The Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the Cougars 73-69 Saturday in a thrilling overtime victory, marking one of the strongest highlights of an already storied rivalry. 

The Cougs and Bulldogs already faced off one time this season, with Gonzaga pulling out another close victory in Pullman, 69-61. 

Heading into the matchup, the teams were separated by just two games in the West Coast Conference standings. The Bulldogs looked to solidify their first-place position and top-tier WCC resume while the Cougs look to break Gonzaga’s advantage and make a run for the top spot.

The top two seeds in the regular season standings get a bye to the semifinals of the WCC tournament in Las Vegas, making a high seed a very coveted position. 

With the competitiveness of the first matchup and the postseason implications in mind, the battle at McCarthey Athletic Center looked to one of the biggest moments of both teams’ seasons.

The moment was met with 6,000 fans in a soldout arena that featured a solid mix of Bulldog and Coug fans and a ruckus student section that would help power Gonzaga’s energy.

The first quarter saw an instant rock fight as both teams struggled to score early. Neither team scored a basket for the first two minutes of the game, before guard Eleonora Villa broke through for WSU with a layup. Still, six minutes into the game, the teams had only combined for 11 total points.

Gonzaga closed out the quarter strong though and entered the second with 15-8 lead. Neither team shot above 25% from the field in quarter and WSU shot 0-7 on three-pointers.

The individual defense and physicality of both teams would continue to shine through in the second quarter as only one shot went through in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the quarter. Gonzaga would hold onto a solid eight-point lead until the Cougs ripped off an 8-0 run in the span of 90 seconds to cut the deficit to two heading into halftime.

In one of the lowest-scoring halves for either team this season, both teams simply struggled to get shots to fall. WSU shot slightly better from the field at 27%, but Gonzaga’s 11 more rebounds and 10 more shot attempts gave them the slight edge heading into the break.

The Cougs held Bulldogs star forward Yvonne Ejim to two points on 1-10 for shooting in the half.

Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier said the Cougs’ individual defense and ability to get loose on ball screens affected her team and the atmosphere.

“After that first half, with both teams, I’m surprised all the fans didn’t leave,” Fortier said.

The heat of the moment would keep McCarthey loud as the game built up to a thrilling conclusion.

After a first half full of gritty post-play and missed opportunities, the door was blown open in the third quarter as the scoring ramped up. In the first two minutes of the half, the teams combined for as many points as was scored in the first six minutes of the game. By the end of the third, the Cougars had doubled their halftime score and the Bulldogs were a couple of baskets shy of doing the same.

After struggling to grab rebounds in the first half, WSU guard Astera Tuhina said getting defensive rebounds and pushing out in transition helped the team find greater success in the second half.

The Cougs headed into the fourth with a slight 41-40 edge.

To start the fourth, the Cougars maintained their slim lead through a pair of crucial buckets by freshman guard Charlotte Abraham, but fans were met with bad news as senior forward Tara Wallack reaggravated a lower-body injury with eight minutes to go. The Cougs would catch a much-needed break though as she would return to the floor just three minutes later.

“It was just a lingering injury from practice earlier this week, but I was mostly fighting cramps in my legs and calves and then my hamstring and my quad,” Wallack said. “So I got some electrolytes, and it fixed that.”

Despite Wallack’s absence, freshmen like Abraham and forward Dayana Mendes kept the Cougs in the fight and welcomed back Wallack with a two-point lead. Abraham scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth, reminiscent of her clutch-time shooting in the Cougs’ first overtime game against Eastern Washington at the start of the season.

In such a tough and competitive atmosphere, Ethridge and her staff continue to see growth from their young core.

“Just love that from young players,” Ethridge said. “Again, they’re just getting better. Charlotte will make big shots anytime she gets them. I love that.”

After the Cougs maintained the lead for much of the second half, the fourth quarter would be the Bulldogs’ turning point of the night, scoring 24 in the quarter and going up by as much as five in the final frame. The team’s most consistent scoring threats showing up at the right time was a big contributor to their success.

“We had our best offensive quarter when we needed it,” Fortier said. “We were down eight at the start of the quarter and Yvonne made some baskets. Allie [Turner] had some really good decisions and we got some rhythm with Bree [Salenbien].”

As the game went down to the wire, Wallack’s made the most of her return to score the final five points of regulation to tie the game after her team lost momentum in the waning moments of the quarter.

The team’s traded timeouts late in a game of strategy and the Bulldogs got the last possession. Villa stole the ball from Ejim with just four seconds to go and sent the game to overtime tied at 64.

It did not take long for Gonzaga to respond in overtime with a quick three-pointer from Turner. Even with WSU scoring the next five points, the Cougars would not score again as the Bulldogs responded with a 6-0 run behind all the momentum they carried over from the fourth quarter. 

The close out to victory was punctuated by the Bulldogs’ defense which forced the Cougs to miss their last four shot attempts. Turner had a key block while Ejim’s steal on Villa forced the turnover and led her to put the game on ice with back-to-back free throws with 22 seconds left. 

Two Bulldogs recorded double-doubles in the game, with Ejim scoring 16 points and grabbing 17 rebounds and Bree Salenbien notching 14 points and 10 rebounds. Salenbien only returned from injury just over a month ago and had her best game since Saturday with her first career double-double and she matched a career-high in points.

Ejim, who was recognized before the game for becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer last Thursday, continued to celebrate the end of a historic career with Saturday’s performance. Her and guard Allie Turner were given WCC weekly honors in the same week for the fifth time this season and second-straight week on Monday.

The fifth-year senior has made sure to make the most of her last precious moments with her team.

“Knowing this is my last season, every time I step onto the court, or put on a different jersey color or go to the away games for the last time in conference, I’m just soaking up those moments, just knowing that they’ll be cherished later on,” Ejim said.

Fortier emphasized Ejim’s success as a part of a larger group of experienced players who have helped Gonzaga to its top spot in the WCC.

“I think [Yvonne] and Bree and Esther [Little] just believe in the system,” Fortier said. “They calm us down. None of them are seeking their own anything. They’re trying to do whatever’s best for the team. And sometimes that means you have to score a bunch of points, and sometimes that means you have to set a billion screens.”

Despite her injury, Wallack still finished the game as the Cougars’ leading scorer, recording 18 points. She had a strong all-around performance in leading the team, blocking five shots and grabbing four rebounds as well.

While center Candace Kepitkou got the start at center, replacing the injured Alex Covill, Mendes played a career-high 31 minutes while scoring 11 points and getting six boards.

In a game where Ethridge said some freshmen made mistakes guarding the ball and shortening the bench allowed for the best defensive group to be on the floor often, young players like Abraham and Mendes were able to leave their mark. Only nine players were in the rotation Saturday, and only six played double-digit minutes.

The Cougs’ valiant effort was largely derailed by the rebounding margin. The team was outrebounded 54-32, just a one-rebound difference in margin from the first game. 

“The hard part is we just can’t keep these guys off the boards,” Ethridge said. “We lose 21-2 on second-chance points. They get a lot more shot attempts. There’s a lot of good in that I thought we were playing, but gosh, that just kills us.”

Gonzaga’s physicality and the growing rivalry between the two teams was a point of reflection for Tuhina.

“It’s a lesson for the future,” Tuhina said. “I just think we are not used to physicality and this is a really physical team. So, it’s important to come into the game and play like that from the beginning, because it’s kind of late to start in the third quarter or fourth quarter.”

After a career performance, Salenbien pointed to the rebounding numbers as a sign of her team’s desire to win.

“I think we just wanted it a bit more today,” Salenbien said. “I think we were really fighting for the 50-50s. A lot of us were on the ground picking each other up and that correlates to rebounds too. I mean, you outrebound them by 20 something, you obviously want it more.”

Graduate forward Maui Hujibens returned from injury for the Bulldogs Saturday for the first time since the previous matchup with WSU. She made a solid impact by grabbing eight rebounds in 18 minutes.

After a thrilling game and with the two teams playing in the same conference for the foreseeable future, the WSU-Gonzaga rivalry seems to be intensifying.

“The dynamic of how we both want to play, it makes for a really fun and exciting game,” Ejim said. “So I think that’s what the Gonzaga vs. Wazzu matchup tends to be like, but it’s definitely exciting whenever you get to play them. I’m very happy that we get them twice now in the conference instead of just the one non-conference game.”

After the tight loss, WSU remained in third place while Gonzaga solidified its first-place position. WSU will return home Thursday to face Loyola Marymount.