Dec. 26, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

Game No. 14 - UC IRVINE ANTEATERS
Sunday, December 27 - 2 p.m.
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) - Spokane, WA
Radio: AM 1050 The Key; Gametracker & Video Streaming: GoZags.com

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS (9-4, 0-0 West Coast)
F - 12 Vivian Frieson, 6-0, Sr., Seattle, WA
(10.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.7 bpg)
F - 30 Heather Bowman, 6-2, Sr., Spokane, WA
(15.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.2 spg)
G - 11 Janelle Bekkering, 6-0, Jr., Taber, Alberta, Canada
(4.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
G - 21 Courtney Vandersloot, 5-8, Jr., Kent, WA
(11.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 9.2 apg, 3.8 spg)
G - 34 Tiffanie Shives, 5-10, Sr., Lansing, MI
(6.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.6 apg)
HEAD COACH: Kelly Graves (University of New Mexico, 1988)
GONZAGA RECORD: 181-113 (10th year); CAREER RECORD: 247-139 (13th year)

UC IRVINE ANTEATERS (3-7, 0-0 Big West)
F - 11 Jazmyne White, 5-9, Fr., Ontario, CA
(5.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.5 spg)
C - 15 Kim Barnes, 6-4, Jr., Auckland, New Zeland
(8.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
G - 3 Jade Smith-Williams, 5-7, Jr., San Leandro, CA
(12.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.7 apg)
G - 5 Rebecca Maessen, 5-10, Sr., Nijmegen, Netherlands
(10.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.6 apg)
G - 25 Keyonna Johnson, 5-5, Sr., Pomona, CA
(6.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.5 apg)
HEAD COACH: Molly Goodenbour (Stanford University, 1993)
UCI RECORD: 10-30 (2nd year); CAREER RECORD: 62-41 (3rd year)

Game No. 15 - UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS
Wednesday, December 30 - 6 p.m.
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) - Spokane, WA
Radio: AM 1050 The Key; Gametracker & Video Streaming: GoZags.com

UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS (3-7, 0-0 Big West)
F - 14 Jordan Franey, 6-0, Sr., San Diego, CA
(9.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.1 apg)
F - 32 Margaret Johnson, 5-11, Jr., Lake Oswego, OR
(3.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.6 apg)
F - 44 Mekia Valentine, 6-4, Jr., Greensboro, NC
(13.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 4.4 bpg)
G - 10 Emilie Johnson, 5-6, So., Loomis, CA
(14.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.3 apg)
G - 21 Megan Williams, 5-10, Sr., Sacramento, CA
(9.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.6 apg)
HEAD COACH: Lindsay Gottlieb (Brown University, 1999)
UCSB RECORD: 25-16 (2nd year); CAREER RECORD: Same

ON TAP: Gonzaga University women's basketball returns from its Christmas break to host two Big West Conference members. The Bulldogs welcome UC Irvine to the McCarthey Athletic Center on Sunday, Dec. 27 for a 2 p.m. tip and then face off against UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 6 p.m.

ON THE RADIO: Gonzaga University will have all regular-season games broadcasted on the radio this season as Steve Myklebust returns for his sixth year of calling the action. Each game will be broadcast on either KGA 1050 The Key AM in Spokane with a pre-game show 30-minutes prior to tip and a 30-minute post-game show. Games will also be available on the internet at GoZags.com.

TWITTER: Yes, the Gonzaga University Bulldogs are on twitter! You can find us at www.twitter.com/GonzagaBulldogs. We provide inside scoop on all Bulldog athletics as well as in-game updates for all home and away women's basketball contests. CHECK US OUT! Do you want insight on Gonzaga University women's basketball straight from head coach Kelly Graves too? Now you can, check out Graves' twitter site at www.twitter.com/kgzag for everything Bulldog basketball and much, much more!

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BLOG: Check out the Gonzaga University women's basketball blog at: http://www.gozags.com/sports/w-baskbl/wbb-blog-0910.html. You can read up on what happens on the road with the Bulldogs, what a gameday is like for the players and coaches and what stories are out there on the Zags.

LIVE VIDEO COVERAGE: All home Gonzaga University women's basketball contests can be seen live on CBS College Sports all-access through GoZags.com. Check out the women's basketball schedule page for the link to the video broadcast. Gametracker is also available for all home games and can be accessed at GoZags.com.

TICKET INFORMATION: Single game tickets to Gonzaga University women's basketball can be purchased through TicketsWest at 325-SEAT (7328), TicketsWest.com, at any TicketsWest outlet, or at the McCarthey Athletic Center Ticket Office, Monday through Friday, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Women's Basketball Ticket Prices are as follows: $8-Reserved, $5-General Admission Adult; $3-General Admission Child (12 and under), or Senior (65 and over); Gonzaga Students, Faculty & Staff are free with a valid Gonzaga ID.

LAST OUTING: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team showed its never give up attitude Sunday at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic as it fought back from a 19-point halftime deficit to come within one possession of the lead in the final minute but ultimately fell 80-76 to No. 11/13 Texas A&M University. The Bulldogs, playing their second straight Big 12 Conference opponent and second straight ranked opponent, fell to 9-4 on the season, while the Aggies improve to 9-1 overall.

Being down 19 at half, and 20 with less than 10 minutes left in the contest could have made a team fold, but the Zags did not do that. With the score 70-50 at the 9:53 mark of the final 20 minutes, Gonzaga went to work, stringing together a 14-3 run to finally cut the Aggies lead to single digits at 73-64 with 3:02 remaining in the game. Senior Heather Bowman, named to the All-Tournament team, was the player who helped Gonzaga crack that barrier with a jumper.

A tip in by Texas A&M's Daniel Adams pushed the Aggies lead back to double-digits but the Zags had the momentum as senior Tiffanie Shives scored a back-door layup, got fouled and sank the free throw to put the score at 75-68 with 1:50 left. A foul by sophomore Katelan Redmon put Kelsey Assarian at the foul line - but she only hit one-of-two.

Then it was junior point guard Courtney Vandersloot's time as she drained a 3-pointer from the left corner to get GU within five with 1:06 remaining. Redmon got in on the action with a layup of her own with 52 ticks remaining to make it a one possession game at 76-73. A foul by Vandersloot put Tyra White at the line where she sank both, but Vandersloot ran the floor and skipped a pass to Shives who drained a 3-pointer of her own to get the Zags within two. White again was fouled but only hit one free throw to make it a 3-point game.

Gonzaga had a chance to cut the lead to one or tie it but turned it over in the key with 15 seconds left.

A&M sealed the four-point victory with two free throws by Damitria Buchanan.

SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS: UC Irvine closed out the 2008-09 season with a 7-23 overall mark and a 4-12 record in the Big West Conference. The Anteaters have begun the 2009-10 slate with a 3-7 record. UCI is coming off an 87-73 victory over Eastern Washington University. The Anteaters are led by Jade Smith-Williams who is averaging a team-best 12.7 points per game, along with 3.7 assists per contest.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST UC IRVINE: This will only be the second-ever meeting between the Bulldogs of Gonzaga University and Anteaters of UC Irvine. UC Irvine won the only match-up 84-65 during the 1983-84 season.

SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS: UC Santa Barbara made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in 13 seasons in 2008-09 after receiving the automatic berth by winning the Big West Tournament. The Gauchos fell to Stanford University in the first round of the Big Dance and ended their season with a 22-10 mark. UCSB also won the Big West regular-season title with a 15-1 mark. The Gauchos have had a uncharacteristic start to the 2009-10 season at 3-7. UC Santa Barbara, on a two-game losing skid like the Zags, will play at the University of Idaho before making its appearance at the McCarthey Athletic Center. UCSB is led by Emilie Johnson who is averaging 14.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SANTA BARBARA: UC Santa Barbara defeated Gonzaga University last season 59-47 on Dec. 7 in Santa Barbara. At the time, the loss was only the second of the season for Gonzaga. This will be the second meeting between the two schools.

GU VERSUS THE BIG WEST THIS SEASON: Gonzaga University has played one other Big West Conference school this season in Cal State Northridge. The Zags defeated the Matadors 80-47 on Dec. 6.

Non-Conference Breakdown:
GU vs. Big Sky Conference: 4-0 (defeated EWU, PSU, MSU, Montana); GU vs. Big West Conference: 1-0 (will play UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara); GU vs. Pacific-10 Conference: 2-1 (defeated USC and UW, fell to Stanford); GU vs. Big 12 Conference: 0-2 (lost to Baylor and Texas A&M); GU vs. Summitt League: 0-1 (lost to South Dakota State); GU vs. WAC: 1-0 (defeated Idaho); GU vs. Great West Conference: 1-0 (defeated North Dakota)

WHO WE LOST: Gonzaga University had arguably its best season in 2008-09 finishing with a 27-7 overall record and making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Don't fret, the Bulldogs only lost two seniors from that squad, and returns 12 letterwinners, including four starters. The only players lost to graduation were Jami (Bjorklund) Schaefer and Amanda Brown - and if you look down the bench Brown is still there - this year as a Director of Basketball Operations.

WHAT WE RETURN: We return a lot. As a team, Gonzaga University returns 95 percent of its scoring (2,404 of 2,534 points) and rebounding (1329 of 1398 rebounding) and 94 percent of its total field goals made (892 of 947 field goals).

WHO IS BACK: Nearly everybody is back from Gonzaga University's team that went 27-7 a season ago. Headlining the group is senior Heather Bowman and junior Courtney Vandersloot. Bowman finished 20th in the nation in scoring as a junior at 19.1 points per game, while Vandersloot, the reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Year, was third in the nation in assists per game at 7.5. The Zags also welcome back senior Vivian Frieson, an All-WCC performer in 2008-09, junior Janelle Bekkering, who played for the Canadian National Team this summer and garnered WCC All-Tournament honors as a sophomore, and sophomore Kelly Bowen, a member of the 2008-09 All-WCC freshman squad.

HITTING A MILESTONE: Gonzaga University junior guard Courtney Vandersloot become the 14th player in Bulldog school history to score 1,000-plus points in her career. The point guard went into the Zags contest at Portland State needing three points to hit the 1,000 point plateau. She scored her 1,000th point on a free throw at the 10:58 mark of the first half. Vandersloot now has 1,028 career points. The last Zag to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier was senior Heather Bowman. Bowman, who has amassed 1,872 total points so far in her career, broke 1,000 her sophomore season.

INCHING CLOSER TO ANOTHER LANDMARK: Gonzaga University junior guard Courtney Vandersloot, ranked first in the nation in assists per game, is 51 assists away from becoming the all-time assist leader in Bulldog school history. Vandersloot dished out 191 as a freshman, 239 as a sophomore and has handed out 120 so far this season for a total of 550. The current record holder is Shannon Mathews, who played for the Zags from 2002-05, with 600.

WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Heather Bowman was been named Co-West Coast Conference Player of the Week announced Dec. 7. Bowman shared the honor with Jontelle Smith of Saint Mary's College. It was the third time in four weeks a Bulldog had been tabbed WCC Player of the Week as junior Courtney Vandersloot and senior Vivian Frieson have also been honored this season. Bowman, a forward from Spokane, paced Gonzaga to a 3-0 week by averaging 19.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.0 block per contest, while shooting a blistering 67.9 percent from the field and 87.5 percent at the charity stripe.

2009-10 West Coast Conference Players of the Week
Dec. 21: Renahy Young, Loyola Marymount
Dec. 14: Laiken Dollente, Portland & Louella Tomlinson, Saint Mary's
Dec. 7: Heather Bowman, Gonzaga University & Jontelle Smith, Saint Mary's
Nov. 30: Miranda Aiym, Pepperdine & Alex Cowling, Loyola Marymount
Nov. 23: Vivian Frieson, Gonzaga University
Nov. 16: Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga University

A DIFFERENT LEADER: Gonzaga University women's basketball has played 13 games this season and has had a different leading scorer in eight of the 13 games, including the first six.

Breakdown of scoring leaders: 11/13 vs. South Dakota: Courtney Vandersloot, 20 pts; 11/16 at Idaho: Heather Bowman, 20 pts; 11/19 vs. USC: Vivian Frieson, 22 pts; 11/22 vs. Washington: Katelan Redmon & Courtney Vandersloot, 18 pts; 11/25 vs. North Dakota: Kayla Standish, 25 pts; 11/29 at No. 2 Stanford: Janelle Bekkering, 16 pts; 12/1 vs. Eastern Washington: Heather Bowman, 22 pts; 12/4 at Montana State: Heather Bowman, 24 pts; 12/6 vs. Cal State Northridge: Kelly Bowen & Heather Bowman, 13 pts; 12/11 vs. Montana: Heather Bowman, 24 pts; 12/13 at Portland State: Vivian Frieson, 22 pts; 12/19 vs. No. 5/6 Baylor: Katelan Redmon, 13 pts; 12/20 vs. No. 11/13 Texas A&M: Courtney Vandersloot, 16.

70-PLUS POINTS: Gonzaga University women's basketball squad is averaging 75.3 points per contest as a team this season. The Bulldogs had scored 70-plus points in each contest this season, until their contest at Portland State University Dec. 13. GU scored a then-season-low 64 points in its seven-point victory. The Zags highest scoring output of the season was 87, scored against both Eastern Washington University and Montana State University. Their lowest output is 49 scored in their 70-49 setback to No. 5/6 Baylor University.

JUST A MATTER OF TIME: Junior point guard Courtney Vandersloot seems destined to break Robin Allen's single-game assist record. Allen dished out 17 against California Lutheran on Jan. 7, 1987. No player has come close until Vandersloot, who has registered double-figure assists 14 times during her two-plus seasons with GU and five times this season, was one assist away of tying Allen's mark as the speedy point guard finished with 16 assists in the Zags 85-46 victory over the University of North Dakota. The 16 dimes are a career-high for Vandersloot, breaking her previous mark of 13 set against Montana State University on Nov. 21, 2008.

THE LEADER OF THE PACK: Junior point guard Courtney Vandersloot is currently leading the nation in assists per game at 9.2. Vandersloot, who finished her sophomore season ranked third in assists, is also fourth in steals per game at 3.8.

ONE ASSIST SHY OF A TRIPLE DOUBLE: Courtney Vandersloot began her junior season off with a bang, nearly collecting a triple double. Vandersloot led the Gonzaga University women's basketball team in its tough 75-71 overtime loss to South Dakota State University by scoring 20 points, making 11 steals and passing out nine assists. A pretty strong performance any way you look at it. The 11 steals was a career-high for the point guard, as her previous best was five, made on two different occasions.

DOUBLE-DIGIT STEALS: Gonzaga University women's basketball junior point guard Courtney Vandersloot broke the Bulldog career steals record when she collected 11 in their 75-71 overtime loss at South Dakota State Nov. 13. Vandersloot, who had four steals in the first half, five in the second and two in overtime, broke teammate Vivian Frieson's record of 10 set at the University of Washington on Nov. 16, 2008. Vandersloot leads the team with 50 takeaways this season.

A STANDOUT PERFORMANCE: Gonzaga University senior Vivian Frieson had arguably one of her best performances of her career in GU's 70-58 victory over the University of Souther California Nov. 19. Frieson finished with a team-high 22 points, four off tying her career high. She scored 17 points in the opening frame, including 10 of 14 during the Zags crucial run that put their lead at 27-15. Frieson also nine rebounds, five offensive, three assists, three blocks and one steal in 31 minutes of action. For her performance, Frieson was named Player of the Game.

ZAGS SECOND BEST IN THE WEST: Leftcoasthoops.com has Gonzaga University ranked as the second best team in the West, only behind Stanford University. Michelle Smith states "The Zags continue to impress. I voted for them in this week's AP poll. They need a little more love to bust into the Top 25. PG Courtney Vandersloot is the national leader in assists at 10.2 per game."

LOOKING TO TAKE CARE OF THE BALL: Junior point guard Courtney Vandersloot is looking to shake off her sloppy play from the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. Vandersloot, who came into the classic with just 40 turnovers in the previous 11 contests, coughed the ball up an uncharacteristic 17 times. The Kent, Wash., native mishandled the ball eight times in the Zags setback to then No. 5/6 Baylor University and then was credited with nine miscues against then-No. 11/13 Texas A&M.

BIG NUMBERS AGAINST FORMER TEAM: Gonzaga University sophomore transfer Katelan Redmon didn't show any jitters playing against her former team - the University of Washington. Redmon, who played and started her freshman year with the Huskies before transferring to Gonzaga, scored a game-tying high 18 points in the Zags 81-52 victory. Redmon, who scored 12 in the first half, finished the contest hitting 9-of-12 from the floor, and added three steals, three rebounds, two assists and one block in 29 minutes of action.

BULLDOGS FALL TO EIGHTH IN LATEST MID-MAJOR LIST: ESPN.com has Gonzaga University ranked eighth in their third mid-major rankings of the season, down from second in its previous list. Graham Hays states "the second half against Texas A&M was a positive Sunday night in Las Vegas (Monday morning for those watching online in less-friendly time zones), but there's no escaping that the Bulldogs lost four of their five big tests out of conference (beating USC but losing to South Dakota State, Stanford, Baylor and A&M). At this point, the Zags' postseason hopes ride on WCC play, which begins with a good test at home against Portland Jan. 9." Xavier University, 8-2 on the season, is listed as the top mid-major school.