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Women: news and notes

Posted by Dave Trimmer at 9:19 PM on Mar 17    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves has his name in the Final Four record book, as coach for St. Mary’s in the 1999 tournament. The record book lists all appearances. St. Mary’s went back two years later, the year Graves started at Gonzaga, and won a game under Michelle Jacoby. That was the last win for a WCC team in the tournament.
Graves’ team was a 12 seed and lost to Notre Dame, 61-57. Jacoby’s team, a nine seed, beat Texas 68-64 and lost to Tennessee 92-75.
The Zags went 0-14 in the WCC in Graves’ first season and his losses to the team he recruited at St. Mary’s were 62-36 and 63-50, plus 84-59 in the league tournament.
Graves also went to the tournament four straight years as an assistant at Portland.
Gonzaga had never played at Stanford before Saturday but Graves has coached at Maples Pavilion. In the 1999-00 season St. Mary’s lost 77-65.
Local ties
The Bulldogs are the last area team to make the dance. Idaho went in 1985, Eastern Washington went in 1987 and Washington State in 1991. The Vandals, under Pat Dobratz, lost to USC, lost 74-51; the Eagles, under Bill Smithpeters, lost to Oregon 77-56; and the Cougars, under Harold Rhodes, lost to Northwestern, 82-62. All the games were at the winners’ school.
A regional tournament – that’s the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight – is scheduled for Spokane next year. The dates are March 29-31 or March 30-April 1. The other three regionals are Greensboro, N.C., New Orleans and Oklahoma City.
Spokane, with the seating capacity listed at 12,000, is ranked seventh in all-time attendance for a regional with 22,092 attending the West Regional in 2001. That regional included a championship game of Washington against Missouri State, which included All-American Jackie Stiles. The Huskies lost 104-87. The other two teams were Duke and Oklahoma.
The six sites with higher attendance, with only two coming after 2001, are Nashville, Hartford, Albuquerque, Greensboro, Knoxville and Austin.
Tip ins
Boise State, with former GU assistants J.R. Payne and Toriano Towns on the staff,
reached the tournament for the second time in school history. The Broncos are coached by Graves’ good friend Gordy Presnell. Their first appearance came in 1994 under current Husky coach June Daugherty. BSU lost that game 89-61 – to the Huskies in Seattle. BSU lost 76-67 to 14th-ranked George Washington in Greensboro, N.C., on Saturday. … Big Sky Conference champion Idaho State had the difficult task of facing home-standing Stanford, losing 96-58. Pullman grad Christa Brossman, a former Bengal player, is an assistant for ISU. … That puts two PHS grads here with GU assistant ticket manager Alison Keck accompanying the Bulldogs. … Former Brewster and North Idaho College player Jeni Boesel ended her career at ISU with nine points. … Another connection is Stanford senior Clare Bodensteiner from Ruppert, Idaho. She played a tournament with the Spokane Stars and was reported to be headed to Gonzaga before the Cardinal grabbed her late in the recruiting process.

Young Zags expect to return

Posted by Dave Trimmer at 9:18 PM on Mar 17    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

STANFORD, Calif. – In their first appearance in the NCAA tournament the Gonzaga Bulldogs played like it was their first appearance in the NCAA tournament.
They were tentative in an 85-46 loss to Middle Tennessee State and shellshocked afterwards.
About the only good thing to come out of the game was the way the younger Bulldogs talked about what the experience they gained for their next appearance.
“Where do I start?” freshman Heather Bowman said. “I learned you have to come out intense from the beginning. They’re definitely very good (but) we’ve played teams like this before. Next time we’ll remember this game, prepare better and come out more intense.”
Sophomore Sasha Polischuck added, “It was so amazing, I realize experience does matter. When we come back next year, we’re going to know what it takes, we going to know details really do matter. … We learned you can’t play scared, you have to be confident. When you’re scared they can see it in your eyes.”
At halftime, when the 17th-ranked and fifth-seeded Blue Raiders were leading 44-20, Gonzaga had more turnovers, 21, that shots attempted, 17. By the end of the game the Zags had 37 turnovers and 39 shots.
“They are a great basketball team that we made look a lot better,” GU coach Kelly Graves said.
He, too, expects this game is the first of many.
“This has been coming,” he said. “We’ve been building it. We’ve put ourselves in a position now to dictate our success year-in and year-out. People forget that experience matters. This is our first time here and we played like it.
“Our recruiting has certainly been excellent. … I anticipate that this isn’t going to be the last people see of Gonzaga. I’m proud of us, this is just a stepping stone.”

Zags wilt under pressure

Posted by Dave Trimmer at 9:17 PM on Mar 17    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

STANFORD, Calif. – Gonzaga women’s basketball team finally made it to the Big Dance – and forgot their shoes.
Hounded by relentless pressure and buried under an avalanche of turnovers, the 12th-seeded Bulldogs were steamrolled 85-46 by fifth-seeded and 17th-ranked Middle Tennessee Saturday night in the first-round of the NCAA tournament at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.
“That’s a bad matchup for us,” GU coach Kelly Graves said. “We’ve always struggled against pressure. I’m surprised we didn’t have more teams this year pressure us. It’s been one of our deficiencies and it showed tonight.”
The Blue Raiders (30-3) tied up Gonzaga (24-10) on the first possession and proceeded to force 37 turnovers, which they turned into 43 points.

Read full entry »

GU women fall hard

Posted by Dave Trimmer at 7:52 PM on Mar 17    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

The Gonzaga women's team fell and fell hard in their maiden run in the NCAA Tournament.

It was 85-46, Middle Tennessee State and it wasn't that close.

GU was out of the game early, buried under a season-high 37 turnovers the Blue Raiders turned into 43 points.

The Bulldogs were impressed with MTSU and disappointed in themselves but vowed to do better next time.

Lady Zags ready to go

Posted by Dave Trimmer at 10:43 AM on Mar 17    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

The Gonzaga women face a tough game in their first appearance in the NCAA tournament.

For basketball fans, think Winthrop, with a higher seed, a mid-major with great numbers, trying to make a splash. For Gonzaga fans, think Bulldogs, when the men had been several times and were starting to get the respect it deserved with a single diget seed.

Winthrop like: Middle Tennessee is a mid-major with a 29-3 record, 26 straight wins, a super star in Chrissy Givens, making its fourth straight appearance, looking to finally get to the Sweet 16.

Zag men-like: A Bulldog win in tonight's game at 5, wouldn't have the same impact as beating a name, like Winthrop's upset of Notre Dame, but it would be a big victory like the first step of the men's first run with they beat Minnesota.

And like that men's run, their second game would provide the opportunity for a big upset against a big name, likely Ohio State.

But first steps first, Middle Tennessee is a tough matchup. If the Zags can handle the fullcourt pressure they'll be in the game, if not, wait till next year.

From Tennessee to Seattle, stories from the road

Posted by at 10:04 AM on Mar 17    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags, Cougs

SACRAMENTO

All the NCAA tournament stories in the S-R from Spokane are available at NCAA 2007's story site, so we'll just link that and go on.

So are the ones from here, which makes my life so much easier. Check out that link for the pieces.

So we'll mine the rest of the country. Let's start in Tennessee, a state in which I spent some very interesting – and sweaty – summers in my teenage years. I wonder whatever happened to …

No, let's stay focused on basketball. Here's the Tennessean's advance and a feature on the high school history of Vandy's Shan Foster and WSU's Ivory Clark.

Now let's move on to Seattle, where I have no history … that I can share. But there are stories. Boy, are there stories.

WSU stories.

Here's Todd Milles' piece on how the Cougs getting ready for Vandy and a story on Vanderbilt's home court. You'll recognize it as the place where teams sit on the baselines. Dave Boling explains the way Cougs earn playing minutes and John McGrath recalls some recent history.

At the P-I, Jim Moore actually checked out the Vegas odds on this one (WSU by two). Vandy isn't worried about being an underdog. The P-I also has a notebook and a story on Gonzaga's future.

In today's Times, Steve Kelley writes about Taylor Rochestie, Bud Withers takes the Cougs' temperature and checks in with Nikola Koprivica. And Bob Condotta traces Kevin Stallings' road to Vandy as head coach.

We'll be back before the Cougar game with our thoughts.

The story of the Zags' loss

Posted by Vince at 10:32 AM on Mar 16    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

SACRAMENTO

Because Glenn Kasses gave you links to all our Cougar stories on his blog and on NCAA 2007, I'll start today with the Zags.

As I wrote last night, you could make an argument Gonzaga was the better team but, for whatever reason (and I don't think it was Indiana's defense), the Zags just couldn't shoot.

Even though Indiana won the rebound battle by 15, part of that margin can be attributed to the opportunities Gonzaga presented with so many missed shots. Even though Indiana shot better, GU had better looks. Even though Indiana won … well, you know what I think.

We have Steve's game story, John Blanchette's column and a notebook from Jim Meehan.

Around the Northwest, Dave Boling had a column in the News Tribune. There were game stories in the P-I, the News Tribune and the Times, along with a P-I sidebar on Derek Raivio and a Times' notebook.

From Indiana, there is this column from Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz and this game story.

Cold shooting spelled the end of GU's season

Posted by Vince at 9:58 PM on Mar 15    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

SACRAMENTO

The numbers were mind-boggling. I counted 12 shots within five feet Gonzaga missed, many of them traveling no more than four feet after they left the players' hand.

Here's what Mark Few had to say:

"That was the story of the game. We missed some breakaway lay-ins, three situations I think, where we had breakaways, two-on-ones very early in the second half where we probably could have broken through and taken the lead and either fumbled them away or missed a lay-in.

"Go down the list. I think we all had bunnies that we missed. I've just never seen us miss so many two-footers. A lot of them were uncontested two-footers too."

Let's take his advice and go down the list of field goal attempts and makes.

Kuso: 2 of 7
Mallon: 4 of 10
Pargo: 1 of 7
Raivio: 4 of 10
Bouldin: 2 of 6
Altidor-Cespedes: 0 of 1
Downs: 1 of 5

That's 14 of 46 (30 percent) for everyone except David Pendergraft.

The team percentage of 34 percent was a season's low, topping – or bottoming – the 38 percent GU shot in the home loss to Santa Clara.

With all those Gonzaga misses, is it any wonder Indiana out-rebounded the Zags 45-30, the largest margin I could find since the 49-29 rebound beating Michigan State put on GU in 2001. That was an NCAA season-ending loss as well, with that coming in the Sweet 16.

Though this year's team didn't make it that far, Few still has a special place for this group.

"I've been blessed to be around great players and great guys and great teams," Few said when asked about the season. "With everything we've been through this year, and I'm talking about the road swing we took on, and just the lack of experience to start this thing ... ya, I'm as proud as I've ever been."

Women's update

Posted by Dave Trimmer at 4:27 PM on Mar 15    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

The Gonzaga women are poised to make their first appearance in March Madness, which seemed to be only a matter of time under the guidance of Kelly Graves.

"I always knew it would happen," GU senior Katy Ridenour said. "Coming in here as a freshmen it was our goal and we came close so many times, it was just about our time. If it wasn’t when I was here, it was going to happen eventually."

The Zags practiced this morning but left for California early enough to ensure they could see the men's game tonight. Their opponents arrived Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs will be the underdogs when they face red-hot Middle Tennessee State Saturday night at Stanford (ESPN), a role the Blue Raiders usually embrace.

There are still plenty of tickets for anyone wanting to make a last-minute trip to northern California, reported in an interesting San Jose Mercury News story about women not being particularly interested in women's sports.

Zags look like they are ready

Posted by Vince at 11:06 AM on Mar 15    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

SACRAMENTO

We've gone over the WSU coverage from here, so let's hit the Gonzaga stories as the Zags prepare for tonight's late game.

Let's say this right off the bat: The Bulldogs are prepared and ready. They had their game faces on last night, and, despite being late thanks to Sacramento traffic, had a spirited practice session.

After watching Sean Mallon play basketball for more than a decade – a lot more – it seems weird this could be the GU senior's last game. He's a Spokane guy who stayed home and played for the hometown school. That something any GU fan should appreciate.

Now on to the stories.

Steve Bergum has this story on the game with Indiana, and John Blanchette has a column on Kelvin Sampson which has some Gonzaga parts. Jim Meehan has a column on the post-Heytvelt Zags. There is also this look at the game.

The Times' Bob Condotta has this on the matchup, along with a quick preview. The P-I's Greg John's has a story while the News Tribune's Dave Boling has a column on Micah Downs.

I would have linked to a Bloomington story about Kelvin and the Hoosiers, but it required registration, and I'm not sure you want that. If you do, here's the link.

Until after the Cougar game …

If you want to watch the Ducks, forget it

Posted by Vince at 10:35 AM on Mar 15    Comments (2)
Filed under: Zags, Cougs

SACRAMENTO

With the crew we have here at the sub-regional site, nothing should slip through the cracks.

But I'll admit, a couple things did. And it's all my fault.

The notes I wanted to share with you yesterday came directly from the unimpeachable source on sports television: USA Today.

The paper reported the Gonzaga/Indiana game would be televised to the most homes in the nation, 63 percent to be exact. The game with the least coverage? The Oregon/Miami of Ohio game (third item). Three percent of the nation's viewers would be able to see it.

The CBS "A" Team of James Brown and Len Elmore are here to broadcast today's games. On the national radio side, Mike Montgomery, everyone's favorite coaching candidate, is doing the color.

We'll be back with links to today's stories.

Win and move on

Posted by Vince at 8:02 PM on Mar 14    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

SACRAMENTO

There are so many subplots in Thursday's Gonzaga game with Indiana, they may just submerge the real plot.

Playing Indiana for the second consecutive season in the NCAAs. Kelvin Sampson, the former Cougar coach, as IU's head man. The soap opera that's been GU's season this year.

The real plot: the winner moves on.

Everything else is window dressing. Win and move on. Sixty-four teams enter Thursday wanting to do just that. Win and move on.

It's simple, as is Mark Few's formula for his team to do just that. Listen to what he has to say.

• Few: "You've got to play your best if you want to move on …"

Read full entry »

Zag opponents confident

Posted by Dave Trimmer at 3:23 PM on Mar 14    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags

Middle Tennessee claims it is not looking past Gonzaga in the women's tournament but the Blue Raiders are looking down the road.

After the pairings were announced on Monday, MTSU coach Rick Insell said Final Four or bust. His team was one of those with cameras feeding ESPN during the selection show.

Afterwards he told his team: Now y'all gotta back up my mouth.

Like Gonzaga, MTSU is scrambling to learn about its opponent.

We'll have more on GU as the week progresses, starting with a story on coach Kelly Graves in tomorrow's paper. Until then, here is the Middle Tennessee website.

Tomorrow, however, might be a little sketchy with GU traveling and a couple of interesting men's games on TV.

*****

For local fans, here is The Arizona Republic story on Aubree Johnson's motivation.

We'll also try, if time permits, to keep on the players with local ties.

News from around the state

Posted by Vince at 12:23 PM on Mar 14    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags, Cougs

SACRAMENTO

Let's take a spin around other writers down here are saying…

But before we do that, want you to know the Cougar start time has been moved up 10 minutes to 11:30 a.m., not 11:40 as previously scheduled. OK, now back to looking around.

There's an e-mail campaign starting among WSU alums in an attempt to keep Tony Bennett from leaving, according to this Bud Withers' story.

The Times also did a Micah Downs' story and his improved play of late.

Jim Moore shows his Cougar heritage by spending a night in the casinos on the Nevada side of the Lake Tahoe border. He also has 10 things for Cougar and Zag fans to do while in Sacramento. Moore's phone call also led to this Sacramento Bee column.

Moore's P-I colleague Dan Raley has a piece asking if the Cougars are for real (second in the Pac-10, so, ya) while Greg Johns writes about Gonzaga's season.

Todd Milles looks back at when WSU was good, but not good enough to get into the NCAA tournament – because only one team from each conference was invited. That's back in the days when Marv Harshman was in Pullman, so it was some 40 years ago.

A few pieces as the day begins

Posted by Vince at 11:24 AM on Mar 14    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags, Cougs

SACRAMENTO

Finally got into Arco Arena after a wait in the rental car line that was longer than the flight.

But we'll try to keep you updated throughout the day.

We'll start with these links before I head to Oral Roberts' press time.

Glenn Kasses has this piece on Tony Bennett and the importance of his marriage proposal.

John Blanchette's column is on the stupidity of firing coaches.

Steve Bergum has a piece on Indiana, which is not the same team GU played last year.

There is other stuff, of course, and I'll get back to it after the OR press time.

Downs makes sure GU isn't out

Posted by Vince at 9:22 AM on Mar 13    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags, Cougs

With all the attention given the loss of Josh Heytvelt (and you can find out the next step in the saga here), what most fans lose sight of is how such a change can open the door for someone else.

In the Zags' case, that someone else is Micah Downs. The 6-foot-8 transfer from Kansas doesn't bring Gonzaga what Heytvelt did, but he brings other qualities. Steve Bergum goes into depth about those in this story in today's S-R.

Downs has been living proof one man's ceiling is another man's floor, and he's helped the Zags rise from the post-suspension blues all the way into the NCAA tournament.

• Speaking of the tournament, John Blanchette has a way of mining quotes that others overlook. He does it again in his column today. The selection committee chairman talking about Jeffersonian democracy? I guess there was no way the University of Virginia wasn't going to get a high seed.

• Thomas Jefferson wasn't the only man to found a university. So did Oral Roberts, and he's a guy who believed in miracles. So do the players from his school, as Glenn Kasses' story shows. They may need one Thursday to get past the Cougars. Glenn also has this piece on former Pullman High player Ben Haynes, now at Oral Roberts.

• There's always more to check out on Glenn's WSU blog, Steve's Gonzaga blog and at SportsLink.

• The Times' Bud Withers tracked down some of the great names in Cougar basketball coaching history for this story. … It must be history day, because the News Tribune's Todd Milles' has a story on the last time WSU was in the tournament. … The P-I had this feature on Oral Roberts' tandem, and this story on Tony Bennett's age. … More traffic information from the Sacramento Bee for you Cougar and Zag fans lucky enough to be at the games live.

Frequently Asked Questions

Posted by S-R at 6:09 PM on Mar 12    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags, Cougs, Spokane

The following are some of the most frequently asked questions concerning the NCAA tournament in Spokane and Sacramento, on tickets, open practices and game times:

Read full entry »

Welcome to the tourney blog

Posted by Ryan at 6:01 PM on Mar 11    Comments (0)
Filed under: Zags, Cougs, Spokane

There's might not be a lot to see right now, but with the Cougs and Zags headed to Sacramento and some solid teams headed here to Spokane, there will be plenty to cover in the week ahead.

For now, we'd love it if you'd leave a comment here on stories and coverage you'd like to see. Or check out the Zags fan forum, where there's a ton of NCAA talk right now.

And be sure to scroll down just a bit, where we've got video intros for all of this year's Cougs.