California hands Gonzaga women 86-65 loss, Zags first at home since 2022

The Gonzaga women’s basketball team didn’t play well Thursday.

That can’t be overstated. And visiting California played well. The combination proved too much for the Zags to overcome.

Coming off their worst loss in history under coach Lisa Fortier, the Zags made too many turnovers and shot poorly inside the 3-point arc. It all added up to a 86-65 loss to the Bears in a nonconference game before a crowd of 5,060 at McCarthey Athletic Center.

The loss snapped Gonzaga’s home winning streak at 37. The Zags’ last loss came Feb. 5, 2022.

It’s the first time Gonzaga has lost two in a row since the end of the 2022-23 season.

Stanford rolled past Gonzaga 89-58 on Sunday. Shortcomings in that game carried over and in some ways manifested in glaring forms Thursday.

It began with turnovers. The Zags (1-2) had 24, split evenly in the two halves. Cal (4-0) made Gonzaga pay, turning the mistakes into 29 points.

Gonzaga hasn’t committed as many turnovers since it had 29 in a 79-67 overtime loss to Louisville at Paradise Island, Bahamas.

“We have these inexperienced guards that are handling the ball a lot and they’ve (the Bears) have got some good defenders,” Fortier said. “Some of them were forced, but other times too we were a bit casual. When we got down, what happens with inexperienced players is they try to do it themselves.”

The Zags cut the deficit to nine points in the third quarter. Later, freshman Allie Turner, getting her first start with senior Esther Little out with a concussion, hit two free throws and a jumper to pull Gonzaga within 60-48 with 1:32 left in the period.

But a 7-0 surge, capped by a 3-pointer, allowed Cal to take a 67-48 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Zags committed five turnovers in the opening 4:09 of the fourth and the Bears kept increasing the margin.

Marta Suarez’s turnaround jumper gave Cal its biggest lead at 75-53 with 6:43 to go. Gonzaga never got any closer than 17 .

Cal, picked to finish 14th out of 18 in the ACC, led the nation in 3-pointers made last year. The Bears were sharp from that distance Thursday, making 11 of 25.

The Bears have scored more than 82 points in their four games.

“As we’re starting this season off and figuring out how this team looks and our identity on the court, stuff like that is going to happen,” GU’s Yvonne Ejim said of the turnovers. “We are going to get turnovers because we’re trying to make the right reads. They’re there, we’re just not connecting. That just takes time.”

Ejim and Turner accounted for 47 of Gonzaga’s 65 points. Ejim led with 27 to go with eight rebounds and Turner had 20.

Cal made 32 of 55 shots (58.2%) to Gonzaga’s 22 of 50 (44%).

“Our team as a whole, we didn’t cause any (turnovers) ourselves,” Fortier said. “It’s tough to have that many when you’re not creating something off your own defense. We struggled to defend.”

Gonzaga overcame the Bears’ 9-0 start, pulling within 14-11 on a driving layup from Ines Bettencourt with 3:23 to go in the first quarter.

The Zags committed five turnovers in the first seven possessions of the second quarter.

Cal pushed the lead to 40-25 on Suarez’s free throw with 2:22 to go before halftime.

Gonzaga worked the ball for a final shot, but the Zags had to scramble to maintain possession. Finally, Claire O’Connor hit a 3-pointer with 7 seconds remaining.

But that lift didn’t last long when Kayla Williams drained a 27-footer at the buzzer, giving Cal a 44-31 halftime lead.

Williams, a 5-foot-7 graduate transfer from Southern Cal, led the Bears with 25 points, including four 3-pointers and six assists. She made 9 of 12 shots overall.

The Zags return to action Sunday when they host Wyoming at 1 p.m.

Zags sign guard

Fortier announced Thursday the early signing of 5-10 guard Julia Wilson from Temecula, California.

Going into the 2024-25 season, Wilson has played in 74 games for Rancho Christian High School, averaging 13.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.

In 2023-24, Wilson was named the player of the year by MaxPreps Basketball.

“She is capable of playing every position,” Fortier said. “She will be able to help relieve pressure, play strong around the basket (and) guard every position. Julia is a good shooter and as good a culture fit as there is out there.”