Gonzaga Squanders Away a Victory to Stanford in the Kennel, 65-52

The Gonzaga students had their Kennel Campout experience ruined by the unbeaten Stanford Cardinal (5-0) at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Zags move to 2-2 in the early season, 0-2 inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Stanford’s junior guard Chloe Cardy led all scorers with 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the field, 2-for-5 on three-point shooting, and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Junior forward Sunaja “Nunu” Agara snagged a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds, three steals, two blocks).

Gonzaga’s sophomore star guard, Allie Turner, had a bounce-back performance after making a minimal impact in the 70-66 loss to the Colorado State Rams earlier in the week. She would finish 14 points on 7-for-12 field goals/2-for-6 three-pointers, six assists/three turnovers, four rebounds, and one steal against the Cardinal.

The Zags actually went into the halftime locker room with a 33-31 lead. The second half was a different story, with careless ball-handling and passing. Any time you’re turning over the ball 20 times, you’re most likely not going to be able to pull out a victory. Shooting 9-for-26 and not hitting a single shot from beyond the arc in the second half doesn’t help either.

Coach Lisa Fortier’s group could easily be standing undefeated through the first four games and sitting pretty. Gonzaga is a young team with a ton of upside and young freshman talent. The pieces are there for a run at the West Coast Conference title over the likes of the Portland Pilots and Oregon State Beavers. This experience against the three-time national champion only helps prepare them to reach that goal.

Next for the Zags is a trip to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to take on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 5 p.m. PT.

On a side note, it’s pretty cool to see celebrities coming out and supporting the Lady Zags. On Thursday, it was WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers (checking out her former UConn Huskies teammate Ines Bettencourt), and tonight, rapper Kevin Gates. Spokane is the place to be.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho