Brought to you by Courtyard by Marriott. Receive a Zags discount while visiting Gonzaga and Spokane. For details, Click Here.
Gonzaga 98 – Portland State 80
Offense shines while Defense struggles
To start off the regular season, the Portland State Vikings came to Spokane sporting their best team since joining the Big Sky Conference years ago. And the co-favorites for that conference gave the Gonzaga Bulldogs all they could handle for the better part of 30 minutes. In the end it was simply too much Ronny Turiaf (33 points, 9 rebounds) with help inside from Sean Mallon (18 points), and help from elsewhere from Nathan Doudney and Adam Morrison (14 points apiece). Point guard Derek Raivio chipped in 9 points and an impressive 11 assists while Pierre-Marie Cespedes elevated his game with three athletic, aggressive moves to the hoop for 6 points, also providing sticky on-ball defense. The Zags’ offense came through with 98 points but the defense was disappointing, allowing far too many easy open shots for the Vikings to the tune of 61% shooting and 80 points for the guests from the Rose City. Gonzaga shot an outstanding 65%. Gonzaga played Catch Up most of the first-half but finally took a lead near halftime and oh so slowly pulled away after a Technical Foul gave Raivio a chance to begin the second-half with two free throws. The Zags would go on to outscore the Vikes by 18 in the final 20 minutes in front of a loud, sold out K2 crowd.
Gonzaga 87 – Utah Valley State
Ladies turn on afterburners in 2nd half
The following night the Gonzaga women took the court for their first real game and showed why they’re considered the team to beat in the WCC. Utah Valley State College from Orem, UT, was in town after just missing against Idaho the night before, losing by 3 to the Vandals. But the ladies of Zagville blew this game to pieces, and quick. Senior guard Rae Jewell nailed two 3-pointers in the early going and would go on to lead all Zags with 14 points as part of a very balanced attack. Ashley Burke had a rough outing but got 10 points and 9 rebounds while fellow senior Shannon Mathews ran the point nicely to score 11 points and dish 9 assists. Ashley Anderson, Stephanie Hawk, Anne Bailey, Delphine Lacoultre, Dominique Harris and Katie Prichard all chipped in 5 points or more. The women played incredible defense, suffocating the Wolverines from Orem, only 19% from the field. After a somewhat ragged first-half, the Zags found their groove in the second-half and looked terrific, pounding it inside and forcing turnovers for perfectly executed fast-breaks to zoom away from UVSC.
Gonzaga 78 – Montana 62
Defense carries Men past Griz
2005 recruit Larry Gurganious sat courtside to watch his future team put the defensive clamps on a Montana Grizzlies team picked by Big Sky coaches to finish third in that conference. In fact, the Griz couldn’t score a single point until over seven minutes had passed. By then, Gonzaga was ahead by double-digits and while the Zags struggled to get the ball in the hole themselves, the game was really all but decided. Point guard Derek Raivio couldn’t buy much in the way of a bucket but his 13 assists tied Matt Santangelo and John Stockton for second all-time, behind Blake Stepp’s 16. Nathan Doudney also played solid defense while never finding his shooting stroke. It was one of those nights from outside. So Sean Mallon and Ronny Turiaf went to work inside, combining for more than 40 points. Adam Morrison has had better games but still managed to get his points while David Pendergraft looked to be settling into game speed and rhythm with his scrappy rebounding and 6 points. Pierre-Marie Cespedes once again showed defensive prowess and lightning quicks in leading the break. The overall game was a marked improvement over Gonzaga’s opener, particularly defensively. No doubt the GU coaching staff will be finding a blend of high-octane offense to go with consistent defense for a potent overall attack.
The men face Idaho on November 24 in K2 while the women travel to The Pit in Albuquerque to take on Providence on November 26, then either New Mexico or Missouri the next day.