GAME NO. 30/NEUTRAL GAME NO. 3/OPPONENT TBD
WEST COAST CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 3 - Noon
Orleans Arena (7,845) - Las Vegas, NV
TV: BYUtv/ESPN3/ESPN Full Court (Dave McCann & Steve Cleveland)
(Radio: 1050 The Key; Live stats available at GoZags.com)

No. 20/22 GONZAGA UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS (25-4, 14-2 WCC)
F - 32 Kayla Standish, 6-3, Sr., Ellensburg, WA
(15.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.5 bpg - WCC: 15.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.7 bpg)
F - 44 Kelly Bowen, 6-0, Sr., Victoria, Australia
(8.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.6 spg - WCC: 7.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.6 spg)
G - 3 Haiden Palmer, 5-8, RS-So., Moreno Valley, CA
(11.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.2 spg - WCC: 11.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.0 spg)
G - 12 Taelor Karr, 5-8, Jr., Paola, KS
(7.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.4 apg - WCC: 6.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.4 apg)
G - 23 Katelan Redmon, 6-1, Sr., Spokane, WA
(13.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.5 apg - WCC: 13.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 apg)

HEAD COACH: Kelly Graves (University of New Mexico, 1988)
GONZAGA RECORD: 257-123 (12th year); CAREER RECORD: 323-149 (14th year)

No. 4 Seed SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE (20-9, 11-5 West Coast):
Saint Mary's College is one of four West Coast Conference women's basketball teams with 20-wins already this season. The Gaels enter into the tournament with a 20-9 overall mark and finished the league at 11-5. Saint Mary's snapped Gonzaga University's 34-game WCC regular-season unbeaten streak with a 66-63 victory Jan. 14 at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs avenged that loss with a 75-70 victory in Moraga, Jan. 28. Four of five GU starters registered double-figure points in each contest against the Gaels. Senior Kayla Standish led the way both games for the Bulldogs, scoring 18 points each time. The Zags are 3-1 versus the Gaels in WCC Tournament action. Gonzaga has faced Saint Mary's once since the tournament moved the Las Vegas and that was last year in the championship contest when it earned a 72-46 victory over the No. 2 seed. Gonzaga leads the all-time series 31-23 and has won 20 of the last 22 meetings.

No. 5 Seed PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY (14-14, 8-8 West Coast):
Pepperdine University is currently 14-14 overall on the year and it finished West Coast Conference regular season at 8-8. As the No. 5 seed in the Zappos.com WCC Championships, the Waves defeated No. 9 seed 56-45 to reach the quarterfinals against Saint Mary's College. Gonzaga University won both its regular season games against the Waves; earning a 79-50 victory in Malibu, Jan. 5 and a 66-40 win at the McCarthey Athletic Center, Feb. 18. All five Zag starters finished in double-figure points in their first win over the Waves, with Katelan Redmon and Kelly Bowen each registering double-doubles. Bowen secured a career-high 16 boards in the Bulldogs second victory over Pepperdine, while Taelor Karr recorded a career-tying high 12 rebounds. Pepperdine leads the all-time series 29-28 but Gonzaga has won 11 out of the last 12, including seven-straight. The Bulldogs are 4-3 against the Waves in WCC Tournament play and last played them in the 2010 championship game; earning a 76-48 victory over the No. 3 seed.

ON THE RADIO: Gonzaga University will have all regular-season games broadcast on the radio this season as Steve Myklebust returns for his seventh 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.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER: If you don't know, the Gonzaga University women's basketball program is on Facebook and Twitter! You can get an inside look into the Bulldogs program with 'Picture-A-Day' and videos, and always find out the up-to-date news. Become a fan of the Zags on Facebook by and follow the Zags on twitter at www.twitter.com/ZagWBB.

BULLDOGS WIN EIGHTH-STRAIGHT: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team captured its eighth-straight West Coast Conference regular-season title with a 77-60 victory over BYU, Feb. 25. Coming into the game, the Bulldogs had clinched at least a share of the title but had to beat the Cougars - who were looking to to earn a share of the title with a victory - to win it outright. The Zags have now won the regular season title since the 2004-05 campaign.

PALMER WCC CO-NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Gonzaga University women's basketball redshirt sophomore Haiden Palmer was named the West Coast Conference Co-Newcomer of the Year. Palmer suited up for her first year as a Bulldog in 2011-12 after sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules. Palmer played in all 29 regular season contests, starting 24 of them. She averaged 11.3 points per contest and was seventh in the WCC with 2.0 steals per game in league play. Palmer is the seventh Gonzaga player to earn Newcomer of the Year honors, and the fourth in six years, joining Heather Bowman in 2007, Courtney Vandersloot in 2008 and teammate Katelan Redmon in 2010. She shares this year's honor with Lexi Eaton of BYU.

ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES: Gonzaga University women's basketball seniors Katelan Redmon and Kayla Standish were both named to the All-West Coast Conference team for the second-consecutive season, while Haiden Palmer was named All-WCC honorable mention. Redmon was in the top 15 in league game statistics in four categories; sixth in field goal percentage (46.0 percent), ninth in free throw percentage (80.4 percent), 10th in points per game (13.0) and 13th in rebounds per game (5.6). She was named WCC Player of the Week twice this season and tallied double-figure points in all but four WCC games. Standish averaged 15.5 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game in WCC action, while shooting 51.4 percent from the field. Her point average was the fourth highest in league; her rebounding average third and field goal percentage second. She also averaged 1.8 blocks per contest.

WCC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM: Gonzaga University women's basketball freshman Sunny Greinacher was named to the West Coast Conference All-Freshman team. The forward from Essen, Germany played in all 29 regular season games for the Zags, getting the starting nod twice. Greinacher averaged 11.9 minutes per game, 4.5 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game and shot 54.5 percent overall from the field. Her coming out party was a 12 point, five rebound performance at Loyola Marymount University. One game later she dropped a career-high 14 points and had six boards - five offensive - in the Bulldogs win over San Francisco.

WCC ALL-ACADEMIC: Gonzaga University women's basketball player Shannon Reader was named to the WCC Women's Basketball All-Academic Team. Reader, a senior who is the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President, has seen action in 21 games for Gonzaga. She is shooting 50.0 percent (8-of-16) from the field, has grabbed 34 boards - 15 offensive, and has eight steals, six assists and one block on the year. The Lake Oswego, Ore., native holds a 3.26 GPA in public relations.

KATELAN REDMON NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Katelan Redmon was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week as announced by the conference office Monday. This is Redmon's second WCC weekly honor of the year and the Bulldogs fourth. Redmon scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help guide the Bulldogs to a 77-60 win over BYU this past Saturday. The Spokane native shot 60 percent (12-of-20) from the field and scored 16 points in GU's big second half. The victory clinched the WCC title outright for the Zags. Gonzaga has now won eight consecutive WCC regular season titles dating back to the 2004-05 season.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT ON TAP FOR ZAGS: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team heads to Las Vegas, Nev., for the West Coast Conference Tournament this weekend. The Bulldogs, who secured the No. 1 seed for the sixth year in a row with their 14-2 mark in regular season play, get a bye into the Semifinal Saturday, March 3. The Zags will either play No. 4 seed Saint Mary's College or No. 5 seed Pepperdine University at Noon Saturday. Gonzaga has won three-straight WCC Tournament titles and four in the last five years.

BLOCKING RECORD FOR STANDISH: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Kayla Standish became the Bulldog all-time career blocks leader. Going into the Zags game against Pepperdine, Feb. 18, Standish needed three blocks to tie the record and four to break it. The senior finished with a season-high six and is now the career leader with 170. The previous holder of the record was Stephanie Hawk (2004-17) with 167.

PERFECT 10-OF-10 FROM THE FREE THROW LINE: Gonzaga University senior Katelan Redmon went a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line in the Bulldogs 20-point win at San Francisco, Feb. 11. Redmon was 4-of-4 in the first half and 6-of-6 in the second. She is now the fourth player in school history to go a perfect 10-of-10 at the charity stripe. Also hitting this mark was Courtney Vandersloot (at Portland, Jan. 8, 2011), Shannon Mathews (vs. Eastern Washington, Jan. 9, 2003) and Lisa Nicholls (vs. Portland, Jan. 19, 1991). Former Zag Heather Bowman takes the cake on perfection at the line, having hit 14-of-14 against Santa Clara University, Feb. 28, 2008.

GONZAGA DEALT WORST WCC LOSS IN 10 YEARS: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team was dealt its worst West Coast Conference loss in 10 years Thursday evening when first-year member BYU defeated the Bulldogs 70-40 at the Marriott Center. The Zags (21-4 overall), who have won seven-straight WCC crowns, last lost by 30 on Jan. 10, 2002 when it fell at Santa Clara University 99-69. That year Gonzaga finished conference 2-12. The last time the Bulldogs were held to 40-points or less was Feb. 16, 2001 when it fell at Loyola Marymount University 60-37.

ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON FOR THE BULLDOGS: A balanced offense, in which 12 Gonzaga University women's basketball players scored, helped the Bulldogs earn the 77-56 victory over the University of Portland Thursday evening at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The 21-point win secured the Zags their sixth-straight 20-win season, and seventh in eight years. Gonzaga is now 25-4 on the year.

KATELAN REDMON SCORES CAREER-HIGH 32 POINTS AT SANTA CLARA: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Katelan Redmon poured in a career-high 32 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 81-68 victory over Santa Clara University Thursday evening at the Leavey Center. Redmon, who broke her previous career-high of 28 points, hit 14-of-21 from the field and 4-of-7 at the charity to help move the Zags to 16-3 on the year and 5-1 in West Coast Conference play. Redmon became a member of an exclusive club with her 32 points as she became the 12th player in Gonzaga history to break the 30-point scoring plateau in a single game. The last player to do so was classmate Kayla Standish who tallied 30 points against UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago.

BULLDOGS NO. 20 IN COACHES' TOP 25: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team moved up one spot to No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll that was released Tuesday. The Bulldogs received 25 more votes from a week ago and now stand at 147 total votes.

GONZAGA UP TO NO. 22 IN ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25: After clinching its eighth-straight West Coast Conference regular season title, the Gonzaga University women's basketball team jumped up three spots in the Associated Press Top 25, checking in at No. 22 Monday. The Bulldogs earned 49 more votes from a week ago to move from No. 25 to its No. 22 spot. The Zags played only once this past week but it was a big one. GU hosted West Coast Conference first year member BYU Saturday. The Cougars were looking for a win over the Bulldogs to claim a share of the WCC regular season title, but Gonzaga avenged its earlier loss and defeated BYU 77-60 to win the title outright.

LAST FIVE GAMES FOR KAYLA, KELLY, KATELAN: Three of the five Gonzaga University women's basketball starters are averaging double-digits over the last five games, see below of the breakdown of those three.

*Katelan Redmon: Averaging team-best 15.2 points per game and 4.8 boards a contest...is shooting a team-best 50.0% from the field (27-for-54) and has only missed three free throws in 25 attempts.

*Kayla Standish: Averaging 13.8 points and 8.6 boards per game and shooting 49.1% from the field (27-for-55)...Had three double-doubles.

*Kelly Bowen: Is averaging 10.2 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game...registered a career-high points (19 vs. Santa Clara, Feb. 16) and career-high boards (16 vs. Pepperdine, Feb. 18).

TWO 1,000-POINT SCORERS IN THE STARTING LINEUP: Two players in the Gonzaga University women's basketball starting lineup have scored 1,000-plus points in their careers. Senior Kayla Standish and classmate Katelan Redmon has each broke the 1,000-point plateau. Standish has scored 1,467 career points to stand in seventh all-time, while Redmon has tallied 1,349 career points at Gonzaga to stand in 10th. If you add her points from her freshman season at the University of Washington - where she scored a team-best 365 points - Redmon has scored 1,714 points during her four-year collegiate career.

FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE AS A ZAG FOR PALMER: As a freshman at Oregon State University, Haiden Palmer registered two double-doubles. The now redshirt sophomore at Gonzaga University captured her first double-double in the Bulldogs 87-52 win against the University of San Francisco, Jan. 12. Palmer tallied 10 points and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds.

CAREER NIGHT FOR GOLDEN AND JAZ REDMON: A duo of rising stars led the Gonzaga University women's basketball team to a 79-61 win over Loyola Marymount University, Jan. 26. Bulldog sophomore Stephanie Golden, one of four Zags in double-figures, came off the bench to score a career and team-high 15 points. The center sank 7-of-9 from the field and 1-of-2 at the charity stripe to best her previous high of 10 points. Classmate Jazmine Redmon also came off the bench and exploded for a career-high of her own. The pesky point guard scored 11 points, hitting 4-of-7, including 2-of-2 on 3-pointers. Redmon also contributed four assists, made three steals in 26 minutes of play.

ZAGS NO. 14 IN THE NATION IN HOME ATTENDANCE: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team is currently ranked No. 14 in the NCAA in home attendance with an average of 5,402. The Bulldogs are above the likes of Duke, Stanford, Texas and Maryland.

STANDISH HAS EIGHT DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Kayla Standish has registered a team-high eight double-doubles and the year, including double-doubles in the past four West Coast Conference games. In all, five of the eight double-doubles have come in league play. Her first double-double in league came at Santa Clara; 14 points and 10 boards. Standish then had 15 points and 13 rebounds in GU's win over San Diego, Feb. 4. That performance against San Diego began her current streak. She followed that up with 12 points and 11 boards at BYU, Feb. 9 and had 19 points and 10 boards - both game-highs - at San Francisco, Feb. 11. Her most recent double-double was a 18 point and 11 rebound performance in GU's win over Santa Clara, Feb. 16. Overall, she has 21 career double-doubles; two as a sophomore and 11 as a junior and eight so far this season.

34-GAME UNDEFEATED STREAK BROKEN: The No. 22/23 Gonzaga University women's basketball team's 34-game West Coast Conference unbeaten streak came to an end Jan. 14 as Saint Mary's College handed the Bulldogs a 66-63 loss at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The loss was the first league setback since Feb. 21, 2009 when Gonzaga lost to Pepperdine University 72-62 and the first at home since Feb. 8, 2009 when the University of Portland claimed a 70-67 victory. The 3-point loss also was the first to the Gaels in 18 games and the first since Jan. 17, 2004 when SMC defeated GU 60-48 in Moraga.

THREE HOME SELLOUTS THIS SEASON: With the Gonzaga University women's basketball home game versus BYU this past Saturday was its third sellout of the season. The Zags ended their non-conference slate with 6,000 fans watching them defeat Saint Francis (PA) and just had 6,000 fans show up and cheer them to a 66-40 win over Pepperdine University, Feb. 18. Gonzaga has now sold out seven times in history. The others were Tennessee (12-30-08), Stanford (11-24-10), San Diego (2-26-11), Iowa (3-19-11) and UCLA (3-21-11). (The Iowa and UCLA NCAA Tournament games were considered sellouts even though the number is below 6,000.)

TAELOR KARR SCORES CAREER-HIGH IN WIN OVER SAINT FRANCIS: Gonzaga University women's basketball junior Taelor Karr scored a game and career-high 22 points in the Bulldogs 92-50 victory over Saint Francis, Jan. 1. Karr was 8-of-13 from the field, including 6-of-10 from beyond the 3-point arc to best her previous high of 19 set when she was a freshman at Kansas State University against Texas A&M.

SIX 3-POINTERS FOR KARR: Gonzaga University women's basketball junior Taelor Karr drained six 3-pointers in the Bulldogs victory over Saint Francis, Jan. 1. The six 3-pointers were the most made by a Zag in a game since Tiffanie Shives hit six at the University of San Diego, Feb. 13, 2010. Director of Basketball Operations Michelle [Elliott] Clark holds the record for most 3-pointers hit in a game, nailing nine against Sacramento State University on Dec. 28, 2007. Currently, Karr is second on the team in 3-pointers made with 39.

DANIELLE WALTER HITS DOUBLE-DIGITS FOR FIRST TIME: Redshirt-freshman Danielle Walter came off the bench in Gonzaga University's win over Saint Francis to add a career-high 11 points - her first double-digit scoring performance - and the only other Bulldog to crack double-figures. In total, the Zag bench scored 48 of the 90 points.

RARE NON-CONFERENCE LOSS AT THE McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team was handed a rare loss at home when the University of Southern California earned the 58-51 victory at the McCarthey Athletic Center, Dec. 4. Not only did it snap a 14-game home winning streak for the Bulldogs it was also only the second home loss in 32 games, spanning the 2009-10 season when they went undefeated, the 2010-11 season when their only loss was to Stanford University and three-games into this year.

TWO PLAYERS WITH 20-PLUS POINTS IN THREE GAMES: Gonzaga University women's basketball had two players hit the 20-point plateau in its 80-65 win at the University of Portland, Dec. 29. Senior Kayla Standish and redshirt sophomore Haiden Palmer each closed out the game with 20 points. It is the third time this season the Bulldogs had two players reach twenty points in a game. Against Portland State University, Standish had 25 and senior Katelan Redmon had 22. In the Zags win over the University of Georgia, Redmon scored 23 points and Palmer chipped in 22.

THIRD IN-SEASON WIN OVER RANKED OPPONENT: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team stunned the No. 12/13 University of Georgia with a 71-68 victory Monday in Las Vegas at the Holiday Hoops Classic. Redshirt sophomore Haiden Palmer scored 22 points for Gonzaga, including the last second game-winning 3-pointer. The victory was the third in school history over a ranked opponent in the regular season; having beaten No. 21 UCLA 62-57 on Nov. 24, 2006 at the Rainbow Wahine Classic and No. 15 University of Virginia 69-62 on Nov. 30, 2008 at the WBCA Classic .

KATELAN REDMON HELD UNDER 10 POINTS NINE TIMES THIS SEASON: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Katelan Redmon, who is second on the team in points at 13.1 per game, has been held under 10 points nine times this season - which is seven more overall than she did total a season ago. Redmon scored five points only at Stanford University and at Cal State Fullerton; finished with just four in GU's loss to USC and had nine in a win over Montana. Redmon opened West Coast Conference with six points at the University of Portland and had nine against Saint Francis two days later. Hit with two fouls early on in the game, Redmon only had six points in a win over Loyola Marymount, Jan. 26 and tallied four when the Zags hosted Portland Feb. 2.. Most recently, Redmon finished with five points in GU's setback at BYU, Feb. 9. The two games she didn't break double-figures last year were versus the Titans at the McCarthey Athletic Center and against Loyola Marymount University.

FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR BOWEN SINCE FRESHMAN YEAR: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Kelly Bowen registered her second-ever career double-double in the Bulldogs loss to the University of Southern California, Dec. 4. Bowen finished with a team-high 15 points and brought down 10 boards in the seven-point loss to the Trojans. Her second double-double came in GU's win at Pepperdine as she scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 13 boards. Her only other double-double came her freshman year when she scored a career-high 17 points and had 10 rebounds at Saint Mary's College Jan. 29, 2009. It was also only her fourth career double-digit rebounding performances - her three others also coming freshman year.

STANDISH JOINS THE 600 REBOUND CLUB: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Kayla Standish became the 12th player in school history to grab 600 rebounds in their career. The forward hit exactly 600 when she tallied 13 rebounds in the Zags 58-51 loss to the University of Southern California, Dec. 4. Standish has 779 total rebounds in her career to stand 5th in the Bulldogs all-time list. She is now just the eighth player in school history to score 1,000-plus points and bring down 600-plus boards.

KARR PASSES OUT CAREER-HIGH NINE ASSISTS: Gonzaga University women's basketball junior Taelor Karr, who transferred from Kansas State University this summer and was immediately eligible, dished out a career-high nine assists in the Bulldogs 87-52 victory over the University of San Francisco, Jan. 12. Karr's previous high was eight handed out the Univeristy of Idaho, Nov. 17. Her career-high heading into her first season in a Zag uniform was seven handed out in KSU's game against Iowa State University, Feb. 26, 2011. The nine assists is also a Zag single-game high this season. Karr leads the team in assists at 4.4 per game.

COACH GRAVES GETS CAREER VICTORY NUMBER 300: Gonzaga University women's basketball head coach Kelly Graves had racked up a 299-146 career Division I record in his 14 years as a head coach prior to the Bulldogs game at the University of Idaho, Nov. 17. Gonzaga defeated the Vandals 91-42 to earn Graves his 300th-victory. He is now 323-149 as a Division I head coach.

GONZAGA SHARING THE BALL: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team passed out 28 assists in its victory over the University of Idaho, Nov. 17 and followed that up with 29 assists in its win over Portland State University, Nov. 27. The 29 assists are the most dimes for the Bulldogs since they also had 29 against Idaho last season on Dec. 17. In their win over the Vikings, the Bulldogs had 10 players with at least one assist in the victory. Sophomore Jazmine Redmon and junior Taelor Karr led the way with six assists each. As a team, Gonzaga is averaging 17.3 assists per game, 11th most in the NCAA this season.

CAREER HIGH FOR THREE PLAYERS: Three Gonzaga University women's basketball players secured personal career highs in the Bulldogs victory over Portland State University, Nov. 27. Sophomore Stephanie Golden recorded her first career double-digit point contest, finishing the game with 10 points, besting her previous career-high by one point. Freshmen Keani Albanez and Sunny Greinacher each hit double-figures as Albanez tallied 12 and Greinacher had 10. Greinacher has now broken that mark - her high is 14 set in a win over the University of San Francisco, Jan. 12.

KACZOR BERRY ONE OF TOP 25 ASSISTANTS: CollegeInsider.com recently put together a Top 25 Mid-Major Women's College Basketball Assistants. Gonzaga University assistant Jodie Kaczor Berry made the list at No. 4. It states 'Kaczor Berry has helped guided Gonzaga to new heights, as the Bulldogs have made three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances since she was promoted as top assistant in 2008. The Bulldogs' amazing run of success includes winning 36-straight West Coast Conference games, making their first-ever trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2010 and their inaugural appearance in the Elite Eight in 2011.

WHAT WE LOST: Gonzaga University had arguably its best season in 2010-11, finishing with a school record 31 wins and only five losses and made it to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in school history. The Bulldogs did lose five BIG seniors to graduation last spring. GU lost consensus All-American and 3-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year Courtney Vandersloot; guard Janelle Bekkering, who left Gonzaga scoring 1,050 points; forward Claire Raap; back-up point guard Tatriana Lorenzo and fan favorite Carter Schick. Altogether, GU lost 43.7 percent of its scoring from the team that lead the nation in points a season ago.

WHAT WE RETURN: Despite losing five seniors to graduation, including two starters from a season ago, the Gonzaga University women's basketball squad still returns a decent amount of ammunition. As a team, Gonzaga returns 56 percent of its scoring and 73 percent of its rebounding. The Bulldogs return four of its top seven scorers and its top three rebounders.

TWO RETURNING REDSHIRTS: The Gonzaga University women's basketball teams returns to redshirts to its 2011-12 squad. Sophomore guard Haiden Palmer sat out last year after transferring from Oregon State University, while freshman guard Danielle Walter returns after medically redshirting her first year on campus. Palmer played and stared in all 31 games as a freshman on the Oregon State University women's basketball team, averaging 10.8 points per contest; second best on the squad. For her efforts at OSU she was named to the Pacific-10 Conference All-Freshman team. Walter was rated the No. 73 prospect in the ESPN HoopGurlz Hundred and No. 22 in her position as a senior in high school in 2009-10.

KARR IMMEDIATELY ELIGIBLE: Gonzaga University women's basketball junior guard Taelor Karr, who transferred from Kansas State University this summer, is eligible to play this season as determined by the NCAA. Karr and Kansas State parted ways after her sophomore season. She played in all 32 games for the Wildcats in 2010-11, including getting the starting nod 29 times. Karr played 33.3 minutes per game and averaged 10.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals.

WHO ARE THE NEW FACES I SEE?: The Gonzaga University women's basketball squad has six freshman on the squad this year. The newcomers are: 5-6 point guard Maiki Viela, a 2011 Parade All-American out of Hawaii; 6-5 center Shelby Cheslek, who along with her basketball accolades in high school was the State 2A Most Valuable Player in volleyball in 2009 and 2010; Sonja Greinacher, the Bulldogs 6-4 German who goes by Sunny; Keani Albanez a guard from Santa Barbara who led her high school to the CIF Division II So Cal Regional finals; Shaniqua Nilles a 6-0 from Spokane who battled Cheslek on the basketball and volleyball courts in high school; and Megan Benedict, a walk-on from Lebanon, Ore.

REDMON AND STANDISH REPRESENT THE USA IN PAN AMERICAN GAMES: Gonzaga University women's basketball seniors Katelan Redmon and Kayla Standish were both named to the 2011 USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games Team The 12-member team featured 11 college athletes and one high school senior and compete Oct. 21-25 in Guadalajara, Mexico, at the 2011 Pan American Games. The United State placed seventh at the Pan American Games after going 2-2 overall. For the tournament, Redmon averaged 20.8 minutes, 6.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal while shooting 39.2 percent (11-of-28) from the field. For the tournament, Standish averaged 12.5 minutes, 2.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 block per contest and hit 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from the field.

GONZAGA TO HOST 2012 NCAA FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS: Gonzaga University was one of 16 institutions selected to host the first-and-second rounds of the 2012 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 MAC.

SOFTBALL TO BASKETBALL: Walk-on Molly Anderson, a redshirt-sophomore, transferred to Gonzaga University in 2009-10. Anderson attended Indiana University her freshman season (2008-09) and was a catcher for the Hoosier softball squad. She then walked on to the women's basketball team two seasons ago.

SAME LAST NAME, SAME HOMETOWN BUT NOT RELATED: When you look at the Gonzaga University women's basketball roster you will see two players with the last name Redmon, who are both also from Spokane, Wash. You may think they are related but they are not. Senior Katelan Redmon played high school ball at Lewis & Clark, while sophomore Jazmine Redmon was a soccer and basketball star at Mead High School.

TINKLE, KUDRON, WATERS SIGN WITH BULLDOGS: Gonzaga University women's basketball head coach Kelly Graves has announced the signing of three players to national letters of intent. Joining the Bulldogs next fall is Elle Tinkle, a 6-2 guard from Big Sky high school in Missoula, Mont., Kiara Kudron, a 6-2 forward from Huron high school in New Boston, Michigan, and Chelsea Waters, a 6-1 guard/forward from Lewiston high school in Lewiston, Idaho. Collegiate Girls Basketball Report has Graves' 2012-13 recruiting class ranked 42nd.