Jan. 23, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

Game No. 20 - LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY LIONS
Saturday, January 23 - 2 p.m.
Gersten Pavilion (4,156) - Los Angeles, CA
Radio: AM 1050 The Key; Gametracker & Video Streaming: GoZags.com

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS (15-4, 4-0 West Coast)
F - 12 Vivian Frieson, 6-0, Sr., Seattle, WA
(12.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.8 apg - WCC: 13.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.0 apg)
F - 30 Heather Bowman, 6-2, Sr., Spokane, WA
(16.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.2 spg - WCC: 21.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.5 spg)
G - 11 Janelle Bekkering, 6-0, Jr., Taber, Alberta, Canada
(4.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.1 spg - WCC: 6.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.5 apg)
G - 21 Courtney Vandersloot, 5-8, Jr., Kent, WA
(13.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 9.0 apg, 4.0 spg - WCC: 19.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 7.8 apg, 4.8 spg)
G - 34 Tiffanie Shives, 5-10, Sr., Lansing, MI
(6.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.9 apg - WCC: 3.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.0 apg)
HEAD COACH: Kelly Graves (University of New Mexico, 1988)
GONZAGA RECORD: 187-113 (10th year); CAREER RECORD: 253-139 (13th year)

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY LIONS (9-9, 2-2 West Coast)
F - 14 Melanie Ysaguirre, 6-0, Jr., West Covina, CA
(4.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.9 spg - WCC: 5.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.0 spg)
G - 3 Alex Cowling, 5-11, So., Benicia, CA
(15.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.1 apg - WCC: 20.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G - 10 Renahy Young, 5-8, Jr., Torrance, CA
(14.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.8 apg - WCC: 15.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.3 apg)
G - 12 Lisa Helmers, 5-10, Sr., Tempe, AZ
(4.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.6 apg - WCC: 2.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.0 apg)
G - 33 Kavita Goss, 5-9, Sr., Newbury Park, CA
(5.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 apg - WCC: 7.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 apg)
HEAD COACH: Julie Wilhoit (Marian, 1985)
LMU RECORD: 209-213 (15th year); CAREER RECORD: 330-283 (22nd year)

ON TAP: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team continues its first West Coast Conference roadtrip of the season with a game at Loyola Marymount University on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs enter the contest with a 15-4 overall mark and 4-0 record in conference while the Lions are 9-9 overall and 2-2 in the WCC.

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: Gonzaga University women's basketball put together another outstanding outing as it defeated Pepperdine University 107-64 on Thursday evening at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. The 107 points scored by Gonzaga was the most scored by an opponent against Pepperdine at Firestone. The previous highest scoring output by the visiting team was 105 by USC on Nov. 21, 1982.

The victory put the Bulldogs in sole possession of first place in the West Coast Conference at 4-0 and are now 15-4 overall. The Waves, who lost their first game in conference, fell to 3-1 in the WCC and are now 12-6 overall.

Gonzaga played nearly a perfect first half against Pepperdine. The Zags shot a blistering 58.5 percent (24-41) from the field and hit 6-of-11 free throws to go into the locker room up 55-28; the 55 points being the highest scoring output in a half this year by the Bulldogs. Gonzaga was also strong on the boards, outrebounding Pepperdine 24-9, including nine offensive boards, which turned into 16 second chance points.

The Zags had three players finish the first half in double-digit points, including senior Heather Bowman who poured in 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and a perfect 2-of-2 at the charity stripe. Junior point guard Courtney Vandersloot added 11 points and had a hand in four other buckets while sophomore Kelly Bowen came off the bench and exploded for 10 points.

It was Bowman and Bowen who helped the Zags capture an early double-digit lead. With Gonzaga holding a slight 9-6 advantage at 17:37, Bowman and Bowen combined for 10 of its next 12 points to take a lopsided 21-9 lead at 12:33. Bowman went to work sinking two free throws and followed them up with a layup while Bowen closed off the 12-3 run with six-straight points.
Pepperdine did cut Gonzaga's lead to 10 at 25-15 but was never able to get it into single digits as the Zags rattled off a 22-8 outburst to take a commanding 47-23 edge with 2:45 left before half.

It was no looking back in the second half as the Bulldogs gained a 40-point advantage just five minutes into the final 20 outscoring the Waves 20-7 to put the score at 75-35.

The Bulldogs largest lead of the game was 49; ironically it came when Gonzaga broke the 100-point barrier on a Kayla Standish jumper at the 4:26 mark to make it 101-52.

All 14 Zags saw the floor with 10 scoring at least two points.

GU finished the game shooting blistering 61.3 percent (46-75) from the field. It also held the 46-29 rebounding advantage and scored 34 points off of Pepperdine's 24 turnovers.

Gonzaga had five players finish in double-figures, including two who scored 20-plus. Bowman led the way with 26 points and Vandersloot added 20.

Also on the night, Vandersloot become the Zags all-time assist leader as she dished out nine to increase her career total to 601, taking over Shannon Mathews who had 600 from 2002-05.

SCOUTING THE LIONS: Loyola Marymount University finished 2008-09 18-12 overall, 7-7 in the West Coast Conference. LMU faced Gonzaga University in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament a year ago, defeating the fourth-seeded Lions 74-63. LMU, picked to finish second in the WCC preseason coaches poll, is currently 9-9 overall and 2-2 in West Coast Conference action. The Lions are led by Alex Cowling, the 2009 WCC Newcomer of the Year, with 15.6 points per game.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: Gonzaga University won both its regular season games against the Lions. The Bulldogs won 83-58 at the McCarthey Athletic Center and earned an 81-78 come-from-behind victory in Los Angeles, along with the 74-63 victory in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament. The Bulldogs hold the 27-21 edge in the all-time series and have won eight of the last nine meetings.

LOOKING FOR NUMBER SIX: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team is looking to capture its sixth-straight West Coast Conference regular-season championship and third WCC Tournament title in four years. The Bulldogs, who are 63-7 over the past five WCC seasons, are coming off a 12-2 WCC campaign in 2008-09.

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 98 percent of its scoring from West Coast Conference action a year ago (1,053 of 1,071 points) and field goals made (401 of 409 field goals made) and 96 percent of its rebounding (544 of 566 rebounding).

WHO IS BACK: Nearly everybody is back from Gonzaga University's team that went 27-7 a season ago. Leading 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.

BOWMAN THE NEW WCC SCORING LEADER: It was a historic game for the Gonzaga University women's basketball team. Not only did the Bulldogs defeat visiting University of San Diego 75-46, but senior Heather Bowman became the new all-time leading scorer in West Coast Conference history, surpassing the University of Portland's Martha Sheldon's mark of 1,953 points scored from 1987-92. Bowman went into the contest needing 19 points to top Sheldon and finished with 21 to increase her WCC leading total to 1,956 career points. Bowman claimed the title at the 9:49 mark of the second half when she received a pass from sophomore Katelan Redmon and scored a fast break layup. One minute later she added to her total with her final bucket of the game. The Bulldog crowd of 3,018 gave her a loud standing ovation at the under eight minute media timeout. Bowman has now scored 1,977 career points.

GU SCORING MARK IN SIGHT: Heather Bowman, who just became the West Coast Conference all-time leading scorer, is now just 30 points away from becoming the Gonzaga University all-time leading scorer. Tammy Tibbles currently holds the Zag scoring record with 2,011 points (1984-88).

ANOTHER RECORD SHATTERED: Gonzaga University junior guard Courtney Vandersloot, ranked first in the nation in assists per game at 9.0, became the all-time assist leader in Bulldog school history when she dished out nine assists in the Zags 107-64 victory at Pepperdine University, Jan. 21. Vandersloot dished out 191 as a freshman, 239 as a sophomore and has handed out 171 so far this season for a total of 601. The previous record holder was 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 the 14-year old Bulldog career steal record. Vandersloot has 207 total steals in her two and a half years with the Zags and needs just 29 more to become the all-time leader and break Amy Simpson's record of 235 accumulated from 1982-86.

HITTING A MILESTONE: Gonzaga University junior guard Courtney Vandersloot became 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 1,115 career points. The last Zag to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier was senior Heather Bowman. Bowman, who has amassed 1,935 total points so far in her career, broke 1,000 her sophomore season.

SIX HUNDRED REBOUND CLUB: Senior Vivian Frieson joined an exclusive group of Gonzaga University women's basketball players as she become one of 12 players to have grabbed 600 rebounds in their careers. Frieson had 598 career rebounds going into the Zags contest at Pepperdine University. She finished with six and how has 604 total rebounds. The last player to become part of this group was senior Heather Bowman, who has 815 on her career.