What Lisa Fortier said after Gonzaga advanced to WCC championship with win over Santa Clara

After getting upset in the WCC semifinals last season, Lisa Fortier and the Gonzaga Bulldogs made absolutely certain it wouldn't happen again on Monday afternoon.

The Zags used a dominant second quarter to take a 20 point lead into halftime against Santa Clara, and ultimately coasted to an 88-60 win over the No. 3 seed Broncos.

Allie Turner led the way with 17 points on 4-5 shooting from three, while four other Zags finished in double figures: Lauren Whittaker (16 points, nine rebounds), Zee Aokuso (14 points, 2-2 from 3), Jaiden Haile (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Teryn Gardner (11 points, 3-5 from 3).

Gonzaga will meet Oregon State in the WCC championship game, a rematch of last year's agonizing semifinal loss that ended a four year streak of making the NCAA Tournament for Fortier and the Zags.

The game will take place at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, March 10 and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Coach Fortier spoke to the media after Gonzaga's 28 point win over Santa Clara, discussing the team's strong play as of late and focus on the task at hand ahead of a season-defining game on Tuesday:

On Gonzaga's team coming together

"I think the reason it took a while is everyone was pretty much new. Lauren [Whittaker] was the most experienced player here, where she spent a year and a half here and didn't step foot on the floor. Everyone else in our program is either a young player or a new player. So there's a lot of trying to figure things out early. A lot of teams are doing that, it's kind of the way of the world right now. But I think we've been able to pass on the cultural pieces, which at Gonzaga is sharing the load. We don't want anyone to carry a heavier burden than anyone else. We're always better when we're sharing the ball and playing together as a team."

On Jaiden Haile's performance

"I think she just kind of looked like she has all of conference season. In the beginning as a true freshman it took her a minute to get her legs under her, but she's so good on the glass. People try to put three on her, but she's become such a good finisher. She's just really strong, and she's put herself in a position to make an impact as a freshman. It's a big jump, the speed and size and strength, and Jaiden was such a strong player already. She's trained to go to the glass every time and it gives us such a gift every time as a team."

On the team's effort on Monday

"When we were talking about impact, it wasn't just the players who scored in double figures, though that was great. But we had everybody else who got rebounds and made passes. We track hustle plays and there were a lot of those made in this game."

On leaving the WCC

"I've grown up in this conference, some of my best coaching friends are in this conference, some of my favorite cities to play in are in this conference. I would just say that the gratitude that we have for our place in the WCC and what that's been like, as well as excitement for what's to come."

On the pressure of playing for a bid in the NCAA Tournament

"I think if you focus on those things than you're likely to not give your best effort, it's just a distraction. We do set some of those goals, but improve all the way to the end, and stay focused on the task at hand, [are] our number one goals. So while we want to be in the NCAA Tournament for sure, we really just want to be playing our best. If we play our best basketball, then we're going to be happy regardless of what the outcome is."

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