Gonzaga women storm onto the national scene with a historic blowout win over Stanford

If you just keep banging on the door, eventually you’ll break the thing down.

With a convincing 96-78 win over No. 3 Stanford at McCarthy Athletic Center last Sunday, the Zag women finally managed to break down a metaphorical door. While the Zags have defeated Stanford in the past, this market the program's first win against a team ranked in the Top 5 of the AP Poll during the regular season. With the win, the Zags vaulted into the AP Poll for the first time this season (No. 23) and were named national team of the week by the NCAA.

Gonzaga was 0-12 in the regular season against Top 5 teams prior to Sunday, with seven of those losses coming to Stanford. Their previous best win was barely outside that Top 5 cutoff, when Gonzaga took down No. 6 Louisville last season.

The victory would've been monumental regardless of the score, but the way the Zags pulled it off makes the win even more memorable. Simply put, the Zags were dominant.

Yvonne Ejim and Brynna Maxwell scored 27 points a piece (season highs for both), while Ejim added another season high with 12 rebounds. The Truong twins combined for 11 assists while committing just two turnovers. Overall, the team made 10 of 24 from 3-point range and shot 53.5% overall.

It's not easy to hang 96 points on a Stanford team that's an annual national title contender. Stanford had not given up 90-plus points since Ohio State scored 94 on them back in 2017... in a game that went to overtime. The Cali women have give up 90+ points only five times dating back to the 2002-03 season, with Gonzaga’s 96 points being the the most the Cardinal have allowed during that span.

While that number may be out of the ordinary for Stanford, it’s not for Gonzaga.

The Zags are averaging 83.7 points per game this season, 23rd-best nationally. They’re sixth in free throw percentage (82.5%), 10th in three point percentage (40.2%) and 14th in field goal percentage (49.0%). Their 191 assists is fourth most in the sport as of Wednesday. Only two teams have made more threes (92) and only five have made more shots overall (304).

This veteran team has been an offensive juggernaut all season, they just let the world know by proving it against one of the sport’s powerhouse programs. (Turns out putting up 96 on Stanford moves the needle a lot more than putting up 91 on Toledo or 102 on Liberty.)

Sitting at 8-2 on the season, the Zags have laid the foundation for a very strong NCAA Tournament resume. Their two losses are respectable — an overtime loss at No. 24 Washington State and at a neutral site defeat versus No. 20 Louisville.

Prior to the Stanford win, the Zags had already picked up quality victories on the road against Eastern Washington (5-2) and at a neutral against Alabama (7-2). Then, of course, they got the cherry on top with the win over the Cardinal.

If ever there was a year for the Zags to pull off that kind of upset win, this would be it. Not only is this a highly potent roster, but it's as experienced as it gets. Five Zags are averaging double-figures in scoring. They’re all seniors. The sixth-leading scorer? A junior. The seventh? Also a junior.

It’s a roster loaded with familiar faces who've been making plays and putting up numbers in Spokane for years now. Combine that with the high-scoring and history making performances, and you’ve got a recipe for as fun of a Gonzaga team as we’ve seen in the nearly two decade run of success that this program has put together.

UP NEXT

Men
Gonzaga at Washington • Sat, Dec. 9 at 8 pm • ESPN2
Gonzaga vs. Mississippi Valley State • Mon, Dec. 11 at 6 pm • KHQ & ROOT

Women
Gonzaga at California • Thu, Dec. 7 at 7 pm • Pac-12 Network
Gonzaga at Rice • Sat, Dec. 9 at noon • ESPN+