The UTM women’s basketball team will face another tough test on the final game of the three-game road swing to open the season with another nationally ranked foe in No. 23 Gonzaga on Thursday, Nov. 14. Tipoff from the McCarthy Athletic Center is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CST and will be streamed on the WCC Network.
The Skyhawks (0-2) are coming off a matchup against defending Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament champion Mississippi State which ranked 10th nationally. UTM proved to be overmatched against a lengthy and talented Bulldog squad. As a team, the Skyhawks would shoot 30 percent from the field and just 17 percent from beyond the arc in an 82-46 setback.
On the season, UTM is led by the play of junior guard Tamiah Stanford as she leads the team with 13.5 points per game. In the most recent contest, junior guard Zaire Hicks paced the team with 12 points against No. 10 Mississippi State.
Gonzaga (1-0) ranked 23rd in the Preseason Coaches Poll after being picked to win the West Coast Conference for the seventh consecutive season. The Zags have won 14 of the last 15 conference titles while boasting a pair of Preseason All-WCC honorees in juniors Jill Townsend and Jenn Wirth. In the team’s season-opening win over CSU Bakersfield, Gonzaga recorded a 92-48 victory and was led by the play of freshman guard Kayleigh Truong who scored 18 points in her collegiate debut. As a whole, four different players scored in double figures.
Thursday’s game marks the second meeting in series history between the two programs. Gonzaga picked up a victory in UTM’s last trip to Spokane in 2013 by a final score of 91-54.
