Ladies lose season opener to Colorado State

Things started off well for girls, starting the game off on a 17-4 run. Colorado State was forced to shoot over the Zags, which ended up in bricks. There was crisp ball movement, but more importantly solid defense not just in the first quarter, but throughout the game.

But something just happened once the second quarter started. Gonzaga couldn’t hit a field goal if their life depended on it. They went ice cold and allowed the Rams to go on a 14-2 run on multiple threes by Sofie Tryggedsson. The Mountain West squad took the lead at halftime 33-31.

The third quarter started off a disaster for the Zags as the Rams went on a quick 7-0 run to take the lead to nine. The shooting woes continued for Lisa Fortier’s team for the rest of the game as the team only scored 18 total points in the final 20 minutes. With the lead never getting closest than seven, Colorado State pulled away from Gonzaga in the end with a 65-49 victory.

Jill Barta led the Zags with a 14 point 10 rebound double-double. Zykera Rice was the only other player in double figures with ten. The starting backcourt of Stockton, Stach and Smth combined for just 18 points. After having a dominating game in the exhibition, Jenn Wirth came back down to Earth with four points and three rebounds in 17 minutes. Her sister LeeAnne only played towards the end.

Gonzaga only had ten turnovers to the Ram’s 19, and went to the line 22 times compared to their 11. But two main issues for the Zags haunted them in this one. First, Colorado State out-rebounded us by a 48-33 margin, including a 16-4 edge off the bench. The loss of center Emma Wolfram was glaring in this game. By the headliner stat was the disparity in three-point shooting; Colorado State was 11-25 (44%) and Gonzaga was just 2-24 (8.3%). The 27 point difference was the ultimate factor in this one.

It’s a disappointing loss, as Gonzaga was receiving votes in the preseason AP top-25 poll. Now it’s time to regroup for another road game, this time at Montana.