Oct. 27—As exhibitions go, it was true to form.
Dig deeper and it's clear to see why there's excitement about two teams that play in McCarthey Athletic Center.
Nearly a month to the day of its first preseason practice, the Gonzaga women's basketball team showed it was ready to play Tuesday, cruising past the NCAA Division II Westmont College Warriors 84-43 before 4,490.
All 12 available Gonzaga players saw time in the first half, and a freshman made an emphatic debut.
Abby Lusk, the Zags' lone freshman from Pocatello, Idaho, made the first two shots of her career, both 3-pointers, and had 10 points on 4 of 4 shooting in five minutes.
Impressive considering she had been out a week after spraining an ankle. Coach Lisa Fortier said Lusk was a game-time decision.
"It's the little things that, like, Little Me dreamed about," Lusk said of her debut. "Getting your first college baskets. It's just a surreal moment. Being able to make two (back-to-back 3-pointers) is kind of fun too. Seeing the love and support from the bench and the girls on the court ... it was everything I envisioned it being."
Lusk finished with 12 points and four rebounds in 11 minutes.
"We wanted to get her under the lights and see how she did," Fortier said. "And she did very well. ... I think her parents would have come up if they would have known she was going to play. But we had no idea."
Junior forward Lauren Whittaker, who was the West Coast Conference Player and Freshman of the Year last season, scored Gonzaga's first basket. Whittaker ate up the smaller Warriors inside in the opening 20 minutes with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. She finished with a game-high 24 points, six rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes.
Four of five starters from a year ago started Tuesday and Mead High graduate and junior guard Teryn Gardner stepped into the lineup, replacing fifth-year guard Ines Bettencourt.
The lone Zag not to play was sophomore forward Jaiden Haile, who was the WCC's Sixth Woman of the Year last season. She was wearing a boot from an overuse injury. She started shooting in light practice last week.
Every Gonzaga player logged at least 10 minutes.
Another bright spot was the play of senior guard Zeryhia Aokuso. She scored from all areas, finishing with 14 points in 18 minutes.
Gonzaga asserted authority early in the third quarter, using a 7-0 spurt to set the tone. It was the most pleasing stretch for Fortier.
"The thing I liked the most was how we came out in the third," Fortier said. "Hopefully our team is going to be a team that gets leads and then play from the front versus always coming from behind. We talked at halftime about what our energy was going to look like in the third. I thought it was really good energy, probably our best quarter."
It was the second game in two days for Westmont, from Santa Barbara, California. The Warriors fell 71-46 at Washington State on Sunday.
Gonzaga opens the season with three straight home games, beginning Monday when North Dakota State visits. The Bison are picked to win the Summit League championship.
NDSU is similar to Gonzaga. The Bison return four of five starters including a Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Gonzaga opened the season at NDSU last year, winning 81-66.
"North Dakota State is really good," Fortier said. "So it's a tough opener. Hopefully we'll get the best work we can in the next few days."
