Unique Matchup in the Kennel Sunday
12/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2015
MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (5-2) AT GONZAGA BULLDOGS (5-3)
GAME 9 | DEC. 6 | 2 P.M.| MCCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER | SPOKANE
SERIES: Series tied at 10-10 (6-3 in Spokane)
FIRST MEETING: 1981: 63-101 in Bozeman, Mont.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 21, 2014: 89-60 in Bozeman, Mont.
LIVE TV/VIDEO: SWX/TheW.tv (Play-by-Play: Sam Adams/Color-Commentary: Stephanie Hawk-Freeman)
LIVE RADIO: Toyota Gonzaga IMG - Fox Sports 790 KJRB (Play-by-Play: Steve Myklebust)
LIVE STATS:
STOCKTON SISTERS SQUARE OFF SUNDAY
- Gonzaga's Laura Stockton faces her sister, Lindsay, in a unique matchup in the Kennel.
- Montana State also recently named their father, John, as an assistant coach.
- MSU has three players from Spokane; Lindsay (Gonzaga Prep), Delany Junkermier (Mead), Hannah Caudill (Gonzaga Prep).
- In addition to his daughter, John has coached three other Bobcat players, including Caudill, at Gonzaga Prep, and Junkermier and Alexa Dawkins, as members of the Sandpipers AAU team out of Spokane.
GONZAGA STORYLINES
- The Bulldogs are seventh in the country with 47 total blocks. Their 5.9 blocks per game average tops the West Coast Conference and are 23rd in the country.
- Shelby Cheslek needs five blocks to break Kayla Standish's program record of 176 in a career.
- The senior is fourth in the nation with 23 blocks already this season, and her 2.88 per game ranks 16th in the country.
- The Zags sit atop the CollegeInsiders.com Mid-Major Top-25 for the second consecutive week.
- Gonzaga is holding opponents to 55.1 points per game, which leads the West Coast Conference and is 43rd in the nation.
- Under Head Coach Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga is 26-0 when it scores at least 70 points and 5-11 when it does not.
- The Bulldogs' 119 made free-throws ranks 15th in the nation, while their 168 attempts are 20th.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS
- Montana State rolls into Spokane after a 89-66 victory over Cal State Fullerton in Bozeman Thursday.
- The Bobcats currently lead the Big Sky Conference, and are 14th in the nation, averaging 19.3 assists per game.
- They also top the Big Sky with a 77.4 free-throw percentage, which is 10th in the country.
- MSU leads the conference in field goal percentage (45.5) and field goal percentage defense (34.4).
- Peyton Ferris averages a team-high 14.0 points per game and is shooting 88 percent (22/25) from the free-throw line. She is sixth in the country making 67.3 percent of her shots from the field.
- Hannah Caudill and Lindsay Stockton are averaging 6.0 and 3.7 assists per outing.
- Riley Nordgaard is grabbing a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game and shooting 57.1 percent (12/21) from behind-the-arc.
SERIES HISTORY
- Sunday is the 21st all-time meeting between Gonzaga and Montana State.
- The Zags have won five straight in the series, dating back to a 68-47 loss in Bozeman in 2001.
- Prior to GU's current win streak, the Bobcats won five straight in the series between 1995 and 2001.
- Gonzaga is 12-0 against Big Sky Conference foes in the last five years and 51-9 (.850) since 1980.
NOT A BAD NIGHT
- Shelby Cheslek scored a career-high 18 points and powered the Zags past Wyoming in overtime on Dec. 3.
- The senior also made a career-high six blocks, the most by a Bulldog since Kayla Standish had six in a home win over Pepperdine on Feb. 18, 2012. Five of Cheslek's blocks came after halftime.
- Cheslek made six of her nine shots from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
- Shelby Cheslek recorded her 11th career double-double against North Carolina in Connecticut (16 pts, 11 rbs).
- The senior has two double-doubles this season after having four in 2014-15.
- Her first career double-double was an 11-point and 11-rebound performance at LMU on Feb. 9, 2013.
- Teammate Kiara Kudron also has two double-doubles this season.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
- Gonzaga currently leads the West Coast Conference with a 55.1 scoring defense (43rd in the nation), and blocks per game at 5.9 (23rd in the nation).
- The Bulldogs are second in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage defense at 26.7 (70th in the country), and steals per game with 9.6 (82nd in the country).
IT'S A BLOCK PARTY
- Last season's GU team broke the program record with 184 blocks in a season.
- This season's team has 47 through the first eight games. They are on pace for 176 this season, which would be second on the program's all-time single season list.
- This season's team made 11 blocks in the win over West Virginia, which is fourth on the program's all-time single game list, and was the most since the record was broken with 16 against Saint Mary's in 2010.
- Shelby Cheslek is on pace to contend with the single season program record of 77 set by Stephanie Hawk in 2006-07. Cheslek needs six blocks to break Kayla Standish's GU career record of 176.
CHASING MILESTONES
- Cheslek is second in program history with 171 blocks, five away from tying the record.
- She is also sixth in GU history with 721 rebounds.
FREQUENT FLYER MILES
- After the 2,705-mile trip to New England, the Bulldogs travel to Dayton, Ohio, and Hamilton, N.Y., next week.
- Dayton is 2,055 miles away from Gonzaga, and Dayton to Colgate is then a 581-mile trip.
- The Zags will then make the 2,509-mile trip back to Spokane.
- Gonzaga's longest conference road trip is 1,301 miles to San Diego.
PACKING THE MAC
- Gonzaga is second in the nation in accumulative attendance with 38,123 fans in the first seven home games.
- The Zags' 5,446 average fans per game is 13th in the country.
- The Bulldogs are also second in the NCAA filling the 6,000-seat McCarthey Athletic Center to 90.8 percent.
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Women's BasketballCenter
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballThursday, March 28
Monday, March 25
Sunday, March 24
Saturday, March 23
