Power Plays: Dons and Gaels Shine in WCC Women’s Basketball Showdown

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Zeryhia Aokuso and her teammates from Saint Mary’s are not accepting the West Coast Conference preseason women’s basketball coaches poll. Emma Trawally Porta and the San Francisco women share the same sentiment.
 
The conference competitions for women have commenced, and thus far, the Gaels and Dons are defying the coaches’ initial expectations.
 
Saint Mary’s, projected to finish eighth in the 11-team competition, stands at 3-0 in league matches for the first time in five years and is currently tied for the lead. Meanwhile, USF, forecasted to finish sixth, is contending at the top after achieving a 2-0 start in WCC games for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
 
Portland, predicted to land third in the WCC, has drawn no surprises, as it has extended its program-record, season-opening winning streak to 14, including a 3-0 record in conference play. Washington State, ranked second by the coaches, is also 2-0 in league contests. However, the Gaels and Dons are generating some unexpected excitement.
 
Aokuso, who was named the reigning WCC Freshman of the Year, made a turnaround jump shot just as the buzzer sounded in overtime on Saturday night, leading the Gaels (7-5, 3-0) to an 80-78 victory against Pacific. Saint Mary’s came back from a 16-point deficit to secure its third overtime triumph of the season.
 
Maia Jones contributed 23 points, and Emily Foy added 15, while the Gaels’ bench demonstrated strength with 46 points, and leading scorer Kennedy Johnson contributed 12 points. Aokuso, who had missed the initial four games of the season and started slowly due to offseason knee surgery, had her most impressive performance yet, accumulating 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
 
The Gaels managed to defeat Pacific (5-8, 1-2) despite a spectacular effort from Tigers’ senior Liz Smith, who sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer in regulation to force overtime and ultimately scored a personal-best 30 points. Anaya James contributed 17 points and seven assists, becoming the second player from Pacific to reach 500 career assists.
 
On the other hand, USF surged to a 72-47 advantage after three quarters against LMU, ultimately securing an 85-73 win. Senior Debora dos Santos scored 21 points for the Dons (5-6, 2-0), while Naudia Evans recorded 25 points and seven assists for the Lions (6-5, 0-3).
 
A crucial factor behind USF’s recent achievements has been Porta, a 6-foot-1 graduate student hailing from Tiana, Spain, who joined the Hilltop this season from Detroit Mercy. Porta is averaging 16.0 points and 7.7 rebounds over the last six games, and the Dons remain undefeated since her insertion into the starting lineup three games back.
 
This also includes an 18-point, seven-rebound performance in USF’s 73-58 victory over WCC powerhouse Gonzaga the week before Christmas. This victory ended the Dons’ 17-game losing streak against the Zags and halted Gonzaga’s 22-game winning streak in regular-season conference play.
 
“It has a lot to do with my teammates,” Porta commented on her recent progress. “They push me in practice every day, and they also motivate me to be confident and enjoy playing basketball.”
 
USF point guard Luana Leite, a senior from Porta Feliz, Brazil, narrowly missed a triple-double, achieving season-high numbers of 12 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds against Gonzaga and stated that the Dons’ objective was to build upon the significant win.
 
“It’s been a long time since we beat them. This marks a fresh start for us because it’s the first game in the conference,” Leite remarked. “We need to stay focused, maintain our energy, and replicate this success consistently.”
 
So far, everything is going well.
 
PILOTS CONTINUE TO WIN: Portland remains one of only eight unbeaten women’s teams nationwide after defeating Santa Clara 81-54 on Saturday. The Pilots (14-0, 3-0) have achieved double-digit victories in every game, aided by a pressing defense that generates 23.1 turnovers per match, resulting in an average of 25.6 points.
 
Alexis Mark provided 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against Santa Clara, while Lainey Spear contributed 14 points, leading a Portland bench that added 33 points.
 
GONZAGA’S NON-CONFERENCE CHALLENGE CONCLUDES: The No. 14 Gonzaga men’s team faced their fifth game against a top-25 opponent on Saturday, falling 65-62 to No. 22 UCLA (11-2) during the inaugural college game held at the Intuit Dome, the new Inglewood, Calif., venue for the Los Angeles Clippers.
 
The Zags (9-4) concluded this five-game stretch with a 2-3 record, suffering losses by a narrow combined margin of just 10 points in their last three games against Kentucky, UConn, and UCLA, which collectively boast 25 NCAA championships.
 
“Clearly, we feel like we’ve been involved in numerous close contests that we believed we should have secured all of them,” stated senior point guard Ryan Nembhard, who tallied 16 points and eight assists, told the Spokane Spokesman Review. “We need to finish these contests and learn how to clinch these close games.”
 
Coach Mark Few expressed disappointment in his team’s inability to overcome the challenges. “We’re contending against a formidable schedule and impressive teams,” he remarked. “And when you’re in a position to secure a win, you hope to make a play, hit a shot, and make a stop at the end.”
 
HIGHLIGHT OF LAST WEEK: San Diego sophomore Santiago Trouet recorded a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds on Saturday during the Toreros’ 68-55 defeat against Grand Canyon. A week prior, the 6-foot-10 native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, collected 20 rebounds against UC San Diego, marking the third-highest total in the program’s history and the most by a USD player in 42 years.
 
HIGHLIGHT OF THIS WEEK, PART 1: The undefeated Portland women are set to take on two tough challenges this week, facing WCC newcomer Oregon State (5-8, 1-1) on Monday night and Gonzaga (6-8, 1-2) on Saturday afternoon.
 
HIGHLIGHT OF THIS WEEK, PART 2: Each team will participate in respective games, but Saturday’s 4 p.m. (ESPN+) matchup between USF (11-3, 1-0) and Washington State (11-3, 1-0) in Pullman, Wash., features two squads projected to contend for the WCC men’s title throughout the season.
 
FEW NOMINATED FOR NAISMITH HALL: Gonzaga’s Few, who holds the top winning percentage (83.1 percent) among current college coaches, is a first-time nominee for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. There are no more prestigious honors for players and coaches — at all tiers around the world — than this.
 
Few has achieved a record of 725-147 over 26 seasons in Spokane, leading the Zags to two Final Fours since 2017, five Elite 8 appearances, and 13 Sweet 16 showings. Gonzaga has claimed or shared 22 of the 25 regular-season WCC titles under Few’s guidance.
 
Part of the coaching staff that led Team USA to an Olympic gold medal in Paris last summer, Few will be presented with the John R. Wooden Award “Legends of Coaching” in 2025. He and his wife Marcy have also raised millions for cancer research.
 
Other nominees for this year include Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Dwight Howard, Maya Moore, Doc Rivers, and Amar’e Stoudemire.
 
Current Naismith Hall members with connections to the WCC include Dennis Johnson (Pepperdine), KC Jones (USF), Steve Nash (Santa Clara), Pete Newell (LMU), Bill Russell (USF), John Stockton (Gonzaga), and Phil Woolpert (USF).