BYU to face Gonzaga in WCC Tournament championship game

LAS VEGAS — No. 2 seed BYU women’s basketball will take on No. 1 seed and No. 16-ranked Gonzaga on Tuesday, March 9, at 1 p.m. PST in the 2021 West Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game. The Cougars and Bulldogs split the regular season series, with Gonzaga winning 63-56 in Spokane and BYU winning 61-56 in Provo.

The matchup will be broadcast live on ESPNU and audio broadcasts will be available on BYU Radio 107.9 FM, the BYU Cougars App and on BYUCougars.com/LiveRadio.

No. 2 BYU vs. No. 1 Gonzaga Game Notes

2021 UCU WCC Women’s Basketball Tournament Bracket

ABOUT NO. 2 BYU (18-4, 14-3)

• The Cougars dominated No. 3 seed San Francisco 85-55 in the WCC semifinals Monday to advance to the WCC Tournament title game for the second time in three years
• The last time BYU reached the WCC Tournament championship game was in 2019, when the Cougars defeated Gonzaga 82-68
• BYU is making its sixth WCC Tournament title game appearance since joining the conference in 2011. The Cougars are 3-2 in the WCC Tournament championship game
•  2020-21 WCC Co-Player of the Year Shaylee Gonzales is the WCC’s second-leading scorer and is averaging team bests in points (18.1 ppg), assists (3.9 apg) and steals (2.4 spg)
• Following Gonzales, fellow 2020-21 All-WCC First Team members Paisley Johnson Harding (14.1 ppg) and Lauren Gustin (11.7 ppg) are also averaging double figures in scoring
• Gustin ranks second in the nation in rebounds per game (12.8 rpg) and has tallied 14 double-doubles on the season, good for 11th in the country
• Sara Hamson, a 2020-21 All-WCC Honorable Mention, is averaging a league-best 2.5 blocks per game
• Fellow 2020-21 All-WCC Honorable Mention Tegan Graham is averaging 8.1 points per game off the bench
• Head coach Jeff Judkins is the 2020-21 WCC Coach of the Year
• As a team, BYU entered the 2021 WCC Tournament ranked 16th in the nation in assists per game (16.9 apg) and 26th in field-goal percentage defense (.362)

ABOUT NO. 1 GONZAGA (22-3, 16-1)

• The Bulldogs defeated Santa Clara 72-62 in the WCC semifinals to advance to their 15th WCC Tournament championship game and their fourth in the last five seasons
• Gonzaga collected five All-WCC honors this season, tying BYU for the most in the league. Senior forward Jenn Wirth was named Co-Player of the Year along with Gonzales, while Wirth and senior guard Jill Townsend were named to the All-WCC First Team
• Junior forward Melody Kempton was named WCC Sixth Woman of the Year, while Kempton, sophomore guard Kayleigh Truong and senior forward LeeAnne Wirth were named All-WCC Honorable Mentions
• Townsend and Wirth pace Gonzaga with 13.8 and 13.1 point-per-game averages, respectively
• Wirth leads the Bulldogs in rebounds (5.4 rpg), Townsend leads the team in steals (1.2 spg) while Truong is Gonzaga’s assist leader (4.2 apg)
• As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 72.6 points per contest while allowing just 55.4
• Gonzaga finished the regular season leading the league in assists (17.8 apg), rebounds (39.9 rpg), field-goal percentage (.474), three-point field-goal percentage (.367) and scoring margin (17.5)

SERIES HISTORY

• Gonzaga leads the all-time series over BYU, 18-13
• The Cougars are 3-2 against the Bulldogs in the WCC Tournament, including 2-1 in the title game
• The two teams split the regular season series, with BYU most recently defeating Gonzaga 61-56 in Provo on Feb. 18

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• TV: ESPNU
• TV Talent: Paul Sunderland (play-by-play), Andraya Carter (analyst)
• Radio: BYU Radio 107.9 FM
• Streamed Audio: BYU Cougars App, BYUCougars.com/LiveRadio
• Radio Talent: Greg Wrubell (play-by-play), Kristen Kozlowski (analyst)
• Live Stats: BYUCougars.com