Bulldogs Host No. 19/20 Ohio State Monday
12/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| GAME 12: NO. 19/20 OHIO STATE AT GONZAGA | ||
DATE: Monday, December 17, 2012 | ||
| THE LAST MEETING: First-ever meeting | ||
GONZAGA BULLDOGS | 19/20 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES | |
GONZAGA UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS (9-2) NO. 19/20 OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BUCKEYES (6-2) ZAGS HOST NO. 19/20 OHIO STATE MONDAY: Gonzaga University women's basketball faces its third ranked opponent of the non-conference season Monday when it battles No. 19/20 Ohio State University at 6 p.m. in the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Buckeyes currently hold a 6-2 record and will play at Washington State University Saturday prior to their game against the Zags. The Bulldogs enter into their contest with Ohio State at 9-2 and have had an eight-day break between contests. ABOUT THE GONZAGA BULLDOGS: Gonzaga University women's basketball is coming off another successful campaign where it earned its fourth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet Sixteen for the third-consecutive season. The Bulldogs return nine letterwinners from its 28-6, 14-2 WCC squad in 2011-12, including two starters. Headlining the group of Bulldogs returnees are senior guard Taelor Karr and junior guard Haiden Palmer, who each were named to this year's West Coast Conference Preseason All-Conference team. Karr, the nation's reigning assist-to-turnover leader, averaged 7.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds as a junior in 2010-11. Palmer was named the 2012 WCC Co-Newcomer of the Year after averaging 12.4 points, 2.3 steals, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. ABOUT THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES: The Ohio State University women's basketball team is currently ranked No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll and No. 20 in the Associated Press poll. The Buckeyes hold a 6-2 record and have won two-straight. OSU's two losses of the season were to then-No. 7 Notre Dame 57-51 to open the 2012-13 campaign and a 57-55 setback to the University of North Carolina, ranked No. 22 at the time. Gonzaga University and Ohio State have played one common opponent this year: Winthrop. The Buckeyes defeated the Eagles 78-53, while the Bulldogs earned an 80-66 win. OSU has three players averaging double-figure points: Tayler Hill (19.8 ppg), Amber Stokes (11.1 ppg) and Ashley Adams (10.1 ppg). Ohio State is coached by the legendary coach Jim Foster in his 11th year at the helm. WHAT WE RETURN: Gonzaga University's women's basketball team returns 51.8 percent of its scoring from the 2011-12 season and 44.0 percent of its rebounding. The Bulldogs top returning scorer is junior Haiden Palmer, who was third on the squad last year averaging 12.4. Senior Taelor Karr and junior Jazmine Redmon are the only other two players to average more than 20 minutes a game. Karr, who started all but five games, averaged 28.6 minutes per contests and averaged 7.5 points. Redmon played in all 34 games with seven starts, averaged 20.9 minutes, 4.7 points 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. A YOUNG SQUAD: Gonzaga University women's basketball team has a lot of depth, holding 15 players on the squad, but overall is young. The Bulldogs have 10 underclassman on their roster, which includes four freshmen, two returning redshirts and four sophomores. Besides the returning guard trio of Haiden Palmer, Taelor Karr and Jazmine Redmon, the six other returners averaged 7.4 minutes per game in 2011-12. REDMON NAMED TO HARDWOOD TOURNAMENT OF HOPE ALL-TOURNAMENT: Junior guard Jazmine Redmon helped Gonzaga to a third place finish at the Hardwood Tournament of Hope in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Over three games, Redmon averaged 11.3 points, 5.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, while only turning the ball over a total of three times. Redmon shot 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from the field, including a stellar 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from beyond the 3-point arc and sank 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. For her efforts, Redmon was named to the Hardwood Tournament of Hope All-Tournament Team. McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER: Since the McCarthey Athletic Center opened in 2004, the Gonzaga University women's basketball team has gone 111-13 overall. The Bulldogs went undefeated at 14-0 in the McCarthey Athletic Center during the 2004-05 campaign, the first season it was open, and went 15-0 during the 2009-10 season. Four of the 13 losses have been to Pacific-12 Conference members (Stanford (twice), Arizona State and USC) and three to West Coast Conference schools. LOW SCORING: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team is currently averaging 64.3 points per game and has scored in the forties twice this season. The Bulldogs, who averaged 75.1 points per game a season ago and led the nation in scoring in 2010-11 at 85.3, have not been held to forty points in a game twice in a season since the 2006-07 campaign. That season Gonzaga lost at Purdue University 69-44 and to Middle Tennessee State University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament - the Bulldogs first-ever NCAA Tournament game - 85-46. TOUGH SHOOTING DAY: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team shot a dismal 25.4 percent from the field in its 69-41 setback to No. 1 Stanford University Sunday. The Bulldogs hit just 17-of-67 from the field, including a tough 7-of-39 in the first half. The last time the Zags shot that low was at BYU last season. GU hit 14-of-64 (21.9 percent) in its 70-40 setback. Gonzaga has not shot that low at home since Jan. 20, 2000 when it finished its 69-36 setback to Saint Mary's College shooting 20.0 percent (12-of-60) in the Martin Centre. The lowest output at the McCarthey Athletic Center prior to Sunday was a 30.2 percent (16-of-53) shooting night in a 53-43 victory over Loyola Marymount on Feb. 16, 2006. CHANGE IN STARTING LINEUP: The Gonzaga University women's basketball squad started the same five players for the first eight games of the season but changed its lineup in its ninth game. Gonzaga head coach Kelly Graves started the season with this lineup (who went 6-2): guard Haiden Palmer, guard Jazmine Redmon, guard Taelor Karr, forward Sunny Greinacher and center Stephanie Golden. The one change to the lineup against Eastern Washington - the Zags ninth game - was center Shelby Cheslek for Golden. Gonzaga is now 3-0 with the new lineup. GREINACHER SCORES 16 POINTS IN TWO OF LAST THREE GAMES: Gonzaga University women's basketball sophomore Sunny Greinacher has scored 16 points in two of the last three games. Greinacher tallied her first 16 points - a career-high - in the Zags 65-50 win over Eastern Washington University, Dec. 4. She then tied her career-high of 16 points two games later in an 83-44 victory over Cal State Fullerton. The most recent offensive explosion came in just 18 minutes of action. For the season, Greinacher is averaging 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while shooting a team-best 46.8 percent from the field. THIRD RANKED OPPONENT OF THE NON-CONFERENCE: Gonzaga University women's basketball faces its third ranked non-conference opponent Monday when it faces No. 19/20 Ohio State University. Gonzaga has lost to its other two ranked opponents; a 55-42 setback to then-No. 6 Louisville University and a 69-41 loss to No. 1 ranked Stanford University. In both games, the Bulldogs held the ranked opponents way below their scoring average. The Cardinals were averaging 81.5 points per game coming into the contest, while the Cardinal were averaging 80.0 points per game. WCC STATS, WHERE WE RANK: Shelby Cheslek leads the West Coast Conference in blocks per game at 1.9; Keani Albanez is third in 3-point field goal percentage (44.4); Haiden Palmer is fourth in steals per game (2.6) and ninth in points per game (12.5); Jazmine Redmon is fifth in assists per game (3.8) and Taelor Karr is 15th (2.7); Sunny Greinacher is 10th in field goal percentage (46.8) and 19th in rebounds per game (5.3). Redmon also leads the conference in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.6). FREE THROW LINE A SORE SPOT: Gonzaga women's basketball is struggling a bit at the free throw line this season. The Bulldogs, who closed out the 2011-12 campaign shooting 72.1 percent, are only sinking 65.0 percent (117-of-180) from the stripe. In the game against Eastern Washington University, the Zags shot a season-low 50.0 percent (11-of-22) from the charity line. Sophomore Keani Albanez is GU's best free throw shooter at 87.5 percent, hitting 14-of-16. DEFENSE A BRIGHT SPOT IN LOSS TO NO. 1 STANFORD: Despite a tough 69-41 setback to No. 1 Stanford University, there were some bright spots in the game, most notably the Bulldogs defense. Gonzaga forced the Cardinal to turn the ball over 16 times, five more than it was averaging coming into the contest. The 69 points scored by Stanford, who was averaging 80.0 coming into the contest, also tied their lowest scoring output of the season. The Cardinal also scored 69 in a 69-42 win at the University of Hawai'i. A NATIONAL LEADER: Senior Taelor Karr entered the 2012-13 campaign as the a reigning national champion in assist-to-turnover ratio. Karr paced Gonzaga and the West Coast Conference with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.7. Junior Jazmine Redmon was seventh in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio last year at 2.27. Currently, Redmon is 14th in the nation in assists-to-turnover ratio at 2.63. ALBANEZ STARTED SEASON OFF WITH A BANG; HAS COOLED SINCE: Sophomore Keani Albanez was the high scorer for Gonzaga University in three of its first five games. Albanez began the season tallying back-to-back 17 points games - then career-highs. Three games later she set a new high with 19 points versus Missouri State University. Since her 19 point explosin, Albanez has averaged 4.2 points per game and her high points total has been eight against both Eastern Washington University and Cal State Fullerton. Albanez still leads the squad in 3-pointers made with 16 and third best shooting percentage at 44.4. STEALING THE BALL: Gonzaga University women's basketball junior Haiden Palmer opened the new year making a career-high six steals at UC Riverside, Nov. 9. She followed that up with five steals at USC, Nov. 9 and had another five against the University of Wisconsin, Nov. 16. On the season, Palmer, who had a team-leading 78 steals a season ago, has 29 of the Zags 131 picks after 11 games. CHESLEK MAKES PRESENCE FELT: Gonzaga University women's basketball redshirt freshman made her presence felt in the Bulldogs nine-point win over the University of Wisconsin, Nov. 16. Cheslek recorded her first career double-digit rebounding game with 11, and added seven points, three blocks, two assists and two steals in 28 minutes of action. Cheslek leads the squad in blocks per game at 1.7 and is second in rebounds per game at 4.8. BASKETBALL IN HER GENES: Gonzaga University women's basketball freshman Elle Tinkle comes from a basketball family. Her father Wayne Tinkle played for the University of Montana, played professionally in Europe for 10 years and is currently the head men's basketball coach at the University of Montana. Her mother Lisa Tinkle also played for Montana and was inducted into Montana's Hall of Fame. Her sister Joslyn Tinkle is currently a senior on the Stanford University women's basketball team. The two sisters battled each other on the hardwood Dec. 2 when the Cardinal defeated the Bulldogs 69-41 at McCarthey Athletic Center. Elle Tinkle had two points, three rebounds and two assists, while big sister Joslyn had 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. ALL-AROUND ATHLETIC FAMILY: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Meghan Winters is one of four Winters siblings to play a collegiate sport in college. Her brother Brendan Winters played collegiate basketball at Davidson College. Her sister was a member of the University of Portland women's soccer team. Her younger brother Ryan Winters is currently a sophomore on the Elon University men's basketball team. And where do they get their athletic talents from? Her father Brian Winters was the 12th pick in the NBA draft in 1974, taken by the L.A. Lakers. After his playing career, he went on to coach for the University of South Carolina, L.A. Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Vancouver Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and the WNBA's Indiana Fever. He is currently an assistant coach for the Charlotte Bobcats. COACH GRAVES AND USA BASKETBALL: This past summer, Gonzaga University women's basketball head coach Kelly Graves added USA Basketball to his resume, becoming an assistant coach with the U18 women's basketball squad and helping the team to a gold medal at the 2012 FIBA Americas. SEASON TICKETS TOP 4,300: Gonzaga University women's basketball season tickets have hit a record-high 4,315 and counting. The Bulldogs hit a then-record-high of 4,104 season-ticket holders in 2011-12 and averaged 5,442 fans for their 17 home games which stood 14th in the NCAA for women's basketball attendance. In their first five home games of the season, the Bulldogs are averaging 5,607, which includes their 11th sellout in school history. BULLDOGS PICKED SECOND IN WEST COAST CONFERENCE: Eight-time West Coast Conference Champion Gonzaga University women's basketball has been picked to finish second this year in a preseason vote of the nine league coaches. The Bulldogs, who for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign were not picked to win the WCC, garnered four first-place votes and received 60 points. Second-year member BYU was chosen as the favorite to claim the WCC women's basketball title, edging out the Zags by one point. The Cougars, who defeated GU to win the 2012 WCC Tournament title, received five-first places votes and 61 overall points. GONZAGA TO HOST 2013 NCAA FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS: Gonzaga University was one of 16 institutions selected to host the first-and-second rounds of the 2013 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament as announced by the NCAA. The Bulldogs will host the opening weekend action at the McCarthey Athletic Center. If Gonzaga earns a bid to the NCAA Tournament, it automatically will be seeded to play at the McCarthey Athletic Center. This will be third year in a row Gonzaga has been selected to host the first and second rounds. ZAGS SIGN TWO: Gonzaga University women's basketball head coach Kelly Graves has announced the signing of two players to national letters of intent. Joining the Bulldogs next fall is Bayli McClard, a 6-1 forward from Hanford high school in Hanford, Calif., and Emma Wolfram, a 6-5 center from South Kamloops high school in Kamloops, British Columbia. | ||
