Gonzaga Women to 3rd Straight Sweet Sixteen

Since 1999 a lot has changed. I gained another digit in my name for one (it was that number too). Gonzaga followed up it's Cinderella run to the elite eight with two straight sweet sixteens. Enrollment shot up at the small school thanks to the publicity. The West Coast Conference became more competitive in Men's basketball, which manifested itself this year in the addition of BYU, two WCC teams ranked in the top 25, three bids to the NCAA tournament, five teams with 20+ wins and a multi-year big time TV deal with ESPN.

It has also resulted in the elevation of the women's game in the conference, particularly at Gonzaga. It's no longer just a team that makes the postseason yearly, which they've done 6 straight times and 8 of the last 9, it's now a team that makes the tournament and advances. Four the fourth straight year they've won at least one game and for the third straight they're going to the sweet sixteen.

This year the Zags, an 11 seed, have upset 6 seed Rutgers in their first game and last night upset the 3rd seeded Miami Hurricanes. Granted both of those games were played in the Kennel (just as last year's sweet 16 and elite 8 games), but the Zags got the job done over teams that were supposed to be better. Next up for Gonzaga is 2 seed Kentucky in Kingston, Rhode Island on March 25th.

Fans of Rutgers or Miami will find it extremely unfair that their higher seeded teams had to play at the home gym of the lower seed, which it is. It speaks volumes to the level that this program has risen to. Women's basketball is a sport that doesn't draw much of an audience. Gonzaga has sold out the 6000 seat McCarthey Athletic Center 5 times this season, and almost all of the other home games had attendance over over 5000. Last season in 7 WCC home games the Zags average attendance was 4,136. Average attendance in their 7 road games was 561. I was able to watch them play against Portland last season and it was just as exciting an environment as any given Men's game.

As a Spokane native I am extremely proud of the Gonzaga basketball program. The original darlings of March haven't gone away and haven't changed with the fame (except by getting better). I'm also extremely proud of the way the community has supported the Zags. It's a symbiotic relationship and it is great.

I'll be doing a preview of the Gonzaga vs. Kentucky game in a day or two. I should have been doing them from the beginning but my rookie season of covering an entire conference has been overwhelming. Regretfully the women's team has been left out except for the occasional tweet. They deserve better.