The Gonzaga Bulldogs women’s (14-6, 6-1 WCC) only chance of making the NCAA Tournament will come by winning the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas. To set themselves up for success in January, a victory in Thursday’s pivotal matchup against the Oregon State Beavers (14-6, 6-1 WCC) helps them get closer to achieving their goal of a No. 1 seed at the Orleans Arena in March.
These are the top-two most efficient offensive teams in the West Coast Conference. The Zags are No. 1 in both field goal percentage (46.8 percent) and three-point percentage (41.0 percent). In fact, coach Lisa Fortier’s group ranks No. 1 in the country when launching from beyond the arc. The Beavers are right behind in both those categories in the West Coast Conference, with their 44.5 percent shooting from the field and 35.3 percent outside the perimeter.
Oregon State coach Scott Rueck has created a respectable program in the Pacific Northwest from the jump when he took the job all the way back in 2010. Since then, he’s been to the NCAA Tournament a total of 10 times, including two Sweet Sixteen trips, three Elite Eights, and an invitation to the 2015-16 Final Four.
In 2025-26, Rueck has implemented a disciplined unit that rarely makes dumb mistakes. The Beavers only put up 11.5 personal fouls per game, the second-least in all of college basketball. Being forceful in your executions and drawing contact at the rim is necessary to get Rueck’s squad frustrated and out of their natural rhythm.
Behind the versatile junior guard Kennedie Shuler, she does a bit of everything to make the Oregon State engine run. She’s putting together 10.7 points on a 46.2 field goal percentage, 5.6 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.o blocks in 31.9 minutes per game for the Beavers. Suler is the only current player in the NCAA averaging over 10 points, five assists, five rebounds, one steal, and a block.
If Fortier can find ways to make Shuler uncomfortable and put her multiple contributions to conquering ball games in check, that gives Gonzaga a much better chance at stealing a road victory. Especially when the ball is in her hands with a dwindling clock, Shuler always seems to find a way to make a winning impact, as was witnessed in the recent 69-68 victory at the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday, Jan. 17.
Over to the Zags, who are tied for No. 30 in the nation with 17.4 assists per game. Gonzaga looks very capable of coming out on top with the league title, as long as the team can take care of the ball and not be sloppy in their half-court executions (ranked No. 268 with 18.2 turnovers per game).
Dominant redshirt freshman forward Whittaker, a Canterbury, New Zealand native, was recently named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Top 15 Midseason Watchlist. She was the only freshman on the list after leading the West Coast Conference in scoring (19.3 per game), rebounding (10.2 per game), and field goal percentage (57.5 percent). Whittaker’s ten double-doubles also lead the nation for first-years, ninth among all players in the country.
Gonzaga and Canadian great Yvonne Ejim won this award back in 2024, as well as was a finalist last season. That just shows what Whittaker is truly capable of at such a young age.
As for sharpshooting sophomore guard Turner, she leads the offensive charge with her 4.0 assists per game and her 54 three-pointers made on a 46.6 clip. She’s not nearly having the season that she had as a freshman last season, but that’s due to opponents zeroing in on her. She is someone who needs to have multiple eyes on her at all times. In new situations where Whittaker is constantly being double-teamed down low, she can just kick it out on the perimeter to a wide-open Turner.
It’s a first-place tie in the West Coast Conference standings between the two universities. The pair will meet up for the first of two times in the regular season on Thursday, Jan. 22, inside Gill Coliseum in Corvallis. Tip-off will take place at 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
The Zags are looking for revenge for last season’s loss in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals after the Beavers’ Shuler hit the unbelievable game-winner with 0.8 seconds left in the 63-61 disappointment in Sin City. This is becoming a new, high-level rivalry as the Pac-12 Conference era nears.
Please feel free to use this as an open thread.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
