Minneapolis, MINN. — The Gonzaga women’s basketball team is aiming for an upset as they take on Ole Miss tomorrow afternoon.
Head coach Lisa Fortier and players spoke at a press conference about 24 hours before the matchup. The Bulldogs earned the No. 12 seed in the Minneapolis opening-weekend games against the No. 5-seeded Ole Miss Rebels out of the SEC.
The winner of Zags-Rebels plays against either hosts No. 4 seed Minnesota or No. 13 seed Green Bay.
Inȇs Bettencourt was asked about the Rebels physical toughness and said, “During the season we played a lot of teams that showed a lot of physicality, and that’s what we’re preparing for tomorrow.”
Lauren Whittaker said the NCAA tournament is a great way to showcase the Zags talent, even though the WCC may not get the national spotlight like other conferences.
Gonzaga has made 16 of the last 20 NCAA Tournaments.
Coach Lisa Fortier talked about making it back to the tournament after not making it last year.
“We have a lot of young players who it’s their first time here, so we’re looking forward to that,” said Fortier.
“[Ole Miss] is a really good team with a lot of veterans, they’re very physical…and we’re going to have to be good. Every team you come across this time of year is good, but like they say you want to survive and advance.”
She added she’s never had such a young team, but they’ve spent the year trying to teach culture and the right way to do things on and off the court.
“We want to make noise, and do our best,” Fortier said. “I think our team has the right mentality going into this game.”
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