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# Gonzaga WBB Survives Eastern Washington's Surge to Snap Three-Game Skid With 79-60 Win
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/gonzaga-bulldogs-survives-eastern-washington-third-quarter-surge-79-60-win/
- Published: 2025-11-24T13:42:26.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:54:36.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Gonzaga, Lisa Fortier, Lauren Whittaker, Allie Turner, Zeryhia Aokuso, Teryn Gardner, Jaiden Haile

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="858"\]

![  Zeryhia Aokuso (55) drives for a left-handed layup during Gonzaga’s 79-60 win over Eastern Washington at the McCarthey Athletic Center on November 23, 2025. Credit: Gonzaga Athletics/Instagram  ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/screenshot-2025-11-24-at-12-26-14-e2-80-afam-format-original.png)

Zeryhia Aokuso (55) drives for a left-handed layup during Gonzaga’s 79-60 win over Eastern Washington at the McCarthey Athletic Center on November 23, 2025\. Credit: Gonzaga Athletics/Instagram \[/caption\]

From the perspective of coach Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga women’s basketball (3-3) has yet to play a complete game of basketball. Issues flashed for her team in the first couple of games where the Zags went on to win, but the dam broke open as they went on to drop three games in a row.

Fortunately, GU snapped the losing streak on Sunday in a 79-60 affair over Eastern Washington (2-3) to grab its first home win of the season, but there are still lapses for the Bulldogs that they must clean up heading into the Coconut Hoops Tournament next weekend.

Gonzaga controlled most of the game during their matchup with the Eagles, outgunning them in shooting efficiency, converting at the free-throw line, and winning on the glass. But one problem is persistent with the Zags at the moment, as they turned the ball over 22 times against Eastern Washington, matching the total from their previous game at South Dakota State, and marking the team’s third straight contest with at least 20 turnovers. The pinnacle for GU giving the ball away was reached in the third quarter, where it recorded seven turnovers, leading to an 11-0 Eastern Washington run where a once sizable lead was cut to as low as six points.

Not all of the turnovers are created equal, Fortier says, but there are some aspects of the Bulldogs’ offense that need to be kinked out in order to limit self-inflicted wounds.

“If they’re turnovers of aggression, that's better than those turnovers of omission or the unforced ones… So I think some of it is out of control. I think some of it is trying to thread the needle at times where we don't need to. And I think some of it is when we get discombobulated running average offense, then usually it ends in a poor shot or turnover,” she said. “…It's just very rare against quality teams that you can win turning the ball over that much…So we certainly need to do a better job with that.”

A good portion of GU’s offense is run through their forwards, with actions created around the high or low post. With the team’s influx of fresh faces on the floor, there is still an adjustment period, especially for the bigs, to be more precise when distributing the basketball. Fortier says when those non-guards get more comfortable with making certain reads and executing the correct timing on plays, the turnovers should decrease.

One of those forwards that are heavily involved is redshirt freshman Lauren Whittaker, who finished tied for the game-high in scoring with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting. She also has been an anchor defensively, grabbing six boards while logging a steal and a block in the Zags’ win. Coming off an ACL tear and playing her first stretch of minutes at the collegiate level, Gonzaga couldn’t ask for much more out of the New Zealand native.

“She’s a stud,” Fortier said. “…She is capable of scoring anywhere, she's so strong, you know, she can guard. I don't know how long it's going to take, but she's going to be in the conversation for defensive player of the year. We have her guarding interior players right now, she could very easily guard any of their guards as well, you know, she's just that capable as a defender, so there's not a lot that she can't do. She's a really good player, she's a great add to our team, and I think she's going to be an important part of what we do, you know, each game and for a long time.”

Although Whittaker is really getting her feet wet in terms of playing Division I basketball, she still acts as a veteran presence to her teammates. True freshman Jaiden Haile led the Zags with nine boards to go along with six points, and she says her battles with Whittaker in practice allow her to be ready for any moment coming off the bench.

“My welcome to college basketball was defending Lauren on the very first day of practice, and she's just such a tough person to defend because she's knocking down threes, and then she can just kick your butt in the post,” Haile said. “So, you know, I mean, honestly, her work ethic, like, she works on her shot, she takes care of her body, all of those things. Like, it's definitely a really great example. And then she's just been really supportive, like, you know, really encouraging on and off the court, like, whatever I need, or if I have questions, she's willing to answer them.”

“But I think competing every single day in practice, like, we're both able to get better, and I think that's really important, like, I would never want her to take a rep off on me because she feels bad, like I'm a freshman, or because I'm new, because I want to get better,” Haile explained. “And it's the same thing with her. I know she feels the same way. So I just think that we have a really good dynamic and really appreciative that we're able to be on the same team together and get better together.”

Whittaker makes for a great running mate with sophomore guard Allie Turner, whose success hasn’t been as consistent as Gonzaga hoped this season. Although she tallied 15 points overall, it was an uneven performance from Turner, who once again got off to a slow start. She didn’t take a single attempt in the opening period and was held scoreless in the third quarter as well, coinciding with the Eagles’ hot stretch where they got back into the game.

Through the Bulldogs’ first six games, there are prolonged stretches where Turner doesn’t even have the ball in her hands, which could be a result of opposing teams denying her the ball, paired with capable guards surrounding her on the floor. In addition to Turner, Zeryhia Aokuso, Inês Bettencourt, and Teryn Gardner are all viable scoring options for GU. Whittaker has an inflated usage rate in her own right, as some workshopping can still be done to adequately feed all the mouths for the Zags.

In regard to Gardner, she has maximized her role coming off the bench. The sharpshooter has knocked down 11 of her 19 three-point shots so far, including drilling three of them in a minute-and-a-half stretch to put the game against the Eagles out of reach. But Gardner does a lot of other things outside of being a specialist from beyond the arc, and has shown to be the Bulldogs’ sixth woman in the early goings of the season.

“You got to bring something if you're a bench player… And so Teryn, I think, fits all of the areas that you want to come in,” Fortier said. “If you need energy, you got Teryn. If you need shooting, you got Teryn… She's doing a really good job, we need to keep her in the game…But she really can bring three different elements to us, and as she continues to build in those areas, it's going to make a huge impact. If we need rebounding, you can be the answer. And I tell my team all the time, you want, whenever coach says we need ‘blank’, your name to be the answer. And there are times when Taryn is the answer to all of those things. So that's good for her and good for us.”

Cohesiveness and continuing to gel as a unit will be paramount as the Zags move further into their schedule, as there won’t be much let-up when it comes to competition they’ll face. GU will head to Florida next weekend for a matchup with Indiana in the Coconut Hoops tournament on November 28 at 10:30 AM PT, before playing either Iowa State or Marquette on November 30.