Dec. 29, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

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

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS (10-4, 0-0 West Coast)
F - 12 Vivian Frieson, 6-0, Sr., Seattle, WA
(11.9 ppg, 6.3 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
(4.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.0 apg)
G - 21 Courtney Vandersloot, 5-8, Jr., Kent, WA
(11.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 9.1 apg, 3.9 spg)
G - 34 Tiffanie Shives, 5-10, Sr., Lansing, MI
(6.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.8 apg)
HEAD COACH: Kelly Graves (University of New Mexico, 1988)
GONZAGA RECORD: 182-113 (10th year); CAREER RECORD: 248-139 (13th year)

UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS (3-8, 0-0 Big West)
F - 14 Jordan Franey, 6-0, Sr., San Diego, CA
(9.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.0 apg)
F - 32 Margaret Johnson, 5-11, Jr., Lake Oswego, OR
(3.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 apg)
F - 44 Mekia Valentine, 6-4, Jr., Greensboro, NC
(13.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4.4 bpg)
G - 10 Emilie Johnson, 5-6, So., Loomis, CA
(14.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.4 apg)
G - 21 Megan Williams, 5-10, Sr., Sacramento, CA
(9.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.6 apg)
HEAD COACH: Lindsay Gottlieb (Brown University, 1999)
UCSB RECORD: 25-17 (2nd year); CAREER RECORD: Same

ON TAP: Gonzaga University women's basketball plays its final non-conference game and its final game of the year 2009 when it welcomes UC Santa Barbara to the McCarthey Athletic Center Wednesday. Bulldogs vs. Gauchos matchup will tip 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.

GAME DAY PROMOTIONS FOR UC SANTA BARBARA - Mentor Night, Dad, Daughter Date Night, & Community Kids Night: Mentor Night at the McCarthey Athletic Center is made possible through a partnership with local mentoring programs in and around Spokane. Local mentors are encouraged to bring their mentees for an evening of great entertainment, engaging atmosphere, and best of all, there will be special concession deals just for mentors and their mentees!

Dads and daughters are also encouraged to come out on a date together to Gonzaga basketball. All daughters (12 and under) will receive FREE ADMISSION when Dad buys a ticket! You'll also be able to make your own "Go Zags" signs and stop by any concession stand for the Date Night Deal! Spike will also be available for photo opportunities so be sure to bring your camera!

LAST OUTING: Five players scored in double-figures to pace the Gonzaga University women's basketball team to a lopsided 96-57 victory over UC Irvine at the McCarthey Athletic Center Sunday in front of a crowd of 2,733. Senior Vivian Frieson scored 25 points, one shy of tying her career high, and brought down 11 boards, for her second double-double of the season, to help improve the Bulldogs record to 10-4 on the season.

Gonzaga shot a sizzling 55.3 percent (42-of-76) from the field, tying its second best shooting performance of the season, including an impressive 67.6 percent (25-of-37) in the second half. The Bulldogs were also 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from the charity stripe. The Zags held the Anteaters to just 36.5 percent (23-of-63) accuracy from the floor and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) at the free throw line.

Besides Frieson, who also had four assists, two blocks and two steals in 28 minutes of action, GU was led by Bowman who added 15 points, Redmon who chipped in 11 for her 13th straight double-figure contest, and Vandersloot and sophomore Kayla Standish who each had 10 points. Standish registered her first career double-double as she also grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.

The Zags held the 49-35 edge in rebounding, dished out 21 assists, only turned the ball over 15 times to the Anteaters 25 miscues and had the 17-7 advantage in steals.

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 3-8. UC Santa Barbara, on a three-game losing skid, just fell to the University of Idaho 47-40. UCSB is led by Emilie Johnson who is averaging 14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.4 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 two other Big West Conference schools this season in Cal State Northridge and UC Irvine. The Zags defeated the Matadors 80-47 on Dec. 6 and defeated the Anteaters 96-57 in their last contest Dec. 27.

Non-Conference Breakdown:
GU vs. Big Sky Conference: 4-0 (defeated EWU, PSU, MSU, Montana); GU vs. Big West Conference: 2-0 (will play 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 University 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 1,038 career points. The last Zag to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier was senior Heather Bowman. Bowman, who has amassed 1,887 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 at 9.2, is 43 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 128 so far this season for a total of 558. The current record holder is Shannon Mathews, who played for the Zags from 2002-05, with 600.

ANOTHER RECORD ON THE HORIZON: Gonzaga University guard Courtney Vandersloot is close to breaking a 14-year Bulldogs career record. Vandersloot has 185 total steals in her two and a half years with the Zags and needs just 51 more to become the all-time leader and break Amy Simpson's record of 235 accumulated from 1982-86.

BOWMAN NEARS SCORING RECORD: Senior Heather Bowman, of the Gonzaga University women's basketall team, is 67 points away from becoming the West Coast Conference all-time leading scorer. Martha Sheldon, of the University of Portland, is currently the WCC all-time leading scorer at 1,953 - scored during her four years with the Pilots from 1987-92. Bowman, who has scored 1887 total points, is also 125 points away from becoming the GU all-time leading scorer. Tammy Tibbles currently holds the Zag scoring record with 2,011 points (1984-88).

A DIFFERENT LEADER: Gonzaga University women's basketball has played 14 games this season and has had a different leading scorer in eight of the 14 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; 12/27 vs. UC Irvine: Vivian Frieson, 25 pts.

FOUR AWAY FROM 100: Gonzaga University women's basketball was four points away from scoring 100 points against UC Irvine Dec. 27. The Bulldogs defeated the Anteaters 96-57. The 96 points was the highest scoring output of the season for GU and the most points scored in 24 contests - dating back to Jan. 31 when it defeated the University of San Diego 109-73.

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 96-57 victory over the UC Irvine Dec. 27. Frieson finished with a season-high 25 points, one off tying her career high. She scored 17 points in the opening frame and finished the contest sinking 10-of-14 from the field and 5-of-7 fron the charity stripe. Frieson also 11 rebounds to register her second double-double of the season. She also dished out four assists, blocked two shots and had two steals in 28 minutes of action.

FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Sophomore Kayla Standish registered her first career double-double in Gonzaga University's 96-57 victory over UC Irvine Dec. 27. Standish scored 10 points and grabbed 11 boards, five offensive, all in 15 minutes of action. The 11 boards was also a career-high and the first time she has tallied double-figure rebounds.