Nov. 27—Women's basketball royalty swooped into Spokane recently to check on a friend.
Paige Bueckers, who is quite familiar with the Lilac City, led UConn to another national championship last season. She was the toast of the regional tournament at Spokane Arena when she led her team to dominating victories over Oklahoma and Southern Cal. The Huskies continued their surge with impressive wins over UCLA and South Carolina in the Final Four, finishing 37-3.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSeven years ago, Bueckers led a team of high school standouts to victory at Hoopfest on Center Court.
Bueckers was drafted No. 1 in the WNBA draft last spring and was named Rookie of the Year.
She was courtside at McCarthey Athletic Center to watch a former UConn teammate, Gonzaga senior guard Ines Bettencourt, play their home opener. Bueckers was wearing a Portugal jersey with the No. 8, honoring her friend who is a native of Sao Miguel, Portugal.
Bettencourt had eight points, including two 3-pointers, three assists and three rebounds.
A Kennel crowd of 4,936 gave Bueckers a warm welcome when she was introduced between the first and second quarters.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBueckers spent time the day before at a Gonzaga practice.
"She's one of my best friends and it's not everyday she goes to watch somebody play, especially in Spokane," Bettencourt said.
Bueckers sat at midcourt next to Gonzaga women's basketball sports information director Grace Whiteley.
Bueckers made an impression in her short visit.
"She was hanging out with my roommates and I was like you're so cool," said Bettencourt, who lives with sophomore guard Allie Turner and redshirt freshman forward Lauren Whittaker. "It's just great to have her here."
Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier enjoyed having Bueckers at practice.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I got to interview her in front of the team," Fortier said. "Her and (Ines) have been good friends since their time at UConn. It was fun for our team to have her here.
"There are a lot of good basketball players out there and she's way more than that. ... She had all kinds of good messages (to give to the team). I was glad she was able to get out here and spend some time with (Ines). It means a lot to her."
Holiday travels
It's called Feast Week around college basketball this week, featuring a number of tournaments across the nation and beyond.
Gonzaga, Washington State, Eastern Washington and Idaho all travel for tournaments. They hope they're feasting and not their opponents.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Zags (3-3) head to Florida where they play in Coconuts Hoops beginning Friday against undefeated Indiana (5-0). A win would mean a matchup with No. 10th-ranked Iowa State (6-0) on Sunday.
Gonzaga has one of the most difficult nonconference schedules in the nation.
"All three of those teams are really good," Gonzaga's Fortier said of the tournament that also includes Marquette. "They'll be different, they'll be big, they'll propose different problems for us."
Fortier wasn't looking any further than Monday after the Zags snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday in a 79-60 win over EWU.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Our message in the locker room was that we just have to build on today," Fortier said. "We can't be results oriented. That's not our goal. Our goal is to be better in the next game than we were in the last one."
—Struggling WSU (0-6) began its holiday travel early when it met Missouri in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday — a 71-54 setback at the WBCA Showcase.
The Cougars continue on to Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands at St. Thomas. WSU faces Miami of Ohio on Friday.
If the Cougs win, they'll face the stiffest test they've faced in recent years with a possible match up against fifth-ranked LSU on Saturday.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLSU (6-0) set a record Sunday with its sixth straight 100-point game. The Tigers opened the season with 148 and 121 in exhibitions and followed with 108, 115, 118, 117, 101 and 112. They're leading the nation in scoring at 111.8, nine ahead of Texas.
WSU coach Kamie Ethridge knows LSU coach Kim Mulkey well.
"We coached in the Big 12 against each other when she was at Baylor," said Ethridge, who had an assistant coaching stop at Kansas State during that time. "We were roommates way back in the '84 Olympics and at the Olympic training center. I wouldn't say that we're super close or great friends, but I certainly have a ton of respect for her and what she's accomplished everywhere she's been."
WSU has been slowed by injuries. The Cougs had West Coast Conference preseason pick and junior guard Eleonora Villa back against Missouri.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementVilla played just 10 minutes the previous game because of cramping. She bounced back Sunday by matching a career-high in points with 24 with three 3-pointers and five assists.
Ethridge's next win will be her 200th.
The Cougs' nearly two-week road trip concludes Wednesday at BYU.
—EWU (2-3) heads to the Portland Invitational, facing Nevada (3-2) on Friday and Portland (4-3) on Sunday.
—Idaho (5-1) goes to the ZotGiving Classic in Irvine, California. The Vandals open against Colgate (4-1) on Friday and face Wichita State (1-5) on Saturday.
Signers
Area schools announced early signees last week.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement—Gonzaga has signed Abby Lusk, a 6-foot-1 forward from Pocatello High School in southeast Idaho.
Lusk led Pocatello to a State 5A championship last year and was named 5A Player of the Year. She averaged 16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 3.4 assists while eclipsing 1,000 career points.
A two-sport standout, Lusk ranks as one of the top volleyball players in Idaho. An outside hitter, she led the state in kills this fall (614) and is Pocatello's career record holder (1,496).
She excels in the classroom with a 4.0 grade-points average.
Lusk is expected to be the lone player Gonzaga signs for the 2027 class. The Bulldogs will graduate one player and return 12 including senior guard Vera Gunaydin, who is redshirting this season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement—Addison Wells Morrison, the daughter of former Gonzaga standout Adam Morrison, is headed to Idaho.
The 6-foot Mead senior was a starter on the Panthers team that played for a state title her sophomore season. She was an All-Greater Spokane League First Team selection as a junior.
Morrison averaged 16.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 per game as a junior. On Mead's 25-2 team her sophomore season she averaged 12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
—Washington State reached overseas and in Oregon for a pair of signees.
Aicha Bah is a 5-6 combination guard from Willebroek, Belgium. This year she played for the Belgium National Team in the FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket. She averaged 3.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. She is currently playing in the BNXT League, a professional league in Belgium and the Netherlands.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementReese Jordan is a 5-9 combination guard from West Linn (Oregon) High School.
Jordan averaged 15.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.3 steals as a junior and was named Three Rivers League Player of the Year.
She also played for Northwest Select and helped the team win the 17U Nike Tournament of Championships in Chicago.
Weekly honors
For the second time in three weeks, Gonzaga's Lauren Whittaker was named Freshman of the Week by the West Coast Conference.
Whittaker led Gonzaga with 15 points and 13 rebounds for her first double-double at South Dakota State and had 21 points against EWU.
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