Games 702-704: Saturday tripleheader

704 - Gonzaga at San Diego
February 16 at Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, CA
ESPN

703 - Stephen F. Austin women at Northwestern State
February 16 at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, LA
espn3

Stephen F. Austin's top three players were excellent and the Lumberjacks remained unbeaten in Southland Conference play with an 87-67 win.

Stephanie Visscher scored 21 points and missed just one of her 10 field goal attempts, Imani Johnson also scored 21 and Chanell Hayes added 18 points as the visitors turned a five-point cushion late in the third into a comfortable win.

Stephen F. Austin, which hit 62% of its field goal attempts and had 26 assists on 33 made baskets, won its 13th consecutive game (it hasn't lost since getting crushed at New Mexico, December 20) and moved to 12-0 in league play.

702 - Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh
February 16 at Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA
NBC Sports Washington

That's win No. 20 for Tech, which got 29 points from Kerry Blackshear Jr. to hang on, 70-64.

This will be the fourth consecutive season the Hokies have won at least 20 games, just the second time in school history that has occurred. Led by future NBA players Dell Curry and Perry Young, the program won at least 20 in five consecutive seasons from 1981-1986.



Other games watched:

Northwestern at Nebraska
Arizona State at Utah

Game 561 - (6) San Diego women vs. (1) Gonzaga

West Coast championship
March 6 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV
ESPN2

The best player in the West Coast Conference stepped up at the perfect time for Gonzaga.

League player of the year Jill Barta scored 32 points - 28 of which came after the opening quarter - on 10-of-19 shooting and Zykera Rice added 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 performance from the field in a 79-71 win.

San Diego, which did a phenomenal job getting to the final as a No. 6 seed, hit seven of its 11 field goal attempts in the first quarter to grab a 25-20 lead. Gonzaga used a 13-0 run midway through the second quarter to take the lead for good and ending up shooting 51% from the field.

It doesn't matter now, but I wonder if the Bulldogs, now 27-5, would've received an at-large bid with a loss. ESPN's Charlie Creme has Gonzaga as a No. 12 seed in the Lexington region coming into the day. Not sure that changes much after this one.

San Diego (17-15) got 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 11 rebounds from Maya Hood (she's the school's all-time leading rebounder) and 20 points out of Sydney Williams.

Game 509 - San Diego at Gonzaga

February 1 at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, WA
ROOT Sports

Solid night of nonsense from the broadcast team in this 69-59 Gonzaga win:

"picking up loose change"
"50-50 balls" (2)
"picking their poison"
"put the ball on the deck"
"physicality" (2)
"hang their hat on the defensive end"
"high-drama basketball"
"completely changed the chemistry and the culture"

Game 427 - San Diego at Grand Canyon

November 25 at GCU Arena in Phoenix, AZ
espn3.com

Plenty of great nonsense and basketball phrases from the energetic broadcast team of Barry Buetel and Scott Williams from this one, a 72-62 win for San Diego.

"holiday hangover"/"post-turkey hangover"
"hostile environment"
"euro step" (2)
"albatross-like wingspan"

"he had a mouse down low and put him in a torture chamber"
"I like the way this kid has brought his hard hat and his lunch pail"

"Josh Braun doing Josh Braun things"
"parting of the red sea"
"stat sheet stuffer"
"house of havoc" (2)
"the noise meter"
"from the land of three"
"he's got hall of fame hands"
"Johnny on the spot"
"tough sledding"
"a bunny hop"
"playing with a ton of moxie"