Toreros fall short of WCC title

Women’s basketball team falls to Gonzaga 62-50 in the finals of the WCC tournament.

By Alex Bullock
SPORTS EDITOR

The women’s basketball team fell one game short of winning the West Coast Conference Championship after being defeated by the Gonzaga University Bulldogs 62-50 in Las Vegas on March 11.
The Toreros were led by junior guard and all-tournament selection Amy Kame who scored 13 points. The first half of the game saw a back-and-forth battle. The Toreros led by as much as six halfway through the period, but their final lead of the game came at 25-24 with one minute remaining in the half. The Bulldogs finished the half up 29-25 and did not look back from there.

The Toreros fought to reduce the deficit throughout the second half, cutting it to two at 42-40 but they were unable to regain the lead. From there, the Bulldogs were able to pull away to complete their 62-50 victory and earn their fifth trip to the NCAA tournament in six years.

With their loss, the Toreros have a record of 21-9 and have to hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. There are other teams who are arguably more worthy of an at-lare bid than the Toreros, so the more likely alternative for the women’s basketball team is a bid to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. Last season, the Toreros reached the semifinals of the WNIT before being defeated by the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls.

The Toreros will be able to recuperate from their loss to the Bulldogs and prepare for postseason play.

“Anytime you can go home, leave your tournament, take a couple days off and get rest, go back to practice to get ready for the postseason, it’s such a benefit,” coach Cindy Fisher said. “We will benefit from it. We will improve in the next 10 days, whenever we get to play.

In her eighth year in the position, Fischer has lead the team to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in the history of the program.

The Toreros will hear from the selection committees of the tournaments on Monday March 18 to find out which postseason tournament they will compete in this season.