Gonzaga MBB, WBB March Madness Brackets Set
March Madness brackets are set, and both Gonzaga’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will be vying for a national championship in the NCAA Tournament.
The Zags’ men’s team (30-3) received the No. 3 seed in the West Region and will face No. 14 Kennesaw State (21-13) in the first round at 7 p.m. PT on Thursday, March 19, at the Moda Center in Portland.
Gonzaga’s women’s team (24-9) landed the No. 12 seed in the West Region and will face No. 5 Ole Miss (23-11) at an undetermined time on Friday, March 20, at Williams Arena in Minnesota.
Gonzaga WBB Defeats Oregon State 77-67, Wins First WCC Title Since 2021-22
One year ago today, Gonzaga women’s basketball walked off the court at Orleans Arena with tears, disappointment, and heartbreak. Surrendering a lead in the final minutes, the one-seeded Bulldogs had lost 63-61 to four-seeded Oregon State in the conference tournament semifinals.
Three current Zags were on that team. WCC Player and Freshman of the Year, Lauren Whittaker, was glued to the bench, redshirting as she recovered from a torn ACL. Allie Turner, who had hit a program-record 105 threes in her freshman campaign, watched as Kennedie Shuler ran by her for the game-tying transition layup after a turnover. And Inês Bettencourt, who’s now a senior, was the defender guarding Shuler when the Beavers point guard drove inside for the game-winning layup with .7 seconds remaining.
This season, there wasn’t much continuity between the rosters, but those three staples remained for the Zags, and they each contributed to a different result this time around. There were more waterworks from GU, but of the happy variety, as the Bulldogs (24-9, 14-4) took down OSU (23-11, 13-5) 77-67 to win their 11th conference championship, punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga WBB Dominates Santa Clara 88-60 in WCC Semifinals
When Gonzaga women’s basketball (23-9, 15-4) lost narrowly to Santa Clara (24-9, 14-5) back on January 4, the Bulldogs turned the ball over 20 times, a total that makes it quite difficult to win games.
In the second matchup between these teams on Monday in the WCC tournament semifinals, GU committed 20 turnovers again, which would have seemed to spell doom. But instead, the Bulldogs somehow walked away from the contest with an 88-60 win, advancing to a date with four-seeded Oregon State in the championship game on Tuesday. It was the Zags’ largest margin of victory since their February 7 game contest versus Pacific, which they also won by 28 points.
Lauren Whittaker Wins Two WCC Awards, Gonzaga WBB's Turner and Haile Also Honored
For just the second time in league history, a player has won both the WCC Player and Freshman of the Year awards. After an outstanding season, Gonzaga women’s basketball forward Lauren Whittaker collected the accolades in her first year coming off a torn ACL. Coincidentally, the New Zealand native was named to the conference’s first team as well as the all-freshman squad.
Joining her on the All-WCC First Team was sophomore guard Allie Turner, who won the West Coast’s Freshman of the Year last year and stacked another strong season for the Bulldogs. And also standing out in her first season of collegiate basketball with the Zags was forward Jaiden Haile, who picked up hardware as the league’s Sixth Woman of the Year and was selected to the conference’s all-freshman team as well.
What did each of these players do individually that contributed to GU finishing second in the WCC?
Gonzaga WBB Falls 92-91 to Portland in Tight, Overtime Affair
The final score certainly doesn’t do an accurate job of depicting how this game unfolded. A physical contest between Gonzaga women’s basketball (22-9, 14-4) and Portland (17-13, 11-7), filled with fouls and turnovers, led to the Pilots edging out a 92-91 overtime victory at home, denying the Bulldogs a share of the WCC regular-season title.
Much like UP has done all season, it pressed, trapped, and was as opportunistic as possible on the Zags to limit attempts from beyond the arc and also keep them from the restricted area. Entering play Saturday as the second-best three-point shooting team in the country, GU only connected on a season-low two tries from deep, even while playing five periods. On the other side, Portland hit 13 threes of its own – several of the clutch variety – and forced 28 turnovers to gut out a narrow win.
That final turnover tally would be the highest Gonzaga has committed all season, and they happened in all shapes and sizes on Saturday. Inbounding the ball was an issue early as guards weren’t given much space, leading to forced and errant passes. When the ball did get brought up the floor, traps were sent that rushed swing passes, and the Pilots jumped into passing lanes. Eventually, the Zags' frustration grew, yielding self-inflicted wounds such as turnovers and offensive fouls that extended scoring droughts, such as a six-minute stretch during an eight-turnover second period.
Allie Turner Nails Nine Threes, Wills Gonzaga WBB to Win Over Saint Mary's
For most of this season for Gonzaga women’s basketball (22-8, 14-3), redshirt freshman Lauren Whittaker has stolen the show. Averaging 19 points and 10.2 rebounds on 55.6% shooting, she has tied the WCC record with 12 Freshman of the Week awards and has a chance to break the record next week. But in the majority of the Bulldogs’ last home game against Saint Mary’s (15-15, 6-11) Thursday night, the Gaels did about as good a job as any team has at limiting the first-year forward offensively.
So who better to step up in Whittaker’s place than sophomore Allie Turner, who connected on nine three-pointers to tie Michelle Elliot for the most made by a Bulldog in a game. After a stellar freshman season of her own, Turner has taken more of a secondary role this year in deference to Whittaker. But she delivered a career-high 29 points to power her squad to a 75-67 win over Saint Mary’s on Senior Night, as the Zags keep pace at the top of the conference standings.
Gonzaga WBB Smashes Washington State 75-50 to Remain Atop WCC Standings
Needing to keep pace with the other handful of teams bunched at the peak of the WCC, Gonzaga women’s basketball (20-8, 12-3) took care of business at home Thursday night, dismantling Washington State (5-22, 4-10) by a score of 75-50 to holds its first-place spot with three games remaining in the regular season.
Considering the Bulldogs beat the Cougs by six points the last time these teams squared off three weeks ago, GU certainly brought the correct adjustments and mindset for such a lopsided victory this time around, especially coming off the team’s tough loss on Saturday to LMU that had significant implications on conference seeding. The Zags played a brand of basketball that they intend to continue to build on with the postseason on the horizon — physicality on defense and limiting turnovers.
Gonzaga WBB Takes Down San Diego 66-56, Wins Fifth Straight Game
For not being a particularly stellar defensive team, Gonzaga women’s basketball (19-7, 11-2) is sure in a groove with its back to the basket. After surrendering only 37 and 44 points, respectively, in their previous two games, the Bulldogs captured their fifth straight win by a score of 66-56 over the San Diego Toreros (9-18, 3-11), continuing a run of strong performances defensively.
GU head coach Lisa Fortier has found a formula with her deep rotations, as even if all 11 or 12 players she is checking in aren’t getting substantial minutes, the starters and the first couple off the bench can remain fresh over the course of games. Roles are setting in for each Bulldog to contribute situationally, and it might be the best way to get the most out of this group on the defensive end.
Gonzaga WBB Dismantles Oregon State at Home in Statement 67-37 Win
Two weeks ago, Gonzaga women’s basketball (17-7, 9-2) lost a narrow overtime battle to Oregon State on the road, falling to one of the newest programs added to the WCC for the third time in four games. In these matchups, the victorious team had not won by more than five points and two of the contests went to overtime.
Safely put, these two programs displayed they are about as close to each other as can be. Or at least they have been.
Amidst Ugly Shooting Night, Gonzaga WBB Holds on for 74-66 Overtime Win Over USF
In a game where neither team shot over 33% from the field, Gonzaga women’s basketball (15-7, 7-2) pulled out an overtime victory on the road against San Francisco (13-8, 6-4) Thursday night. Despite being in control for most of the contest, the Bulldogs found themselves down a possession in the final minute of regulation, needing timely efforts from several players to secure the win.
To start, Lauren Whittaker, the reigning WCC Freshman of the Week for the sixth straight time – and ninth this season – shot 1-for-8 from the floor in the first half. Paired with forgettable contributions from fellow forwards Jaiden Haile and Taylor Smith, who were a combined 0-of-11 on field goals, GU’s frontcourt had one of its worst nights of the season from a production standpoint. Smith, who has started every game for the Zags this season, didn’t play much of the fourth quarter and overtime period, while the freshman Haile had a costly turnover that nearly led to a Dons game-winner in the final seconds of the fourth, although she did grab a game-high 13 rebounds.
With the score knotted at 60 in regulation, Haile received the ball at the free throw line and was wide open for a potential go-ahead jumper. Perhaps her poor shooting night deterred her from taking the shot, as Haile instead opted for an entry bounce pass to a double-covered Whittaker on the block. The ball was taken by Megan McIntyre, who drove the other way for a go-ahead fast-break layup with 13.7 seconds to go.
Gonzaga WBB Overcomes Portland's Pressure and Earns 69-55 Win
For most of this season, Gonzaga’s (12-6, 4-1) Achilles heel has been turning the ball over. The Bulldogs entered play on Saturday with 313 turnovers, good for fifth in the WCC. And their opponent, Portland (9-8), came into action forcing the most turnovers in the conference (343), and is the only team in the conference to average more than 20 takeaways a game.
This bad matchup for GU went about as expected in the game’s opening quarter. But little by little, the Zags handled the ball pressure applied by the Pilots with more poise and found themselves in the driver’s seat for a comfortable 69-55 win on their home floor.
Forcing teams to turn it over is no accident on PU’s part, as the Pilots press every time their opponents inbound the ball. It makes bringing the ball up the floor a pain, and it really was a struggle for Gonzaga, which had nine turnovers in the first quarter to only six points, all scored by forward Lauren Whittaker. The constant doubling and trapping of every Bulldog ball-handler led to steals, travels, and offensive fouls – all giving Portland extra possessions. Even with no surprises in their playstyle, the Pilots’ defense still left the Zags needing an adjustment period.
Gonzaga WBB Guts Out 72-69 Road Win Over Toledo
For multiple stints throughout their matchup, neither Gonzaga women’s basketball (2-0) nor Toledo (0-2) could separate enough to build a comfortable lead. There were 17 lead changes and nearly identical box scores, and the Rockets continued to battle until the final buzzer sounded – playing the foul game until time ran out – but in the end, the Bulldogs eked out a 72-69 win on the road.
The two teams staged similar runs during the course of the game, with the Zags pulling away by 5 with just 45 seconds to go. In the waning moments of the game, two players stood out for the Zags: Inês Bettencourt and Taryn Gardner. The latter had 12 points in the game, as Gardner drilled all four of her four three-point attempts, with each shot feeling pivotal at various points in the contest. Her final three put GU up three with just under five minutes to go, as the sophomore transfer from Boise State excelled in her catch-and-shoot role from the corner.
Gonzaga WBB Boatraces Carroll College in Lone Exhibition Match
Things started out competitive, but Gonzaga women’s basketball suddenly flipped the switch on Carroll College Sunday afternoon in a 91-31 drubbing at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
The game was tied at 12 with two minutes to go in the first quarter, but the Zags tightened up on both ends from then on, outscoring the Fighting Saints 32-4 in the ensuing period. 73-19 was the point disparity in the last three quarters, as the Bulldogs cruised in their lone exhibition match of the 2025-26 schedule.
There is a lot of roster turnover from GU this season, with experienced players leaving the building and younger players expected to play a larger role. With this, there is a lot of opportunity for those not in the starting lineup. Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier says a good portion of her team is more one-dimensional at the moment, causing minimal distance created in the pecking order of her rotations.
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