With homecourt advantage, Gonzaga women feel this is their time to make NCAA Tournament breakthrough

When Gonzaga women’s basketball coach Lisa Fortier built her nonconference schedule, she had this week in mind.

The Zags wanted to start the NCAA Tournament at home.

And here they are, beginning Saturday when 13th-seeded UC Irvine (23-8) faces fourth-seeded Gonzaga (30-3) at McCarthey Athletic Center. Tipoff is at 4:30 p.m. In the second game, No. 5 Utah (22-9) takes on No. 12 South Dakota State (27-5) at 7.

Saturday’s winners meet Monday. The winner advances to the Portland Region the following weekend.

Less than 24 hours after the NCAA opened tickets sales for the first-round games at Gonzaga, fewer than 200 remained Wednesday morning. It was all but a sellout Thursday.

Understandably, there was immediate glee among Gonzaga’s four graduate starters – Brynna Maxwell, Eliza Hollingsworth and the Truong twins, Kaylynne and Kayleigh. They get at least one more game at McCarthey Athletic Center and maybe two.

The Zags have won 34 straight in the Kennel, a streak dating to Feb. 5, 2022.

“It’s such a blessing (to play at McCarthey),” Maxwell said. “Going through Senior Day, I was thinking this could be my last time here. To have all these seniors come back to the MAC for one more game – the atmosphere I know we’ll have will be electric.”

“This is a very good confidence boost for us right now,” Hollingsworth said. “Having home (court) advantage is really beneficial. We get to sleep in our own beds, we get to practice in a place that’s been here for years and years. We have the most amazing fans, cheerleaders, everything.”

A sellout crowd of 6,000 will be the largest UC Irvine has seen this year. The Anteaters played in front of 4,258 at Texas Tech earlier this season.

The Truongs were true freshmen in 2019-20 when it appeared the Zags would be first- and second-round hosts. But the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season.

“Our freshman year, I feel like we’re coming full circle from that, and our family gets to come out (from Houston),” Kaylynne said. “And playing in the Kennel in front of the best fans in the world.”

Gonzaga senior forward Yvonne Ejim, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, said it’s now in the Zags’ hands to take advantage of the opportunity.

“It’s super exciting, that’s something that we’ve been working on,” Ejim said.

Gonzaga is making its seventh straight NCAA appearance under Fortier (eight if you count the COVID year). It’s the first time the Zags have played host since the NCAA instituted the top-four seed host berths in 2014.

The Zags hosted in 2013 when the NCAA awarded sites based on bids.

Gonzaga Athletic Director Chris Standiford was walking around like a proud father after the Selection Show on Sunday.

“We’re thrilled to host … it’s great recognition of the season they’ve had, the way they went out and challenged themselves in the nonconference,” Standiford said.

“It’s wonderful for our community. It’s a great advantage for our team. And in a year that women’s basketball has found its transcendent moment, it’s an opportunity for Spokane to shine out and show that it can support both the men’s and women’s basketball regionals at the same place.”

Playing at home is a reward for a season that saw the Zags dominate opponents in the Kennel – including a 96-78 win over then-No. 3 Stanford in early December.

“All of our fifth years and seniors love being in this building,” Fortier said. “This is special and unique. So hopefully, we’ll be able to do some good things.”

Kaylynne Truong said the Zags were focused on earning the best seed possible this season after they were handled by Ole Miss 71-48 in the NCAA Tournament last year.

“We worked really hard for this,” she said. “Last year the 8-9 (seed game) was really hard, so this was about putting ourselves in a better position in the tournament.”