Bulldogs Look To Bounce Back Monday Against Pacific
12/30/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| GAME 14 - NO. 21/24 GONZAGA AT PACIFIC | ||
DATE: Monday, December 30, 2013 | ||
| THE LAST MEETING: Nov. 24, 2001 @ Martin Centre | ||
Gonzaga 85 |
GONZAGA BULLDOGS | PACIFIC TIGERS | |
No. 21/24 GONZAGA UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS (10-3, 0-1 WCC) UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC TIGERS (5-6, 0-1 WCC) ZAGS PLAY AT WCC NEWCOMER PACIFIC MONDAY: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team plays at West Coast Conference newcomer University of the Pacific Monday at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs and Tigers, both coming off opening league losses, play at 5 p.m. GAMETIME AT PACIFIC MOVED TO 5 P.M.: The West Coast Conference announced a change in the start time of the Gonzaga women's basketball game at Pacific on Monday, Dec. 30. The game will now start at 5 p.m. The game was previously scheduled to tip 5:30 p.m. For listeners to the broadcast in the Spokane area on 1050 AM, the pre-game show with Steve Myklebust will now begin at 4:30 p.m. ABOUT THE GONZAGA BULLDOGS: Gonzaga University women's basketball is coming off another successful campaign where it earned its fifth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, won its ninth-straight West Coast Conference regular season title and fourth WCC Tournament Championship in five years. The Bulldogs returned 12 letterwinners from its 27-6, 15-1 WCC squad in 2012-13, including four starters. The Zags are ended non-conference action with a 10-2, with their only losses coming at then-No. 11 University of Oklahoma, Nov. 14 and then-No. 4 Stanford, Dec. 14. Gonzaga opened WCC play with a one-point overtime loss at Saint Mary's College. WHAT WE RETURNED: Gonzaga University's women's basketball team returned 12 letterwinners, including four starters from last year's squad and lost only two players to graduation. Overall, the Zags returned 80.2 percent of its scoring from the 2012-13 season and 88.5 percent of its rebounding. The Bulldogs top returning scorer is senior Haiden Palmer who led the team in scoring as a junior at 12.5 points per game and was third on the squad in 2011-12 averaging 12.4. Senior Jazmine Redmon and junior Sunny Greinacher are the only other two Zags who averaged more than 20 minutes a game last season. ABOUT THE PACIFIC TIGERS: West Coast Conference newcomer University of the Pacific enters into its game with Gonzaga University with a 5-6 overall mark and an 0-1 record in league play. The Tigers began their first season in the WCC with a 73-65 setback to the University of Portland. Pacific is led by both Kendall Kenyon and Kiki Moore. Kenyon is averaging a team-best 18.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, while Moore is chipping in 15.1 points per game. Kenyon had 22 points and 21 boards in the Tigers loss to Portland. Pacific is coached by Lynne Roberts, in her eighth year at the helm. WHAT DID PACIFIC DO IN 2012-13? Pacific ended the 2012-13 season with a 27-8 overall mark, won the Big West Conference regular-season title with a 14-4 record, and made an appearance in the fourth round of the WNIT. WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME? GU VS. UOP: WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME GU PLAYED AT UOP?: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE LOSS AT SAINT MARY'S: • Jazmine Redmon played 20 minutes before leaving the game early in the second half with a sprained ankle. She did not return. • Haiden Palmer scored a career-high 31 points in the setback. She is the 13th player in Zag history to break the 30-point plateau. The last Bulldog to score 30-plus was Katelan Redmon, who had 32 points at Santa Clara on Jan. 19, 2012. • Danielle Walter came in for starting point guard Jazmine Redmon after she was injured and played a career-tying high 21 minutes and scored a career-high 14 points - her third career double-figure game. • Lindsay Sherbert had the chance to win the game for the Zags in regulation. Sherbert was fouled with .3 seconds left and sent to the line for the bonus. She hit the first to tie the game at 72 but missed the second. • Gonzaga was outrebounded 51-34. • The Zags sank just 6-of-14 from the charity stripe. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NON-CONFERECE: • The Bulldogs finished two other non-conference seasons with just two losses. GU ended the 2004-05 campaign at 11-2 with losses coming at New Mexico and at Arizona State. The Zags also closed out the 2011-12 non-conference at 11-2 with losses coming to Stanford and USC. • Gonzaga defeated two Big Ten Conference members on the road (Ohio State and Wisconsin) and one PAC-12 school on the road (Washington State). • The Zags went a perfect 7-0 at the McCarthey Athletic Center. • Gonzaga won their non-conference games by an average of 20.0 points per game. The Zags largest victory was 50 points; an 81-31 victory over Colgate University. Their smallest margin of victory was one; a 59-58 victory at Ohio State University. GU won three games by single-digits (Idaho, Ohio State and Washington State). • Sophomore Shaniqua Nilles hit the final two buckets for the Zags, including the buzzer beater. Nilles had been inserted into the game for the first time with three minutes remaining in the game after junior Keani Albanez fouled out. • Junior Sunny Greinacher recorded her first career double-double in the Zags win over Ohio State. Greinacher scored a season-high 18 points - 10 in the second half - and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds, seven offensive. • Gonzaga held an opponent to 13 points in a half for three times in non-conference. GU held UC Riverside to 13 points in the second half of the Zags 87-43 win. The other two coming in the opening 20 minutes of victories over both Colgate University and Portland State University. • The 51 second half points in GU's win over UC Riverside was the second-highest point outburst in a half for GU. The Zags scored 53 points in the first half of their win 96-47 win over Portland State University. • Gonzaga was held to a season-low 45 points in its loss at Stanford. • The Bulldogs hit a season low 25.0 percent from the charity stripe (3-of-12) at Stanford. • The Zags did not hit a 3-pointer, going 0-of-14 from beyond the arc at Stanford. The last time they were held without a 3-pointer was Feb. 2, 2009 when they went 0-of-4 in a victory against Saint Mary's. BULLDOGS PICKED FIRST IN WEST COAST CONFERENCE: Gonzaga University was chosen as the favorite to claim the West Coast Conference women's basketball title for in the 2013-14 preseason coaches' poll. The Bulldogs, who received the maximum nine first place votes for a total of 81 points, have won the WCC regular season title for an unprecedented nine-straight years. The University of San Diego captured one first place vote and was selected to finish second in the preseason poll, collecting 69 points. PRESEASON ALL-WCC: Gonzaga University women's basketball seniors Haiden Palmer and Jazmine Redmon and junior Sunny Greinacher were each named to the 2013 Preseason All-West Coast Conference Team. SIXTH LONGEST CONFERENCE TITLE STREAK: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team captured its unprecedented ninth-straight West Coast Conference regular-season title in 2012-13, finishing league with a 15-1 record. In the Bulldogs nearly decade-long reign, they piled up an astonishing 120-10 record against conference foes. That includes three undefeated seasons. Their record has them tied for the sixth longest streak in the nation. T1) Louisiana Tech, Sun Belt and WAC, 15 (1993-2007) REDMON EIGHTH IN THE NATION IS ASSIST-TO-TURNOVER RATIO: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Jazmine Redmon is currently eighth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.73. Redmon ended her junior season ranked 35th at 1.92 and her sophomore season seventh at 2.27. BACK-TO-BACK ROAD WINS: Wins at Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin marked the first season with multiple true road wins (non-neutral) against schools from BCS conferences for Gonzaga University women's basketball. FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED: When Gonzaga University women's basketball defeated Colgate University 81-31 Nov. 30 it was the fewest points allowed by the Zags in school history. The previous low by an opponent was 35 points, four different times and most recently Feb. 27, 2010 when the Zags held the University of San Francisco to 35 in an 83-35 victory. The 50-point win was also the fifth largest margin of victory in school history. TWO DOUBLE-DIGIT REBOUNDERS: Gonzaga University women's basketball had two players break double-figures in rebounds against the University of Idaho, Nov. 8. Sophomore Kiara Kudron and junior Lindsay Sherbert both grabbed 11 rebounds. The 11 rebounds was a career-high for Kudron, while University of Cal transfer's career high is 14 grabbed at New Mexico on Nov. 20, 2010 while a member of the Bears squad. The last time two players had double-digit rebounds in the same game was Feb. 18, 2012 when Kelly Bowen and Taelor Karr had 16 and 12 rebounds, respectively, in the Zags 66-40 win over Pepperdine University. THIRD GAME AS A ZAG GIVES SHERBERT SECOND CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Gonzaga University women's basketball junior Lindsay Sherbert registered her first-career double-double as a Zag in her third game in uniform. Sherbert scored a season-high 14 points and grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds in the Bulldogs tough four-point loss at then-No. 11 University of Oklahoma. Sherbert, a transfer from the University of California, had registered one double-double in 62 games as a Bear. As a freshman in 2010-11, Sherbert scored 17 points and had 10 boards against the University of Oregon. TEN OF THE 14 BULLDOG PLAYERS AVERAGING DOUBLE-FIGURE MINUTES: Ten of the 14 Gonzaga University women's basketball players are averaging double-digit minutes. Five of the 14 players are averaging above 20 minutes per contest and none above 30 minutes per game. Haiden Palmer leads the charge at 29.5. PALMER THIRD IN CAREER STEALS: Gonzaga University senior Haiden Palmer is currently third in the Zag career record book for total steals, having accumulated 227 during her 2-plus years in a GU uniform. She is nine from bumping into second place, currently held by Amy Simpson (235; 1982-86). Courtney Vandersloot holds the top spot with 366 steals from 2007-11. CAREER-HIGH IN POINTS FOR SHERBERT: Gonzaga University women's basketball junior Lindsay Sherbert scored a career-high 22 points in the Bulldogs 50-point win over Colgate University, Nov. 30. She drained 8-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. Her previous high was 20 points, scored twice as a member of the University of California women's basketball team. Sherbert, averaging a second-best 11.4 points this season, has been held to single-digit points in four of the past six games. PALMER COLLECTS FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Haiden Palmer collected her first double-double of the season against Colgate University, Nov. 30. Palmer scored 11 points and grabbed 10 boards - one rebound shy of tying her career-high. The double-double was the second in a Zag uniform and fourth overall for the guard who transferred to GU from Oregon State University after her freshman campaign. Her first double-double as a Bulldog came during her sophomore season. The guard is leading the Zags in points at 16.1 and second in rebounds per game at 5.5. WHO ARE THE NEWCOMERS: Gonzaga University women's basketball welcomes two new faces in 2013-14; one of which has been with the program for season already. University of California transfer Lindsay Sherbert is eligible after sitting out the 2012-13 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules. Sherbert, now a junior, averaged 6.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game over her two years at California. She also drained 80 3-pointers. The lone freshman on the squad is Emma Wolfram from Kamloops, British Columbia. The 6-5 center was coached by Ken Olynyk, the father of former men's basketball player Kelly Olynyk. Wolfram will redshirt this season. ZAGS STARTED SEASON RANKED FOR FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY: For the first time in program history, the Gonzaga University women's basketball team started the season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. The Bulldogs checked in at No. 25 as the Associated Press released the preseason rankings. The Bulldogs continue to be ranked; holding the No. 24spot this week with 89 votes. GONZAGA MOVES TO 21ST IN USA TODAY COACHES TOP 25: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team earned 48 extra votes Tuesday to move up to 21st in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Bulldogs garnered a total of 149 votes to jump from 22nd to 21st this week. West Coast Conference opponents University of San Diego and BYU also received votes. The Toreros earned 16 votes and the Cougars garnered 11. ZAGS CURRENTLY RANKED 15TH IN ATTENDANCE: Gonzaga University women's basketball is currently ranked 15th in the nation in attendance with a home average of 5,188 fans. Tennessee leads the nation with an average of 10,635 fans per game. The Zags ended the 2012-13 season ranked a school-high 13th in NCAA Division I home attendance averaging 5,678 fans for its 17 home games. The Bulldogs also had a school record seven sellouts last year. In 2011-12, the Bulldogs averaged 5,442 fans for their 17 home games which stood 14th in the NCAA for women's basketball attendance. BASKETBALL IN HER GENES: Gonzaga University women's basketball sophomore 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 graduated from Stanford University in the spring of 2013 after a stellar 4-year basketball career. Joslyn Tinkle and former Gonzaga star Courtney Vandersloot are currently playing together overseas in Hungary with Uni Gyor. COACH GRAVES AND USA BASKETBALL: Gonzaga University women's basketball head coach Kelly Graves has added USA Basketball to his resume. Graves was an assistant coach with the U18 women's basketball squad that won goal at the 2012 FIBA Americas and was once again on the sidelines as an assistant coach when the U19 team won gold at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship of Women held in Klaipeda, Lithuania this past summer. NEW FACE ON THE SIDELINES: Gonzaga University women's basketball head coach Kelly Graves announced the hiring of current WNBA player and former Stanford University standout Nicole Powell as an assistant coach with the Bulldogs in 2013-14. Powell closed out her 10th year in the WNBA and first with the Tulsa Shock this summer. She was the third overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft; selected by the Charlotte Sting. Powell ended her career at Stanford as one of only two 3-time Kodak All-American's in its women's basketball history and was a finalist for the James Naismith Player of the Year for 3-consecutive years (2002-04). PALMER WORKING ON MASTER'S DEGREE: Gonzaga University women's basketball senior Haiden Palmer graduated in May of 2013 with an undergraduate degree in sport management. She is currently working on her master's degree in communication and leadership. Follow Gonzaga Athletics on Facebook Follow Kelly Graves on Twitter Follow Gonzaga Women's Basketball on Instagram | ||
