Ladies First: One Student’s Love for Gonzaga Women’s Basketball

For the past two years, the Princeton Review named Gonzaga the No. 1 university where “Students Love Their School Teams.” No one embodies that spirit more than Sally Post, a 21-year-old junior from Piedmont, California, studying sport management and working toward her elementary education certificate.

Sally’s connection to Gonzaga began when she first visited campus her junior year of high school, immediately feeling at home. She liked the people and professors, loved what the School of Education had to offer, and was interested in a school where people were passionate about sports.

Over the 2023-2024 school year, Sally attended every single women's basketball home game, drawn in by the atmosphere. The student section was comfortable and welcoming, the crowd supportive of the team, and plenty of young girls aspiring to be future basketball players were in attendance. The games felt personal, with players coming up to say “hi” before the tip-off, and having genuine appreciation for the fans. Sally loves how connected she feels to the women’s team, making every game a memorable experience.

Her support goes beyond the team winning.

Her dedication to attending women’s games was rooted in a school assignment where she researched the disparity between media coverage of men’s and women’s sports. She found that streaming platforms often prioritize mediocre men’s basketball games rather than impressive women’s games. At Gonzaga, Sally explains that the women’s student section is only full when it’s a “super big” game, in contrast to the men who always have a huge crowd. She wants to change that and encourage others to experience the excitement of a women’s game.

Sally’s advice to other Zags is to “just go to at least one game and see what it’s like. Women’s games are just as adrenaline-producing as men’s games – it's emotional, you’re super happy, then you’re scared out of your mind, you’re sad, and then you’re happy again. The older folks in the stands are screaming and jumping and dancing and having a great time.”

The coaching staff also appreciates her presence and notices her impact on the team.

Her dedication shows no signs of slowing down.

"My parents thought it was going to be a phase,” Sally says, but she has committed to attending all the women’s games this season as well. With Washington State and Oregon State in the West Coast Conference this season, Sally might even find herself making some extra trips to Pullman and Corvallis to support the team on the road!