Women's Basketball Begins Regular Season Friday
11/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2015
AIR FORCE FALCONS (0-0) AT GONZAGA BULLDOGS (0-0)
GAME 1 | NOV. 13 | 6 P.M. | MCCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
SERIES: First ever meeting between the programs
FIRST MEETING: N/A
LAST MEETING: N/A
LIVE VIDEO:TheW.tv (Play-by-Play: Steve Myklebust)
LIVE RADIO: Toyota Gonzaga IMG - 1050 The Key (Play-by-Play: Steve Myklebust)
LIVE STATS:
FALCONS FLY INTO SPOKANE FOR REGULAR SEASON OPENER
- Gonzaga begins its regular season schedule against Air Force Friday.
- The Zags have won four straight regular season openers dating back to a 79-73 loss at USC in 2010.
- GU has won 11 consecutive home regular season openers, with the last loss coming to Oregon, 73-57, in 2003.
- The Bulldogs rallied to beat eventual Elite Eight participant Dayton, 75-65, in last year's regular season opener.
WHAT A TURNOUT ... AND IT WAS AN EXHIBITION
- Gonzaga's season-opening exhibition victory over Carroll drew an incredible 5,405 fans.
- Only 11 programs in the country averaged that many fans per game last season.
- The Zags average attendance in 2014-15 was 5,366, which was 13th in the nation.
- GU reached 5,400 fans on five occasions last season.
GONZAGA STORYLINES
- Gonzaga will be vying for its unprecedented 12th straight West Coast Conference regular season title.
- The Zags are also in the hunt for their eighth consecutive 25-win season. The Gonzaga women and men are the only programs in the nation to both achieve that feat in the past seven seasons.
- The Bulldogs return three starters from last year's team. Eight letterwinners are back with a ton of experience. GU welcomes back 58.4 percent of its scoring and 65.1 percent of its rebounding.
- The Zags' 2015-16 schedule features 18 home games. Nine of their 13 non-conference games are in Spokane.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
- Air Force is coming off of a 2-28 season, including a 1-17 mark in Mountain West Conference play.
- The Falcons return eight letterwinners, including three starters.
- Chris Gobrecht will be making her head coaching debut for Air Force against the Zags.
- Air Force lost its top two scorers, but return Cortney Porter's 10.5 points and 3.9 assists per game.
- Porter had a game-high 16 points and five assists in the Falcons' exhibition win. Maggie Borngesser grabbed 11 rebounds.
- The Falcons have five players that stand at six-feet or higher. Freshman Mikela Tucker is their tallest at 6-2.
SERIES HISTORY
- This is the first-ever meeting between Gonzaga and Air Force in regular season action.
- This will be the first of two games against Mountain West competition for GU this season (Wyoming on Dec. 3).
- The Bulldogs have defeated four straight Mountain West Conference opponents, including 70-56 at Wyoming last season.
A QUICK LOOK BACK
- The Bulldogs are coming off of a 26-8 season and an incredible run to the Sweet 16.
- GU made the run through the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed, before falling to second-seeded Tennessee in overtime.
- The 2014-15 Bulldogs broke seven schools records including 211 made three-pointers and 184 blocks.
- Gonzaga's 77.3 free-throw percentage was also a program record, and fourth in the country.
SAVE THE DATE(S)
- Gonzaga's first seven games of the season will be played inside the McCarthey Athletic Center, concluding with three games in the Naismith Hall of Fame Challenge.
- The Zags will face 11 opponents that advanced to the postseason in 2014-15, including four NCAA Tournament teams.
- Ten of the programs had top-100 RPI finishes last season, and 14 had .500 or better records.
- Nine upcoming opponents had 20-win seasons in 2014-15.
WHAT WE RETURNED:
- Elle Tinkle (All-WCC First Team/Academic All-WCC First Team), Shelby Cheslek (Honorable Mention Academic All-WCC) and Georgia Stirton after starting mostly all of the games last season.
- Shaniqua Nilles (Honorable Mention Academic All-WCC), Emma Wolfram (All-WCC Freshman Team), Emma Stach, and Chelsea Waters bring a ton of experience to this year's roster as well.
- Redshirt junior Kiara Kudron returns to the lineup in 2015-16. She scored 267 points in her first two seasons at GU, while adding 203 rebounds.
WHO ARE THE NEWCOMERS:
- Redshirt freshman Jill Barta makes her debut on the court this season for Gonzaga. The 6-3 forward will be a threat inside and outside for the Zags.
- Local standout, Laura Stockton, begins her freshman season in a GU uniform. The Bulldogs will look to Stockton for her vision on the court and knack for getting to the basket.
- Sharp-shooting Zhané Templeton will entertain the crowd with her outside game. The Grand Prairie, Texas native will look to be an impact in her freshman season.
- Zykera Rice brings a solid post game from Clover Park High School in Lakewood, Wash. The 6-1 forward has the ability to back-down a defender or step back for a jumpshot.
ZAGS NAMED PRESEASON CONFERENCE FAVORITE
- For the third straight season, Gonzaga was picked as the West Coast Conference preseason favorite.
- The Zags, which have won the last 11 regular season WCC titles, received six of the nine possible first-place votes for 78 points in the poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team.
- BYU was picked second and received four first-place votes and 76 points.
- It marked the third time GU and the Cougars were the top two teams in the poll since BYU joined the conference four years ago.
- The two-point separation is also the second closest margin between first and second over the last 10 years.
- Saint Mary's (61), San Diego (58) and San Francisco (51) rounded out the top half of this year's preseason poll.
- The Zags have now been picked the WCC preseason favorite in eight of the last 11 years.
CHESLEK AND TINKLE TABBED ALL-WCC
- Shelby Cheslek and Elle Tinkle were both named to the preseason All-WCC team for the first time.
- Tinkle was named to the All-WCC First Team last season after averaging 14.9 points per game during conference play, which was ninth in the WCC. In conference action, the senior was second in the league shooting 50.6 percent from the field, and 43.8 percent from behind-the-arc, which was fourth in the WCC.
- Also in conference play, she was fifth in steals (2.1), seventh in blocks (1.0), ninth in three-pointers made per game (1.9), and 16th in rebounds (5.9).
- Cheslek averaged 1.6 blocks per game, which was third in the West Coast Conference.
- The senior was also fourth in the WCC averaging 8.2 rebounds per outing.
- She recorded four double-doubles in 2014-15, while grabbing at least eight rebounds in 14 games.
CHASING MILESTONES
- Cheslek is fourth in program history with 148 blocks, four away from third.
- She is also 10th in GU history with 649 rebounds.
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.
THE Lisa Fortier SHOW
- The radio show returns for its second year live from Thai Bamboo on North Division in Spokane.
- Fans can listen live on Fox Sports 790 KJRB on the AM dial.
- Steve Myklebust will once again be the host of the show that welcomes GU coaches and players.
BULLDOGS ON ESPN'S RADAR
- Gonzaga begins the season ranked sixth in the ESPNW.com Mid-Major preseason top-10 poll.
- The writer praised the Zags' ability to thrive after losing key players year-after-year.
- It pointed out Elle Tinkle as a name to remember and marked the Stanford game as a chance to turn heads.
- Florida Gulf Coast topped the poll by writer Graham Hays. George Washington and Princeton followed.
- The Bulldogs' 2015-16 opponents, Dayton and BYU, were seven and 10 in the ranking.
BASKETBALL IN HER GENES:
- You may have heard this story, but the Tinkles are a basketball family.
- Elle has now made a name for herself as a standout senior on the GU roster.
- Her father Wayne played for the University of Montana, played professionally in Europe for 10 years and is currently the head men's basketball coach at Oregon State University.
- Her mother Lisa also played for Montana and was inducted into Montana's Hall of Fame.
- Her brother Tres was named the state player of the year the past two years in Montana, and begins his freshman season at Oregon State, playing for his father Wayne.
- Her sister Joslyn graduated from Stanford University in 2013 after a stellar four-year basketball career.
BASKETBALL IS ALSO IN HER GENES:
- You may recognize the last name Stockton if you're a Gonzaga fan.
- Freshman Laura Stockton lives on the Stockton success at GU.
- Her father John was an NBA Hall of Fame point guard for the Utah Jazz after an incredible career at Gonzaga.
- Her brother David was an All-WCC point guard as a Zag and inked a deal with the Sacramento Kings.
- Her mother Nada also competed for Gonzaga in volleyball and track.
- Her cousin Riley also enjoyed a great career at Div. II Seattle Pacific where he was named the conference's Defender of the Year.
FOURTH LONGEST CONFERENCE TITLE STREAK
- Gonzaga captured its unprecedented 11th-straight WCC regular-season title.
- In the 11-year reign, GU piled up an astonishing 152-13 record against WCC foes.
- That includes three undefeated seasons in 2004-05, 2009-10, and 2010-11.
1) Green Bay, Horizon League, 17 (1998-15)
2) Louisiana Tech, Sun Belt and WAC, 15 (1993-2007)
3) Stanford, Pac-12, 14 in a row (2002-14)
4) Gonzaga, West Coast, 11 in a row (2005-15)
Chattanooga, Southern, 11 in a row (2000-10)
7) Marist, Metro Atlantic, 10 in a row (2005-14)
Stanford, Pac-12, 10 in a row (1989-1998)
8) Liberty, Big South, nine in a row (1998-2006)
Connecticut, Big East, nine in a row (1994-2002)
- Only Gonzaga and Green Bay have active streaks.
NOT A BAD DEBUT
- Lisa Fortier's first season was the best opening year for a head coach in program history.
- Bill Evans' 1983-84 Zag team went 21-9 and qualified for NAIA Districts.
- In 1985-86, Mike Peterson led GU to the NAIA Districts and a 21-10 record.
- Fortier was only the third head coach in the history of the program to post a winning record in their first season.
NOT A BAD DEBUT ... PART TWO
- Lisa Fortier was named the Spalding Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie Coach of the Year.
- She was also selected the West Coast Conference co-Coach of the Year.
- Fortier became the first first-year coach to receive the award in conference history.
AMONG THE ELITE OF COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL
- Gonzaga, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, and Notre Dame were the only schools to have their women's and men's teams in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 last season.
- The GU women's and men's basketball teams' combined 61 victories were third in the nation. The Zags had a combined winning percentage of 84.7.
- Notre Dame had the most wins between its teams at 68, with a winning percentage of 87.2.
HOME SWEET HOME IN WCC PLAY
- GU has won 31 of the last 32 home games versus WCC opponents.
- Since 2010, the Bulldogs are 46-2 against conference opponents at home.
- At home against conference opponents, the Zags are 91-6 (.938) since 2003.
- The six losses were to Pepperdine (`03, `07), San Francisco (`04), Portland (`09), St. Mary's (`12), and Pacific (`15). Four of the six losses were by six points or less.
IN THE MCCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER
- Since the McCarthey Athletic Center opened in 2004, GU has gone 146-18 (.896).
- 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 18 losses have been to Pacific-12 Conference members - Stanford (twice), Arizona State, USC and Washington State (twice) - and three to West Coast Conference schools.
- Against West Coast Conference opponents, the Zags are 85-5 (.944) in the MAC.
- Gonzaga averaged 5,366 fans per game this season at home, which was 13th in the nation. The Bulldogs averaged 89.4 percent filled to capacity, which was third in the country.
Players Mentioned
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