WBB Hosts San Diego Monday
12/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) | Spokane, Wash. Video: TheW.tv | Radio: The Key 1050 AM Live Video | Live Stats | Gonzaga Notes | San Diego Notes
ZAGS HOST TOREROS IN KENNEL
• Gonzaga welcomes San Diego, which has the most overall wins currently in the WCC, Monday.
• This is the eighth time San Diego and the Bulldogs have met in the past three years.
• Monday's tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. Pacific Time. The game will have live video and live stats on GoZags.com. Live radio will be on The Key 1050 AM.
THE LAST TIME OUT
• Gonzaga put together arguably its best performance of the season in a 78-62 win over BYU to open West Coast Conference play Saturday.
• GU never trailed in the game, and led for nearly 38 minutes. Its largest lead was 20 points late in the game.
• The Bulldogs forced 17 turnovers and made 12 steals. Conversely, they matched a season-low with 12 turnovers.
• Keani Albanez had a game-high 20 points and a career-high seven steals.
GONZAGA STORYLINES
• The Zags have won 28 out of their last 30 games inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. Two of the last three home losses have come Washington State, and the other to Iowa State in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
• GU has now won 11 of its last 12 West Coast Conference season-opening games, with the lone loss coming last season at Saint Mary's in overtime, 79-78.
• The Bulldogs are ranked 47th in the latest RPI rating, previously 53rd before the BYU game.
• Gonzaga is fourth in the country with a 78.2 free-throw percentage.
• The Bulldogs' three-point defense is 37th in the country holding opponents to 25.9 percent.
• The Zags' +9.1 rebound margin ranks 31st in the nation.
• Shelby Cheslek is fourth in the conference averaging 9.1 rebounds.
• Sunny Greinacher is seventh in the WCC averaging 14.8 points per game.
• Keani Albanez needs two made three-pointers to have sole possession of eighth all-time at 122. She is four away from seventh.
ABOUT THE TOREROS
• San Diego is off to the second best start of a season in school history.
• The Toreros are ranked 21st in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25.
• USD's lone loss was a five-point setback to Fresno State.
• San Diego's 19 offensive rebounds per game are eighth in the nation. It is also eighth with 6.5 blocks per outing.
• Malina Hood's 3.89 made three-pointers per game leads the country.
• Sophia Ederaine is eighth in the nation averaging 3.55 blocks per game and has six double-doubles.
• Malina and Maya Hood lead the Toreros with a combined 31.6 points per game.
SERIES HISTORY
• Monday is the 59th meeting between Gonzaga and San Diego.
• It is the eighth meeting between the programs in the past three years.
• The Zags have won the last 14 matchups, dating back to the 2008 WCC Tournament Championships in San Diego. The Toreros, the three-seed upset top-seeded GU, 70-66, on their home court.
• GU has won 12 straight at home over San Diego, with the last loss coming in 2002. Gonzaga is 20-7 at home versus the Toreros, winning all 11 inside the MAC.
• Gonzaga won the last meeting, 66-48, in San Diego on Feb. 13. Keani Albanez and Kiara Kudron both had 12 points.
• Keani Albanez and Sunny Greinacher have combined for 83 points in their eight career games against USD.
• Gonzaga won the first meeting, 64-60, in San Diego in 1987.
CHASING MILESTONES
• Sunny Greinacher
- Greinacher is currently fifth in program history with a .510 FG Pct.
- Needs nine games to equal Stephanie Hawk's 122, which is 10th all-time at GU.
- Needs eight points to become 19th on the GU all-time scoring list.
- Needs 106 rebounds to become the 15th player to grab 600 in a career at GU.
• Keani Albanez
- Albanez is currently ninth in program history with 359 three-point attempts.
- Needs two made three-pointers to have sole possession of eighth all-time at 122. She is four away from seventh.
- Needs 12 games to equal Stephanie Hawk's 122, which is 10th all-time at GU.
- Needs 28 steals to equal Loretta O'Brien's 162, which is 10th all-time at GU.
• Shelby Cheslek
- Cheslek is seventh in program history with 110 blocks, 16 away from sixth.
SHERBERT SIDELINED WITH KNEE INJURY
• Lindsay Sherbert suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in the second half against the University of Iowa in the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout on Nov. 29.
• Sherbert has not played since and will return to play in six to eight weeks.
• Through five games, Sherbert averaged 10.8 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes per game.
• The Temecula, Calif. native was shooting nearly 42 percent from behind-the-arc with 10 made three-pointers. She started in each of the five games.
ABOUT THE GONZAGA BULLDOGS:
• Gonzaga University women's basketball team ended their 2013-14 schedule with a loss to James Madison in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• The Zags were seeded sixth, their highest seed ever in the NCAA Tournament.
• GU defeated BYU in the WCC Title game to win its second-straight WCC Tournament Championship and fifth in six years.
• The Bulldogs have reached 20 wins in eight straight seasons.
WHAT WE RETURNED:
• Gonzaga returns nine letterwinners, including three starters from last year's squad. It lost four players to graduation.
• Overall, the Zags returned 60.4 percent of its scoring from the 2013-14 season and 73.3 percent of its rebounding.
• Keani Albanez, Sunny Greinacher and Lindsey Sherbert all return after averaging more than 20 minutes a game last season.
• The Bulldogs welcome only one transfer, Georgia Stirton, from North Idaho College. There are also three incoming freshman from high school squads.
WHO ARE THE NEWCOMERS:
• Gonzaga has a total of six new faces to the 2014-15 team.
• Georgia Stirton transfers in from North Idaho College. The incoming junior was named the Region 18 Player of the Year and NJCAA second team All-American.
• There are three true freshmen on the roster. Jill Barta comes to Gonzaga following an undefeated high school career in Fairfield, Mont. Kacie Bosch was named the top female player in Alberta. Emma Stach was one of the top young players in Germany.
• Emma Wolfram will make her debut on the court after redshirting in 2013-14.
• Melissa Holland also joins the roster after being a team manager and practice player.
NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINES:
• The Zags begin the Lisa Fortier head coaching era this season.
• Fortier has been an assistant for GU the past seven seasons, and now enters her first year as a head coach.
• She took over for Kelly Graves, who is now at Oregon, in April.
• Fortier is joined by a completely new staff at Gonzaga.
• Jordan Green, Stacy Clinesmith and Craig Fortier are all first year assistants at GU.
• Former Gonzaga players, Amanda Brown and Heather Bowman, filled the Director of Operations and Video Coordinator positions.
GREINACHER TABBED PRESEASON ALL-WCC:
• The West Coast Conference announced its annual preseason All-Conference team and Sunny Greinacher was named to the select squad.
• The senior was named to the All-WCC postseason squad last year. The forward was named to the All-Freshman team in 2012 and earned All-WCC honorable mention in 2012-13.
• Over the 18 league games last season, Greinacher averaged 10.9 points and 4.8 rebounds, while shooting an impressive 48.7 percent (75-of-154) from the field and 75.4 percent (46-of-61) at the charity stripe.
BULLDOGS PICKED AS WCC PRESEASON FAVORITES:
• Gonzaga was selected as the preseason favorite to win the West Coast Conference title when the annual coaches' poll was released.
• The Zags received seven of the nine possible first-place votes for 78 points in the poll.
• BYU was picked second, received two first-place votes and 71 points. San Diego was selected third with one first-place vote and 65 points, just ahead of Pacific's 60 points.
FORTIER INKS TRIO ON SIGNING DAY:
• The first signing day of the Lisa Fortier era is in the books for Gonzaga University women's basketball, and it was a highly successful one.
• Zykera Rice, a 6-1 forward from Tacoma, Wash, is a three-sport athlete at Clover Park High School. Last season, she averaged 17 points and 13 rebounds per game.
• Laura Stockton, daughter of John and sister to David, will continue the family name for GU. At Gonzaga Prep in 2013-14, she averaged 13.1 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.8 steals per game.
• Zhane Templeton of Grand Prairie, Texas, was named Texas Girls Coaches Association First Team Class 5A All-State and first team All-District 7-5A.
IN THE MCCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER
• Since the McCarthey Athletic Center opened in 2004, Gonzaga has gone 139-17 overall.
• The Bulldogs went undefeated at 14-0 in the McCarthey Athletic Center during the 2004-05 campaign, the first season it was open; went 15-0 during the 2009-10 season and finished last season with a perfect 16-0 record.
• Six of the 17 losses have been to Pacific-12 Conference members - Stanford (twice), Washington State (twice), Arizona State, and USC - and three to West Coast Conference schools.
WHERE THE ATTENDANCE RANKS:
• Gonzaga ranked 16th in the nation in attendance with a home average of 5,426 fans last season. Tennessee led the nation with an average of 11,600 fans per game.
• The Zags ended the 2012-13 season ranked a school-high 13th in 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.
SEVENTH LONGEST CONFERENCE TITLE STREAK:
The Gonzaga University women's basketball team captured its unprecedented 10th-straight West Coast Conference regular-season title in 2013-14, finishing league with a 16-2 record. In the Bulldogs decade-long reign, they piled up an astonishing 136-12 record against conference foes. That includes three undefeated seasons. Their record is the seventh longest streak in the nation.
1) Wisconsin-Green Bay, Horizon League, 16 (1998-14)
2) Louisiana Tech, Sun Belt and WAC, 15 (1993-2007)
3) Stanford, Pac-12, 14 in a row (2002-14)
4) Chattanooga, Southern, 11 in a row (2000-10)
5) Stanford, Pac-12, 10 in a row (1989-1998)
6) Marist, Metro Atlantic, 11th a row (2005-14)
7) Gonzaga, West Coast, 10 in a row (2005-14)
8) Liberty, Big South, nine in a row (1998-2006)
9) Connecticut, Big East, nine in a row (1994-2002)
Only Gonzaga, Stanford, Marist and Wisconsin-Green Bay have active streaks.
