BYU at the buzzer, 43-42. Senior guard Jill Townsend made her only field goal with 0.6 seconds on the clock over the outstretched arms of 6-foot-7 BYU center Sara Hamson to secure the victory and GU's ninth WCC Tournament Title.

"When the chips were down and we needed a rally, our team just showed incredible grit and toughness and resilience, and I couldn't be more proud of them," Townsend said. "It wasn't just the shot I hit, it was everything that happened before to get us in that position."

Everything, including a pivotal offensive rebound from freshman Yvonne Ejim that forced a jump ball, giving the possession back to Gonzaga with less than a second remaining. Ejim's rebound gave GU one final attempt at a game-winning bucket.

"I'm not speechless that often," Townsend said. "But I definitely was after that."

Until that final bucket, Gonzaga only held the lead for 1:34 seconds of the entire game. An uncharacteristic first half saw the Zags shoot 17.2 percent from the floor while committing 12 turnovers. Yet, BYU was unable to capitalize, scoring just six points off those turnovers. The Zags countered their difficulty offensively with lock down defense, limiting the Cougars to 22 first-half points off 32.1 percent shooting while forcing seven turnovers. GU also controlled the glass, 25-19, while limiting BYU to five offensive rebounds and just two second-chance points. By the end of the half, BYU carried a nine-point advantage, 22-13.

The third period saw the Zags' shooting improve, much in part to eight points from Kaylynne Truong as the sophomore guard finished 3-of-4 from the floor and 2-of-3 from long range during the third stanza. As a team, GU shot 42.9 percent from the floor in the third and limited its turnovers, helping to keep BYU within reach. The Cougars held a double-figure lead until a jumper from Melody Kempton with 58 seconds to go cut the lead to nine, 36-27.

Gonzaga continued to chip away at the deficit, forcing five turnovers on the Cougars in the final period with four coming in the first 2:20 of the period. During that span, GU held BYU scoreless while Ejim scored four answered points on her own to cut the lead to five with 7:40 to go. Another bucket from Ejim 30 seconds later made it a one-possession game 36-33.

The Cougars responded with two unanswered buckets to extend their lead to seven (40-33), but back-to-back buckets, a three from Eliza Hollingsworth and another layup from Ejim, brought GU within two points with 2:35 to go. A minute later, Ejim converted one-of-two at the line to bring GU within one, 40-39, but the next possession BYU's Shaylee Gonzales drove inside for two, giving the Cougars a three-point buffer (42-39) with 44 seconds to go.

Jenn Wirth drew a foul, the fifth against the Cougars, on the next play, and hit both free throws to cut the deficit to one with 32 seconds remaining. BYU's Paisley Harding missed the attempted layup on the opposite end, opening the door fir the Zags with 10 seconds to go. Head Coach Lisa Fortier called a timeout to advance the ball, and on the next possession GU's Kayleigh Truong missed a physical, contested layup with two seconds remaining. Ejim secured the offensive rebound and forced the jump ball, which gave GU another shot.

Kayleigh Truong found Townsend on the inbounds, and with 0.6 seconds remaining Townsend drilled her only field goal of the game to secure the WCC Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

"I'm just really happy for our team," Fortier said. "I'm just really proud of how tough our team was today. We had a long, long day. Towny made the most important shot—or the most memorable shot we should say—of the game. But it was the 18 minutes prior to that that she was gutsy, and Cierra was gutsy. We had three people who had never started a game today starting for us. Those guys were gutsy and everything in between. Just really happy for our team, and how we are resilient, and tough, and gritty, and all things that say, 'I'm a Zag, and I'm going to show you what that means if you don't know.'"

Ejim was the only Zag to reach double-figures today, finishing with a career-high 13 points off 5-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the free throw line to go along with nine rebounds and one block. Kaylynne Truong added eight points while Jenn Wirth collected eight rebounds. For BYU, both Gonzales and Harding reached double-figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Townsend was named the Most Outstanding Player and named to the All-Tournament Team while Ejim was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Gonzaga punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament, the 12th trip in program history (not including last season as Gonzaga was projected to be a No. 3 or No. 4 seed before the NCAA Tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19). The Zags will find out their seeding to the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Selection Monday on March 15 at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN.

Article Link (Which includes 30 pictures): https://gozags.com/news/2021/3/9/wom...ent-title.aspx

ZagDad

[ZagDad84]

Game Summary from BYU Wbb website:

COUGARS FALL 43-42 TO GONZAGA IN WCC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Josh Carter | Posted: 9 Mar 2021 | Updated: 9 Mar 2021

LAS VEGAS — BYU women’s basketball fell to Gonzaga 43-42 on a last-second shot Tuesday in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game.

“It was a tough loss,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. “You’ve got to give Gonzaga a lot of credit. I’m proud of my girls. I thought they played their hearts out. It was a very defensive, physical game. We’re going to learn from it and get better and understand what we need to do when it comes down this.”

BYU vs. Gonzaga Final Box Score

Shaylee Gonzales led the Cougars (18-5, 14-4) with 13 points, four steals and three rebounds, while Paisley Johnson Harding added 12 points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists. Lauren Gustin contributed eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds and Tegan Graham tallied seven points and three rebounds.

Gonzales was named to the 2021 WCC All-Tournament team.

BYU held Gonzaga (23-3, 18-1) to just 29 percent shooting in the game while recording a 35 percent shooting clip of its own. The Cougars led 36-27 heading into the final quarter but couldn’t quite hold on, as the Bulldogs' Jill Townsend caught an inbounds pass with 0.6 seconds left and hit the game-winning jumper.

With BYU up nine at the start of the fourth, six straight points from the Bulldogs’ Yvonne Ejim brought Gonzaga within three, 36-33, three minutes into the quarter. Gustin ended a five-minute BYU scoring drought with a basket down low to put the Cougars back up five, 38-33, midway through the period. A Gonzales layup at the shot-clock buzzer gave BYU a seven-point lead, 40-33 with 3:35 left.

The Bulldogs used a 6-0 run to cut their deficit to one, 40-39, with 1:34 remaining. On the ensuing BYU possession, Gonzales passed the ball to Harding on an inbounds play and Harding passed it right back for a Gonzales layup, putting the Cougars up 42-39 with 44 seconds left. A Maria Albiero foul then sent Gonzaga’s Jenn Wirth to the free throw line, and Wirth knocked down both attempts to bring the Bulldogs back within one, 42-41.

With 10 seconds separating the shot and game clocks, Harding just missed a driving layup near the shot-clock buzzer and Wirth grabbed the rebound with eight seconds left. On the ensuing possession, BYU forced a missed layup but Sara Hamson and Ejim fought for the rebound, resulting in a jump ball with 0.6 seconds left. With the possession arrow favoring the Bulldogs, Townsend caught the following inbounds pass, turned, and hit the game-winner over Hamson to take the 43-42 win and the WCC Tournament championship.

Both teams struggled to score early on in the contest, as a driving layup by Gonzales tied the game at four mid-way through the opening quarter. Graham and Hamson scored in the paint on consecutive possessions, and Gustin found Gonzales for a layup to put BYU up 10-8 through the first 10 minutes.

Harding and Gustin both hit midrange jumpers to open the second quarter and give the Cougars a 14-8 lead. A smothering defensive effort aided a 13-0 BYU run, with a corner triple by Graham, putting the Cougars up 19-8. The Bulldogs scored five consecutive points to end an 11-minute Gonzaga scoring drought, but Gonzales hit a corner 3 at the first half buzzer to give BYU a 22-13 lead at the break.

Gustin hit a pull-up jumper and Gonzales scored a fast-break layup off a steal to put the Cougars up 13, 26-13, early in the second half. Teams then traded baskets, as Harding hit a step-back jumper and Graham scored off an inbounds pass from Gonzales. Harding then hit a long two at the shot-clock buzzer as BYU took a 36-27 lead into the fourth.

Despite the Cougars’ nine-point advantage to start the final quarter, Gonzaga outscored BYU 16-6 in the period to seal the win.

The Cougars now await their postseason fate, with the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Selection Show taking place on Monday, March 15.

Player Notes

- Gonzales, who was named to the 2021 WCC All-Tournament Team, scored a team-high 13 points to go along with four steals, three rebounds and one assist. Gonzales was also named to the 2019 WCC All-Tournament Team as a freshman
- Harding tallied 12 points on the afternoon, shooting 4 of 8 from the field, while adding five rebounds, three assists and three steals
- Gustin pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and added eight points and one assist
- Graham scored seven points on 3 of 5 shooting and had three rebounds and one steal in 27 minutes of action off the bench
- Hamson tallied three blocks, all in the first quarter, to go along with two points, one rebound, one assist and one steal

Team Notes

- BYU shot 35% from the floor, 13% from three and 100% from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs shot 29% from the floor and 33% from three
- The Cougars scored 22 points in the paint to Gonzaga’s 18
- BYU tallied more steals (10-7), blocks (3-1) and assists (9-8) than the Bulldogs
- Gonzaga out-rebounded the Cougars (41-34) and had 18 bench points to BYU’s seven
- Over the last eight quarters of action, the Cougars have held their opponents to 10 or less points in a single quarter four times. BYU held Gonzaga to eight first-quarter points and five in the second quarter
- The Cougars are now 3-3 in WCC Tournament championship games

Article Link: https://byucougars.com/story/w-baske...mpionship-game

Hmmm, no mention of the GI problems that beset the GU team and put us down 6 players and 3 starters. Color me surprised, not.

ZagDad

[ZagDad84]

Game Recap from the Deseret News:

BYU women’s basketball suffers heartbreaking loss to Gonzaga on buzzer-beater in WCC championship game
The Cougars led top-seeded Gonzaga for most of Tuesday’s West Coast Conference championship game at Orleans Arena, and BYU was ahead by one point with less than one second remaining
By Jeff Call
Mar 9, 2021

LAS VEGAS — It was an agonizing loss that will likely linger with the BYU women’s basketball team for a long time.

The Cougars led top-seeded Gonzaga for most of Tuesday’s West Coast Conference championship game at Orleans Arena, and BYU was ahead by one point with less than one second remaining.

But Jill Townsend’s jumper at the buzzer over the Cougars’ 6-foot-7 center Sara Hamson won the title for the Bulldogs, 43-42.

With the win, Gonzaga (23-3), ranked No. 16 in the nation, punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament, earning the league’s automatic bid. For Townsend, who was playing with an illness, the basket accounted for her only points of the game.

As for BYU? It was heartbreaking.

“It’s very, very frustrating to know that we lost off of a game-winner with .6 seconds left,” said Cougar guard Shaylee Gonzales, who earned All-WCC Tournament honors. “But as a team, we need to realize that we need to buckle down. We need to take care of business. That’s what big teams do. We need to buckle down on defense and not let them score that.”

Gonzaga was significantly shorthanded for the title game. Six Bulldog players, including three starters, as well as some coaches, were dealing with a stomach illness caused by food poisoning.

But after Townsend’s heroics, it was BYU that felt sick.

“That was a tough one. One rebound, one defensive stop, but that wasn’t really the game,” said coach Jeff Judkins. “The game came down to we made some mistakes before that. We didn’t execute offensively and defensively. You’ve got to give Gonzaga a lot of credit. They made the plays they needed to make and we didn’t.”

The Cougars (18-5) had plenty of chances to put the Bulldogs away but couldn’t do it. Gonzaga scored just 13 points in the first half, but it scored 10 over the final 3:20.

“I’m really proud of how tough our team was today. We had a long, long day. (Townsend) made the most memorable shot of the game, “ said Bulldogs coach Lisa Fortier. “But it was the 18 minutes prior to that — she was gutsy. We had three players who never started a game starting for us. Those guys were gutsy.”

Both teams struggled to score to open the game. Gonzaga led 8-6 on a basket by the WCC’s co-Player of the Year, Jenn Wirth, with 3:08 left in the first quarter. From there, the Zags went on a 10-minute scoring drought.

BYU went on a 13-0 run during that stretch to take a 19-8 lead before Wirth finally scored for the Zags with a pair of free throws. Gonzales buried a 3-pointer at the final buzzer of the first half to propel the Cougars to a 22-13 lead at intermission.

The problem for BYU was that it didn’t seize a bigger lead against the Zags while it had a chance. That would come back to haunt the Cougars.

“When we’re up 10, we’ve got to keep fighting,” Gonzales said. “We can’t let down because teams are going to want it. They’re going to fight back.”

Gonzaga saved its best for the fourth quarter as it whittled the deficit to one point, 40-39, with 1:34 remaining.

“When we needed to rally, our team showed incredible grit, toughness and resilience,” Townsend said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them. It wasn’t just the shot I hit. It was a team effort and it was incredible.”

A layup by Gonzales put the Cougars ahead 42-39 with 45.8 seconds on the clock before Wirth hit a pair of free throws to pull within one again, 42-41.

Paisley Harding missed a shot with 10 seconds left and Wirth grabbed the rebound with 8.5 seconds remaining and called timeout. Kayleigh Truong missed a jumper with two seconds left, and Yvonne Ejim collected the rebound with .6 left.

The clock stopped with a dead ball and the ensuing inbound bounce pass went to Townsend, whose catch-and-shoot jumper found the bottom of the net at the buzzer.

Game over.

“It was like a blink of an eye. When it hit my hands, it needed to go back up,” Townsend said of the game-winner. “I had Sara Hamson right in my face. I’m kind of puzzled how I got it around her. Her hand was up and I couldn’t really see the hoop.”

The play was reviewed by the officials, who confirmed that the basket was good.

It capped a long day, and night, for Gonzaga.

“I got food poisoning last night late and some teammates also did. We tried to battle through that,” Townsend said. “I went through two bags of IV fluid an hour before the game.”

What did Judkins tell his team afterwards?

“I told them I was proud of them. We were .6 seconds away from winning a championship,” he said. “Sometimes the little tiny things make a difference. It wasn’t the shot that cost us the game. It was several other plays before that. We didn’t make a stop or didn’t get a rebound. Games like this comes down to little things. They did a better job of executing in the last minute of the game than we did.”

Judkins was incredulous about that final .6 seconds.

“It’s hard for me to believe that you can fumble it and get a shot off with .6 seconds, but I guess that’s what it is,” he said. “If I had to do it over again, I would have called a timeout when I saw their set.”

So while Gonzaga is headed to the Big Dance, what is BYU’s fate? Going into the WCC Tournament, the Cougars were sitting squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

“I think we should go. We played Gonzaga three times great,” Judkins said. “I watch other teams that I know are going to go and we’re as good as anybody. Hopefully through what we’ve done in the past and what we’ve done this year, people will look at it and say, ‘BYU is (a) top 64 team in the country.’”

Gonzales said she’s resolved to get back into the gym with her teammates and focus on improving, waiting for Selection Monday or whatever comes next.

“I’m proud of my team, and we fought really hard. We’re going to use this experience to learn and grow if we go into the NIT or the NCAA Tournament,” she said. “We’re going to come into practice and have the mindset that we are going to go to the tournament. I think it’s super important to have that mentality. Whatever tournament we go into, we need to take care of business. We need to use this as our fire and a learning experience.”

The Cougars probably won’t forget this bitter loss for a while, but they’re hoping to make the best of it.

“We’ll make it far in whatever tournament we go to,” Gonzales said, “because we don’t want to have this feeling again.”

Article Link w/24 pictures (including some of Gonzaga): https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/...mpionship-game

ZagDad

[ZagDad84]

Second Article from Deseret News:

BYU women’s basketball: 3 keys in Cougars’ 43-42 loss to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in WCC championship
By Brandon Judd Mar 9, 2021

For much of Tuesday’s West Coast Conference tournament championship game, the BYU women’s basketball team looked like they would upset top seed Gonzaga and earn the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

That didn’t happen, after Jill Townsend hit a jumper as time expired to lift the Bulldogs to the 43-42 win.

Now, the Cougars will have to wait to find out if they’ve done enough for an at-large NCAA bid.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

The Cougars went cold at the absolute wrong time in a game where points came at a premium. BYU scored just six points in the fourth quarter, and just two in the final 3:34 of the game, after taking a nine-point lead into the final period. While the Zags shot 28.6% for the game, they made 5 of 13 shots in the final quarter, including Townsend’s winner off an inbounds play in the final second.

Yvonne Ejim was the catalyst behind Gonzaga’s rally. She had just four points heading into the fourth quarter, but Ejim finished with a game-high tying 13 points and scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to help the Zags make it a one-possession game. While BYU responded with back-to-back makes to push its lead back out to seven at 40-33, Ejim scored three more in a 6-0 run to make it 40-39 with 1:34 to play.

BYU, which entered the day with a NET ranking of 51, needed a win to ensure they wouldn’t have to sweat out the NCAA selection show. But it was far from a perfect effort, as the Cougars shot 35.3% and turned the ball over 15 times. BYU held a lead for over 30 minutes, but despite holding Gonzaga to 13 first-half points, the Cougars couldn’t hold on to that lead in a heartbreaking loss.

Article Link: https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/...c-championship

ZagDad

[ZagDad84]

Game Recap from Spokesman-Review:

Recap and highlights: Jill Townsend scores at the buzzer, No. 16 Gonzaga women come back to beat BYU for WCC Tournament title
UPDATED: Tue., March 9, 2021

LAS VEGAS — With one starter out and two more playing through illness, the top-seeded Gonzaga women were able to overcome a slow start and Jill Townsend hit a buzzer-beater to lift the Bulldogs over BYU 43-42 in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game Tuesday afternoon at Orleans Arena.

LeeAnne Wirth wasn’t on Gonzaga’s bench after coming down with gastroenteritis, or stomach flu, at some point in the hours after Monday’s semifinal game against Santa Clara. Two other starters, Townsend and Cierra Walker, dealt with a less severe case of the same condition and still managed to suit up for Gonzaga, but played limited minutes.

Townsend was scoreless and 0 of 5 from the field when the senior from Okanogan caught an inbounds pass with 0.6 seconds remaining, hoisting a 15-foot jumper over her defender before the buzzer sounded. After a short review, officials determined Townsend got her shot off in time, allowing the Zags to secure their first WCC Tournament title in three seasons.

Townsend was later named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Yvonne Ejim joined her on the All-Tournament team.

Ejim, a freshman from Canada, provided a scoring boost in the in the second half and finished with a season- and career-high 13 points.

The shorthanded Bulldogs opened with two of their lowest-scoring quarters of the season, managing just eight in the first and five in the second, entering halftime with a 22-13 deficit. Prior to that, Gonzaga hadn’t scored single digits in a quarter since a Nov. 30 game against South Dakota.

Gonzaga scored more points in the third quarter (14) than it did in the first two combined, but the Bulldogs still weren’t able to make up any ground on the Cougars, who scored 14 themselves to take a nine-point lead into the final frame.

Ejim scored six consecutive points to open the fourth quarter, trimming GU’s deficit to three points, and later cut BYU’s lead to one point on a free throw with 1:34 left.

When BYU opened up a three-point lead inside the final minute, Jenn Wirth converted two free throws to make it a 42-41 game with :32 left and Paisley Harding missed a layup on the next possession. GU’s Kayleigh Truong couldn’t get a layup to fall with two seconds left, but Ejim pulled down the offensive board, allowing the Bulldogs to take a timeout and set up Townsend’s game-winning shot.

Regardless of Tuesday’s result, the Bulldogs were expected to be a lock to qualify for their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament and will know of their first-round pairing in San Antonio on Monday.

First quarter
4:45 – Gonzaga 4, BYU 4: The Bulldogs and Cougars are tied at the first media timeout after a poor shooting start to the WCC championship game.

Gonzaga has made just one field goal and is shooting 12.5%. BYU is 2 of 8 from the field.

Melody Kempton and Abby O’Connor each have two points for the Zags.

Gonzaga had to alter its starting lineup after the stomach flu hit the team. Seniors Jill Townsend, LeeAnne Wirth and Cierra Walker are all out of the starting lineup. Townsend has checked in and played two minutes. Walker is on the bench. Jenn Wirth, LeeAnne’s sister, started.

0:00 – BYU 10, Gonzaga 8: Shaylee Gonzales has four points and the Cougars lead the Bulldogs after one quarter.

Neither team is shooting well, with BYU at 26.7% and Gonzaga at 25%. Jenn Wirth, Kayleigh Truong, Melody Kempton and Abby O’Connor each have two points for the Zags. Wirth, the WCC co-player of the year, is 1-of-6 shooting. The 6-foot-3 center has no rebounds.

Gonzales, the other co-player of the year, is 2 of 6 from the field. BYU center Sara Hamson had to leave the game after hurting her left ankle. The 6-7 senior has three blocks. Gonzaga has committed six turnovers.

Second quarter
4:35 – BYU 19, Gonzaga 8: The Cougars take a 13-0 run into the media timeout and have the Zags on the ropes. BYU is 4-of-6 shooting this quarter. Gonzaga is 0 of 6 this quarter and is shooting just 18.2% (4 of 22) in the game. Tegan Graham has five points to lead BYU.

Halftime
BYU 22, Gonzaga 13: Shaylee Gonzales has seven points and the Cougars lead the short-handed Bulldogs by 9 at halftime. Gonzaga had to alter its lineup after three starters came down with the stomach flu. Seniors Jill Townsend, Cierra Walker and LeeAnne Wirth were all out to start for the Zags. Townsend and Walker have played, but LeeAnne Wirth has not seen the court. Backup center Anamarie Virjoghe is also out. Abby O’Connor leads Gonzaga with five points. The Zags are shooting just 17.2% (5 of 29) and have made only one 3-pointer in five attempts. Jenn Wirth, LeeAnne’s twin sister and the WCC co-player of the year, has four points on 1-of-9 shooting. The 6-foot-3 center has two rebounds and two assists but has been hounded inside by BYU’s size.

6-7 center Sara Hamson has three blocks for the Cougars. She left the game for a short period after injuring her left ankle but returned to score two points. Gonzaga has committed 12 turnovers. Melody Kempton, starting in place of LeeAnne Wirth, has six. Tegan Graham has added five points for BYU, which is shooting 32.1% and 2 of 11 from 3-point range. Gonzales, the other co-player of the year, made a 3 right before the halftime buzzer. Townsend is 0 of 3 shooting. Walker is 0 of 1.

Third quarter
4:08 – BYU 32, Gonzaga 23: The Cougars are keeping the Bulldogs at bay behind 10 points from Paisley Harding. Harding has six points in the quarter for BYU. Kaylynne Truong has eight points for Gonzaga after connecting on two 3-pointers and a short jumper. The Zags are 4-of-10 shooting in the quarter and are now at 23.1% for the game. Jenn Wirth continues to struggle for GU. She has four points on 1-of-10 shooting. The Zags have turned the ball over 15 times.

0:00 – BYU 36, Gonzaga 27: Paisley Harding has 12 points and the Cougars take a 9-point lead into the final period. Gonzaga, shooting just 25.6%, is going to need to get hot in the final 10 minutes to win the WCC championship. Kaylynne Truong leads GU with eight points. She scored her eight points over a 5-minute span during the third quarter. Gonzaga has 16 turnovers, which BYU has turned into 10 points. The Cougars have 10 turnovers, but Gonzaga only has two points off of them.

Fourth quarter
5:02 – BYU 38, Gonzaga 33: Freshman Yvonne EJim has all six of Gonzaga’s points in the period and the Zags are back in it. Ejim is 2-of-3 shooting and has made two free-throws in the quarter. BYU is just 1-of-4 shooting in the quarter and has committed three turnovers.

Article Link with pictures and highlights: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...in-wcc-champi/

ZagDad

[ZagDad84]

The Spokesman Review actually had four articles on today's game. Here are the links and titles to each of the other articles:

Analysis: Gonzaga women overcome obstacles to stun BYU in WCC title game
Article Link: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...cles-to-stun-/

Gonzaga women’s notebook: Freshman Yvonne Ejim stepped up when the Zags needed her most
Article Link: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...ne-ejim-stepp/

John Blanchette: When times got tough for the Gonzaga women, Jill Townsend stepped into the spotlight
Article link: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...for-the-gonza/

ZagDad

[Zaglaw]

Thanks for all the news links, ZagDad!