Gonzaga WBB Has Answered Some Questions, But Still Has Solving Left to Do
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Gonzaga women’s basketball head coach Lisa Fortier (center) gives instruction to her team during the Bulldogs’ 81-66 win over NDSU in Fargo, ND on November 7, 2025. Credit: Gonzaga Athletics/Instagram [/caption]
After the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, Gonzaga women’s basketball underwent a major shift in its program. The Zags didn’t appear in the NCAA Tournament for the first time officially since 2016, even after another historic season from the program’s all-time leader in points, Yvonne Ejim, coupled with a breakout year from freshman guard Allie Turner.
With Ejim then graduating along with four others, plus two players transferring out of Spokane, there was plenty of roster turnover on the horizon for head coach Lisa Fortier’s squad.
Fast forwarding into the fall, the Bulldogs now only have two active seniors, while there are four freshmen on the roster. Turner is the only returning starter, as senior guard Inês Bettencourt has been in the backcourt after starting sporadically last year, with moving parts around them in the frontcourt. Since recovering from tearing her ACL, redshirt freshman Lauren Whittaker has met expectations and then some for a Preseason All-WCC Team selection. Also joining the frontcourt were junior Zeryhia Aokuso, who left rival school St. Mary’s, and Big Sky First Team honoree Taylor Smith, who transferred in from Weber to round out the starting lineup.
It leaves plenty of youth and inexperience on the bench, not to mention the overall lack of cohesiveness to sort through for a group that hasn’t had much time together to play together at game speed. The ability to mesh will remain a determining factor in how competitive the 2025-26 Zags are, and sitting at 6-4 and on a three-game winning streak, they seem to be trending upwards in that regard. But the Bulldogs have a long way to go before penciling themselves in as one of the 68 teams competing for a national title in March.
Lauren Whittaker and Allie Turner Proving to Be Perfect Tandem
The aesthetically pleasing pairing of a dynamic guard and a menacing big seems to have arrived in Spokane, and the best news for Zags fans is that they might be together for the next three seasons. Turner might not eclipse her program record mark of 105 made three-pointers she set last year, but shooting over 40% on almost six attempts is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Leading the team with four assists a game also amplifies her impact, as she is the embodiment of an ideal ball-handler for a winning squad.
But Turner’s production is being overshadowed by her teammate, who is making college basketball look easy in her first season playing at this level. Already racking up three WCC Freshman of the Week awards before the start of conference play, Whittaker is dominating opponents, averaging 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds on 57% shooting through four weeks of the season. The New Zealand native isn’t shy to let it fly from the outside either, hitting 40% of her shots from beyond the arc on 32 attempts this year.
With the anticipated key-in on Turner from opposing defenses this season after she burst onto the scene, Whitaker is doing as much as she can to make teams pick their poison against the Zags. Even with the optimism before the season on how this tandem could pose threats, Turner and Whittaker have possibly exceeded expectations, with the belief that they could still grow together.
Zeryhia Aokuso and Taylor Smith Look for Consistency
In addition to being secondary scoring options for Gonzaga, Aokuso and Smith simply offered a different playstyle from the aforementioned stars of the team. The former is great at going downhill, specifically to her left, to score in close proximity to the basket. Aokuso’s jumpshots are more frequently taken from inside the arc, having little consideration if the hand of a defender is in her face or not. Her shot diet calls for inefficiency, and currently shooting 43% from the floor, Aokuso’s production isn’t as reliable when one of Turner or Whittaker is not on the court. After the Zags’ most recent win over UC Davis, Fortier shared that Aokuso is dealing with a shoulder issue, so getting that shored up during the team’s 10-day break between games could improve her effectiveness.
It's a similar story for Smith, just to a more extreme extent. The junior is coming off a season with the Wildcats where she shot 40%, and so far this year, that rate sits at 34%, with the majority of those attempts coming inside. She isn’t a viable three-point shooter, so without converting on her chances inside the arc, Smith doesn’t provide much offensively for the Zags. Being a beneficial piece defensively is Smith’s biggest attribute at the moment, but there are other Bulldogs who are giving more well-rounded contributions through the first stretch of the season.
It’s still early, but more dependable outputs from GU’s two biggest portal additions moving forward could go a long way to raising the team’s ceiling.
Bench Battles, Three-Point Shooting, and Turnovers
As alluded to previously, there has been a true surprise in the frontcourt outside of Smith and Aokuso. True freshman Jaiden Haile has certainly impressed through 10 games, leading Gonzaga in shooting percentage at 57.8% and being the team’s second-highest rebounder (5.2 per game) behind Whittaker.
And so far, sophomore and Spokane native Teryn Gardner couldn’t have played her intended role better after transferring in from Boise State. The sharpshooter is lighting it up from deep, connecting on nearly 47% of her shots from long range. Backing up Turner and Bettencourt, this trio of Bulldogs guards and Whittaker spearhead a 37% three-point shooting mark as a team, good for the best in the WCC.
The rotation is a toss-up after that. Julia Wilson has had nice moments on both ends, but is still a first-year player. Even older players like junior McKynnlie Dalan and grad student Sierra Lichtie have tough times getting onto the floor consistently, and the two forwards haven’t provided a true spark off the bench yet to vie for more minutes.
Also, turnover problems have rolled over into this season, continuing to plague GU. After averaging 17.1 turnovers a game a year ago – the highest mark in the Fortier era – they are on pace to outdo that this season, currently sitting at 17.9 in the category. But they have been getting better at protecting the ball over the last five games, a much-needed positive trend for the unseasoned squad.
Half of the Bulldogs’ games to this point have been decided by five or fewer points, and the Zags have won three of them, including the past two. There are definitely tangible things to hold onto for this team, like Whittaker’s monstrous start and their deadliness from three, but self-inflicted wounds and upticks in production from other key positions could go a long way for a Gonzaga team that has eyes on a postseason run.
