San Francisco Dons (13-8, 5-3 WCC) at Gonzaga Bulldogs (20-1, 8-0 WCC)

Spokane, Washington; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Ryan Beasley and San Francisco visit Graham Ike and No. 8 Gonzaga in WCC play.

The Bulldogs are 9-0 on their home court. Gonzaga averages 10.3 turnovers per game and is 17-1 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents.

The Dons have gone 5-3 against WCC opponents. San Francisco ranks seventh in the WCC shooting 35.2% from 3-point range.

Gonzaga’s average of 7.1 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.4 more made shots on average than the 6.7 per game San Francisco gives up. San Francisco has shot at a 44.5% rate from the field this season, 5.6 percentage points above the 38.9% shooting opponents of Gonzaga have averaged.

The Bulldogs and Dons match up Saturday for the first time in WCC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Steele Venters is shooting 38.8% from beyond the arc with 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, while averaging six points. Ike is shooting 60.4% and averaging 15.2 points over the past 10 games.

Beasley averages 1.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Dons, scoring 14.2 points while shooting 31.1% from beyond the arc. David Fuchs is shooting 50.6% and averaging 13.2 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 10-0, averaging 87.6 points, 38.0 rebounds, 17.9 assists, 9.4 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 51.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.2 points per game.

Dons: 7-3, averaging 77.0 points, 35.3 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 5.2 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.2 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Centre is set to close for good on Monday, nearly 20 years after its highly anticipated opening.

Inside the cavernous downtown mall, most shops are shuttered, escalators stand empty and preparations are underway for its final day.

“Can’t wait until it opens up,” customers said on opening day in September 2006. “Let us get in there.”

From bustling destination to near-empty halls

What we know:

The scene is a stark contrast to two decades ago, when crowds lined Market Street to shop at what was then known as the Westfield Centre. At the time, the mall was projected to attract 25 million visitors a year.

Today, foot traffic is sparse. Of the mall’s roughly 1.5 million square feet of retail space, only one store, an Ecco shoe shop, appears to remain open.

Visitors new to San Francisco, and unfamiliar with the mall’s decline, said they were surprised by how empty it felt.

“It was pretty lame going in there, I’m not going to lie,” said Nathan Boria. “I saw all these locations on the map, and I kind of got emotional thinking, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of places in here.’ But when I go in there, it’s all dead. No restaurants, no stores. It was all just empty.”

Memories of what once was

Local perspective:

Others recalled the mall as a gathering place, particularly for teenagers drawn to its movie theaters and food court.

“Things just started disappearing,” said Josue Reyes. “At this point, everything is gone. It’s going to be missed for sure.”

Visitors said it was difficult to reconcile the empty corridors with their memories of a bustling shopping center.

“I remember when this side opened,” said Heather Snow. “I haven’t been here in a long time, and I was just like, ‘Well, it’s closing — let’s just see.’ It’s pretty weird to walk through an empty mall.”

What comes next

Big picture view:

What will replace the mid-Market monument remains unclear.

Mayor Daniel Lurie said the city is working to create conditions for the space’s future redevelopment.

“There are people who want to move into that incredible space,” Lurie said. “I’m not concerned about big ideas, great ideas coming in. They’re happening. I just have to continue to create the conditions for that mall to succeed.”

A gradual shutdown

The closure has unfolded in stages. There are no partitions separating the east and west sides of the mall, and doors remain open where Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom once operated. BART entrances connected to the mall were recently closed, leaving street-level doors as the only remaining points of entry.

Thousands are expected at this year’s Walk for Life West Coast, which will be held in the streets of downtown San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 24. The event is in its 22nd year and previously has drawn crowds as large as 50,000.

Major features of the event include a rally at the City’s Civic Center Plaza beginning at 12:30 p.m. followed by a 1.8-mile walk to Embarcadero Plaza beginning at 1:30 p.m. 

Rally speakers include filmmaker and podcaster Jason Jones, Spokane pregnancy center director Glendie Loranger, pro-life advocate and convert to the pro-life cause Elizabeth Barrett, and Baptist pastor Clenard Childress. 

“This is an effort to bequeath to our children a civilization of love and life,” said Jones, who is attending the walk for the second time and his first as a speaker.

Jones’ motivation to join the pro-life movement, he explained, dates back to his “irreligious” teen years when, at age 16, he learned he had impregnated his girlfriend. 

He joined the U.S. Army upon turning 17 as a way to support his child, only to learn that his girlfriend, due to pressure from her father, had had a late-term abortion. He recalled: “It was insane. Even as an uneducated high-school dropout, I could see that abortion was unspeakably evil.”

Jones began his pro-life activism while stationed in Hawaii, later becoming a prominent pro-life advocate in the media and participating in the production of pro-life films such as Bella in 2006. His chief activities today include serving as president of The Vulnerable People Project, through which he defends “the most vulnerable across the globe, from the unborn to persecuted minorities in war zones.”

Jones said he is excited about the progress the pro-life movement has made in recent years, particularly after the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs decision that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision striking down the nation’s anti-abortion laws. 

“The abortion establishment is a billion-dollar industry fighting for its life. They’re at the end of their rope,” he said. “The pro-life movement, conversely, is vibrant, lively, spirited, and diverse.”

He lamented that the pro-life movement “lacks the political power it should have” but noted that much of the efforts of pro-lifers are directed at operating pro-life pregnancy centers at the local level. Their work, he said, is “the biggest untold story in American history.”

Today, Jones is a Catholic convert living in Texas and is married with seven children. Of his faith, he remarked: “I’m so glad I’m Catholic. Whether it be dehumanizing ideologies that lead to abortion or other evils, our faith inoculates us and enables us to see the truth.”

Catholic Schools and Parishes

Participating in the walk annually are groups from Catholic schools and parishes. Among the most prominent participants are students from Thomas Aquinas College (TAC) in Santa Paula, California, which this year will turn out over 250 walkers. These include senior Patrick Daly, a regular walk participant during his college years. 

“It’s really cool to see the number of people who make the trip to San Francisco from long distances, especially high school students,” Daly said. “The younger generation tends to lead the walk, which gives it a lot of energy.”

The Walk for Life West Coast in downtown San Francisco is in its 22nd year and has drawn crowds as large as 50,000 in past years. | | Francisco Valdez

Daly also said each time he walks the experience is “eye-opening” and “rekindles the fire against abortion.”

He noted that unlike many political demonstrations that can be loud, vulgar and violent, in contrast the West Coast Walk for Life is peaceful and joyful, with participants singing the Salve Regina or praying the Rosary. 

“It’s a beautiful experience. We’re not there to fight or to yell. We humbly walk and ask God to intervene on behalf of our nation, that we develop a greater respect for human life,” he said.

Daly acknowledged that the political culture of San Francisco is at odds with the pro-life beliefs of Catholics, but added: “We’re bringing a Christian influence on an evil city. It is a special walk in a broken place.”

TAC sophomore Basil Gutch is another repeat walker, annually participating because “it is a way to share my beliefs in a community setting.”

“Abortion is a modern-day holocaust. It hits close to home when I realize that a third of my generation has died by abortion. Also, the abortion industry is corrupt, selling dead fetuses for experimentation. When we walk, we wrestle with its grave evil and pray for it to end,” he said.

Gutch noted that in last year’s walk residents approached his group seeking to dialogue about abortion — both from curiosity and trying to convert his group to a pro-choice view. He continued: “While there were people who were yelling pro-choice slogans at us as we walked by, these conversations were surprisingly civil.”

Other Activities

Other activities for the Walk for Life West Coast include a Silent No More Awareness Campaign led by Georgette Forney and Frank Pavone of Priests for Life from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The event precedes the rally and features testimonies of individuals harmed by abortion. There will also be an Info Faire on the Civic Center Plaza, in which pro-life groups share information about their activities.

Additionally, there will be a series of events on the Friday before the walk and the day of the walk. Friday events include a Walk for Life prayer vigil at St. Dominic’s Church at 5 p.m. followed by Mass, a Holy Hour, and confessions, and adoration for life at Sts. Peter and Paul Church from 8 to 10 p.m. 

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has attended previous Walk for Life events. This Saturday he will preside at a Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral at 9:30 a.m. | Dennis Callahan

Saturday events include a Walk for Life Mass with San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone at St. Mary’s Cathedral at 9:30 a.m. and a Traditional Latin Mass at the Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi at 5 p.m. Star of the Sea Parish will host a barbecue and all-night adoration for life beginning at 5 p.m. For a complete list of activities, visit the event website at WalkforLifeWC.com.

Organizers request that participants register for free on the website. The site includes helpful information on such topics as parking, public transportation, and accommodations, as well as a code of conduct for the walk.

Watch on EWTN.