Lisa Fortier earns 9th trip to NCAA Tournament after Gonzaga's title win over Oregon State

When talking about the best women’s head coaches in college basketball, Lisa Fortier of Gonzaga has to rank high among them. In 12 years as the leader of the Bulldogs, she’s only missed the NCAA Tournament twice. Which is impressive, considering the WCC is mostly a one-bid league on the women’s side most seasons. 

One of those seasons was last year. It was also during a difficult time for Coach Fortier personally, having to deal with a breast cancer diagnosis while still coaching the team for the last couple of years overall. For the 2025-26 campaign, the biggest obstacle for the Bulldogs proved to be a WCC with plenty of depth at the top, with Oregon State, LMU, Santa Clara, and Portland providing tough opposition throughout the regular season.

Gonzaga did manage to earn a 2-seed and, after blowing out the Broncos in the semifinals, faced Oregon State in the WCC Tournament finals, with both teams splitting the two earlier battles. As expected, it was a tight contest throughout, with it being a four-point game entering the fourth quarter.

Gonzaga, which has had some struggles closing out games, remained composed. Led by WCC Player of the Year star Lauren Whittaker (26 points and 9 rebounds), the Bulldogs were able to hold on for the 76-66 win to clinch an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament. 

Here are some takeaways from the victory.

1. Winning the turnover battle

If there’s a weakness to this Gonzaga team, it’s that they can turn the ball over at a high rate. On the season, they averaged over 17 turnovers a game, including 15 in WCC play. Even against Santa Clara in the semis, they turned it over 20 times.

But against the Beavers, that number was reduced to just eight, with one being at the very end after they celebrated too much before the time expired. The Beavers only had six points from turnovers, making that a key aspect of the win.

2. Allie Turner’s big second half

In the first two games against Oregon State, the first-team all-league guard combined for just 1/11 FG, struggling in both games. Turner was scoreless in the first half of the title game before scoring 10 points in the third quarter, allowing Gonzaga to remain ahead of the Beavers when both teams were making shots. She finished with 14 overall, overcoming Oregon State’s elite backcourt defense when it mattered most.

3. The other great freshman forward for GU

Whittaker is one of the best freshmen players in the country, and her 26 points in the title game show why. But due to foul trouble in both WCC Tournament games, her minutes were limited at times, with freshman Jaiden Haile getting even more playing time. Against Santa Clara, she finished with a double-double, and versus the Beavers, had seven points, five rebounds, and made a number of plays on defense against the Oregon State bigs. Her play may not have filled up the stat sheet as Whittaker did, but Haile was just as big a piece to the title team as the rest of the rotation.