Kaylynne Truong Shows Her Capabilities

Coming into this season, the plan was always for Kaylynne Truong to get some spot minutes while her sister, Kayleigh, operated as the backup point guard to Jessie Loera.

That is what she did, coming in for 10 or so minutes, and largely deferring as the main option on offense. Although she put together a couple of nice offensive performances early, more often than note, her box score line was limited to added experience on the court.

After senior guard Katie Campbell went down with a season-ending injury, Kaylynne Truong was called upon to take a bigger role on the team, and she responded as well as possible.

Surprisingly enough, Truong narrowly finished as the top three-point shooting threat on the team (percentage-wise, not volume-wise), hitting 43.9 percent (0.8 percent higher than Campbell). With Campbell graduating this season, Truong established herself as a consistent outside threat, something the Zags will need to help offload the balance of focus on Jill Townsend.

Kaylynne, alongside her sister Kayleigh, will form the nucleus of the Gonzaga Bulldogs backcourt for the next three years. This year, both Loera and Campbell were terrors to opposing backcourts, hassling them and out-hustling them at all times on the defensive ends. Kaylynne and Kayleigh both have quick hands, each finished the season at nearly a steal per game. What they both have to work on is defensive awareness, marking their opponents, and contesting every three-point shot.

That is what practice is for, and with the COVID-19 inspired offseason, it will be interesting to see how each player has come into the next season demonstrating what they worked on over the summer. The shot is there for Truong, the rest of it will come forward with solid coaching and a good work ethic.

Good coaching/support and devoted work ethic is essentially the marketing phrase for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, although it does not perform well in a focus group setting. The Zags will remain a rather balanced team next season, but without the senior leadership of Loera and Campbell, it will be up to each Truong twin to step to the plate in discipline and focus. As the backcourt, they are the ones driving the conversation, getting the ball to who it needs to go to, and the first line of defense against opposing offenses. Kaylynne Truong demonstrated she is ready to answer that call more completely next season.