Women's Basketball Welcomes EWU Thursday
11/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2015
EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES (2-0) AT GONZAGA BULLDOGS (1-1)
GAME 3 | NOV. 19 | 6 P.M. | MCCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
SERIES: Gonzaga leads 29-13 (15-4 at Gonzaga)
FIRST MEETING: Feb. 10, 1982: 39-79 in Spokane, Wash.
LAST MEETING: Dec. 3, 2014: 61-60 in Cheney, Wash.
LIVE VIDEO: TheW.tv (Play-by-Play: Steve Myklebust)
LIVE RADIO: Toyota Gonzaga IMG - Fox Sports 790 KJRB (Play-by-Play: Steve Myklebust)
LIVE STATS:
CLASH OF EAST SIDE OF THE STATE PROGRAMS THURSDAY
- Gonzaga hosts Eastern Washington Thursday in a matchup between schools separated by 19 miles.
- The Zags are coming off of its earliest sellout in a season in program history against Stanford Sunday.
- Gonzaga has accumulated 16,979 fans through the first three home games of the season, filling the McCarthey Athletic Center to 94.3 percent. The Zags were third in the nation last season packing the MAC at 89.4 percent of its capacity.
GONZAGA STORYLINES
- New to lineup players, Kiara Kudron, Jill Barta, Zhané Templeton, and Laura Stockton all played significant roles in the Zags' opening weekend games. The quartet combined for 62 points, which was 46 percent of the Bulldogs' scoring.
- The foursome also grabbed a total of 36 rebounds. It was the collegiate debuts for Barta, Stockton, and Templeton.
- Shelby Cheslek's 151 career blocks is one away from the top three on the program's all-time list.
- The Bulldogs' victory over Air Force was the 12th straight home-opening win.
- Gonzaga outrebounded its first two opponents, grabbing 44 boards in both contests.
ABOUT THE EAGLES
- Eastern Washington opened its season with a pair of home victories over Eastern Oregon (64-40) and Air Force (65-44).
- The Eagles are shooting 43 percent from the field, while holding their opponent to 28 percent.
- EWU has a +2.5 rebound-margin entering the game with Gonzaga. The Eagles have committed 35 turnovers to 21 assists.
- Hayley Hodgins totaled 44 points in the first two games, while Delaney Hodgins is adding 13.5 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per outing. Hayley also has 11 steals through the first two games.
- Eastern Washington is coming off of a 21-12 season that ended in the second round of the WNIT.
- The Eagles lost nine players from last year's roster, including three starters. They have nine underclassmen to three upperclassmen (one senior and two juniors) this season.
SERIES HISTORY
- The Zags won at Cheney last season, 61-60, in a thriller that concluded with an Elle Tinkle buzzer-beater.
- Gonzaga has won 11 straight meetings in the series and 13 of the last 14.
- The last EWU win in the series was 72-69 in the Spokane Arena in 2004.
- The Bulldogs have won seven consecutive meetings at Gonzaga, dating back to a 59-57 Eagle win in 2001.
- The two-point setback in 2001 was the lone home loss for the Zags in the 16 all-time meetings at Gonzaga.
- Gonzaga has won all six meetings between the programs inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
- The programs have met every year since 1986, which is 29 straight seasons.
FORTIER INKS DUO ON SIGNING DAY
- Lisa Fortier announced the signing of Grace Collett and Jessie Loera for the 2016-17 season.
- Collett, a 6-4 post, has been on several training squads for Australia's junior national teams.
- Collett was selected as a Development Player for the WNBL's Melbourne Boomers.
- Loera was named the Columbia Basin Big Nine Player of the Year and co-Defensive Player of the Year following her junior season at Moses Lake High School in Moses Lake, Wash.
- Over her three-year career at Moses Lake, the 5-6 guard has amassed 872 points, an average of 12.3 per game.
RECORD-BREAKING START
- Gonzaga opened the regular season by holding its opponent to the third-lowest point total in program history.
- The 53-point margin win was one of the largest in program history.
- It was the largest margin of victory since GU beat Whitworth 114-40 on Nov. 14, 2010.
- The Bulldogs' 16 steals and 29 forced turnovers were the most in the Lisa Fortier era.
CHASING MILESTONES
- Cheslek is fourth in program history with 151 blocks, one away from third.
- She is also ninth in GU history with 662 rebounds, 17 away from eighth.
ZAGS NEW RADIO HOME
- Fans will enjoy a broader listening radius for Gonzaga women's basketball games in 2015-16.
- The Zags will now have all of their games on Fox Sports 790 KJRB on the AM dial.
- Steve Myklebust returns as the voice of GU women's basketball this season.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballThursday, March 28
Monday, March 25
Sunday, March 24
Saturday, March 23
