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Gonzaga still the team to beat in new Pac-12 hoops tier

If you're a Coug who still watches women's hoops, here's the sobering math for the new Pac-12: Gonzaga is the team to beat, and it might not be close.

3 min readSpokesman.com
Gonzaga still the team to beat in new Pac-12 hoops tier

The Zags are the team to beat, and the preseason rankings make it look like a solo race. That's fine. We're not here to argue with the math. Gonzaga returns a deep roster led by Lauren Whittaker, who already owns the WCC and is the easy pick for Pac-12 Player of the Year. They shot the three better than anyone in the country last season. That is a real problem for the rest of the conference, including our Cougs.

But here's what matters to us: the gap between first and fifth is not as wide as the gap between fifth and ninth. Washington State sits in that competitive middle tier with Colorado State, Oregon State, and Boise State. Any of those four could finish third. That is a winnable fight. Our Cougs return five starters, six if you count Malia Rudd, and Eleonora Villa averaged 16.5 points last year while playing nearly 35 minutes a game. That is not a rebuilding number. That is a foundation. Kamie Ethridge's Cougs aim to bury that 9-25 season starting now and Continuity pays off as Cougar women return every starter for the first time since the portal exodus both make the same point: this team has the pieces to climb.

The real story here is not that Gonzaga is good. We knew that. The story is that the Pac-12 women's tier is open enough for our Cougs to grab third and make the conference tournament interesting. San Diego State is solid at number two, but they are not unbeatable. Oregon State has the guards but no inside presence. Colorado State relies on transfers. Boise State is retooling. None of those teams are a lock. If Kamie Ethridge gets the ball movement and the defensive rebounding right, Washington State can finish ahead of every school not named Gonzaga. That is a realistic goal, not a homer take.

The takeaway you can text a friend: watch Eleonora Villa's minutes. She averaged 34.8 last year. If she stays that efficient and the supporting cast holds, the Cougs jump that middle tier. If she fades, we are fighting Boise for fifth. That is the detail to track from opening tip. Go Cougs.

From Spokesman.com

Pac-12 women’s basketball most likely will be divided into three tiers in the reconditioned conference.

Gonzaga and San Diego State should occupy the top two spots by season’s end.

Read the original at Spokesman.com

Briefing

Source
Spokesman.com
Published
October 30, 2026

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