6-seed: 19/19 George Washington (29-3) vs. 11-seed: Gonzaga (24-7) Friday, March 20, 2015 | 4:30 p.m. NCAA Tournament First Round | Spokane Regional Gill Coliseum (9,604) | Corvallis, Ore. Television: ESPN2 | Radio: The Key 1050 AM

ZAGS RETURN TO NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Gonzaga, in its seventh straight NCAA Tournament, faces George Washington in the first round of the Spokane Regional.
• This will be the first ever meeting between the programs.
• Friday's tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Live radio will be on The Key 1050 AM.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY FOR ZAGS PRIOR TO GAME
• Gonzaga has its first news conference Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Gill Coliseum at Oregon State.
• Head Coach Lisa Fortier, Keani Albanez and Sunny Greinacher will be available at the news conference.
• All other student-athletes will be available during that time for interviews in the locker room area.
• The first 15 minutes of Thursday's 4:20 p.m. practice will be open to media.

GONZAGA STORYLINES
• GU was the second team in WCC history to win 16 games in WCC play, matching last year's Gonzaga team that finished 16-2.
• Lisa Fortier will finish with the best first season overall record by a head coach in program history.
• The Bulldogs are 21-0 when they score at least 70 points so far this season, and 13-0 when their opponent commits more turnovers.
• They are also 17-1 when their bench outscored the opposing bench.
• The Zags are 23-1 when shooting a better percentage from the field than their opponent.
• GU is 14th in the country averaging 5,366 fans per game, and third by capacity (89.4).
• Gonzaga is fifth in the country with a 77.0 free-throw percentage.
• The Zags' 5.4 blocks per game ranks 23rd in the nation. Their 6.6 rebound margin is 27th.
• Keani Albanez is shooting .867 (72-of-83) this season, which is first in program history.
• The team's 77.0 percent (490-for-623) free-throw shooting is a currently a program record.
• The Bulldogs' 196 made three-pointers and 168 blocks are single season program records.
• Gonzaga leads the WCC in scoring offense (71.4), and is second in scoring defense (61.1).
• The Bulldogs are also first in the conference in scoring margin (+10.3).
• The Zags' last three opponents have shot season-low field goal attempts for a GU opponent, 47, 48, and 46.

ABOUT THE COLONIALS
• The Atlantic 10 champion Colonials earned the league's auto bid and make their 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2008. GW is 18-15 all-time in its 15 prior appearances, including 13-2 in the first round.
• George Washington enters the tournament winners of 27 of its last 28 games, including eight straight.
• Ranked 11th in the RPI, and 19th in both polls, GW has a program-record for wins in a season.
• GW won its first A-10 title since 2003 and claimed the regular-season crown with a 15-1 league record.
• The Colonials' 13.9 rebound-margin is first in the country. Their 30.0 defensive rebounds per game are fifth in the nation, while their 17.0 offensive rebounds are eighth.
• George Washington is 13th in the country averaging 13.9 assists per game.
• Three Colonials collected A-10 All-Conference accolades, headline by A-10 Player and Defensive Player of the Year Jonquel Jones. She was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 Championship.
• Jones is the only player in the league averaging a double-double with 15.5 points and a league-best 12.4 rebounds per game, which ranks sixth nationally. She has 19 double-doubles this season, which is 10th in the nation.
• Caira Washington joined Jones on the First Team after averaging 12.4 points on a team-best 51.7 percent shooting to go with 7.8 rebounds per contest.
• Freshman Kelli Prange earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team with 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
• Friday is the first ever meeting between Gonzaga and George Washington.
• GU is 4-2 all-time versus current Atlantic 10 Conference opponents.
• The Zags and GW have three common opponents this season. The Colonials and GU both beat Dayton and Saint Mary's. But, Gonzaga lost to American 59-56, while George Washington beat the Eagles 63-52.

NCAA TOURNAMENT QUICK HITS
• Gonzaga was selected for its seventh straight NCAA Tournament and eighth overall.
• It is the eighth time out of the last nine years the Zags have made the tournament field.
• The Bulldogs are 8-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with three trips to the Sweet 16 and one to the Elite Eight. GU is 5-2 in the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed.
• This marks the second time the Bulldogs were taken as an at-large. The last was in 2012, when they were a 12-seed and advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to Kentucky in Kingston, R.I.
• Gonzaga has never played an NCAA Tournament game in Corvallis, Ore., but lost to Oregon State in the first round of the 2004 WNIT tournament in Gill Coliseum.
• The Zags are 4-3 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Last year, sixth-seeded Gonzaga fell in the first round to 11th-seeded James Madison in College Station, Texas.
• Gonzaga is 33-28 (.541) in the postseason since joining the NCAA.

CHASING MILESTONES
• Sunny Greinacher
- Greinacher is currently fifth in program history with a .504 FG Pct.
- Needs two games to become fifth all-time in GU history playing in 134 games.
- Needs 55 points to become 13th on the Gonzaga all-time scoring list.
• Keani Albanez
- Albanez is currently fourth in program history with 466 three-point attempts. - She is fifth all-time at GU with an 80.5 career free-throw percentage.
- She is three made three-pointers away from eighth all-time with 61 in a season.
- Needs five steals to become eighth on the GU all-time list with 178.
- She is 13 points away from being the 21st player in GU history with 1,000 points.
• Shelby Cheslek
- Cheslek is fourth in program history with 144 blocks, eight away from third.
- Needs four blocks to move into the top five in GU history with 54 this season.
- Needs eight rebounds to be 10th in GU history with 643 rebounds.

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) 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) 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, Marist and Wisconsin-Green Bay have active streaks.

GREINACHER NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Sunny Greinacher represented Gonzaga women's basketball on the 2015 West Coast Conference All-Tournament Team.
• Greinacher, last season's most outstanding player of the tournament, averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the Zags' two games inside the Orleans Arena this year.
• She made 46.4 percent of her shots from the field. The senior added eight assists, three steals and two blocks. She made three of her four free-throws.

STACKED AT THE TOP
• All five of the top teams in the West Coast Conference are in the top-65 in the RPI.
• In the RPI, GU is 39, BYU is 49, San Diego is 56, St. Mary's is 60, and Pacific is 61.
• All five teams finished the regular season with 20 wins. San Francisco has 19 wins.
• The West Coast Conference has six teams in the postseason; Gonzaga and BYU are in the NCAA Tournament, while San Diego, St. Mary's, Pacific, and San Francisco are in the WNIT.
• Out of 33 conferences across the nation, the WCC is the ninth most difficult according to RealTimeRPI.com, right in front of the Big East.

STAYING OUT IN FRONT
• In the past 860 minutes of play, the Zags have trailed for 95 minutes and 12 seconds. That's only 11 percent of the time in the last 21 games that Gonzaga has been behind.
• During WCC play this season, GU was behind for only 71:11 of the 720 minutes (16 games).
• San Diego led for 24:52 in its win over the Bulldogs. GU led for 11:05 in the loss at USD.
• Pacific led for 8:52 in its win over Gonzaga, while the Zags led for 29:37 in that game.
• San Francisco led for 21:29 in the four-overtime thriller in Spokane on Feb. 7.

WHO'S IT GOING TO BE?
• Eight different players have led the Zags in scoring in a game this season.
• Nine Bulldogs have reached double-digit scoring this season. Three have scored 20.
• Three Zags are averaging double-digit scoring, with four others averaging at least six points.

SHARING THE LOVE
• Nine Zags are averaging double-digit minutes per game this season.
• Eight are averaging at least 20 minutes per outing.
• No players average 30 minutes, Elle Tinkle averaging a team-high 29.1 minutes, followed closely by Sunny Greinacher and Keani Albanez at 28.7.

NOT A BAD DEBUT
• Lisa Fortier's first season is on track to be the best opening year 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 will be 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
• In her first season, Lisa Fortier was selected the West Coast Conference co-Coach of the Year.
• Fortier became the first first-year coach to receive the award in conference history.
• Pacific's Lynne Roberts and Saint Mary's Paul Thomas also received this year's honor.
• It marked the first time in conference history that three coaches received the recognition.

WCC HONORS QUARTET
• Sunny Greinacher, Elle Tinkle, Keani Albanez and Emma Wolfram were all recognized for postseason awards by the West Coast Conference.
• Greinacher and Tinkle were named first team All-West Coast Conference. Albanez received second team honors. Wolfram was selected to the All-Freshman team.
• Greinacher was one of three honorees named to the team for the second straight season. She was also one of seven players named to the preseason team as well.
• Gonzaga, BYU and San Diego all had multiple members on the team.
• BYU's Morgan Bailey was named the WCC Player of the Year.
• Sophia Ederaine of San Diego was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year.
• The Newcomer of the Year award went to Saint Mary's Stella Beck.

FIVE NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-WCC LIST
• Sunny Greinacher, Elle Tinkle, Shelby Cheslek, Shaniqua Nilles, and Lindsay Sherbert were all named Academic All-West Coast Conference.
• Greinacher (3.52 GPA) and Tinkle (3.44) were named to the All-Academic team, while Cheslek (3.41), Nilles (3.43), and Sherbert (3.57) were named honorable mention.
• Greinacher was one of three honorees named to the team for the third straight season.
• Cheslek and Sherbert were honorable mention for the second straight year.
• BYU and Gonzaga were the lone schools with multiple members on the team.
• All 10 honorees on the team had at least a 3.30 GPA. Student-athletes must have a 3.20 GPA to be considered for the team.

AMONG THE ELITE OF COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL
• The Gonzaga women's and men's basketball teams' combined 56 victories is fifth in the nation.
• Notre Dame has the most wins between its teams at 60. Maryland, Wichita State and Kentucky all have 57.
• GU is fifth in the nation with an .862 win percentage. Notre Dame's .896 is first.
• Only Duke and Gonzaga women's and men's teams have seven straight 25-win seasons. Duke's women is four wins from 25, while the Zags are one victory away.

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 averages 5,366 fans per game this season at home, which is 14th in the nation. They average 89.4 percent filled to capacity, which is third in the country.
• 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.

JANUARY IS A GOOD TIME FOR THE ZAGS
• Gonzaga has won 20 straight games in the month of January, dating back to a 54-51 loss at Saint Mary's on Jan. 10, 2013.
• The Zags went unbeaten in January this season and last season.
• In the past 10 seasons, Gonzaga has won 68 of the last 70 games (.971) in January, with both losses coming to SMC.
• From 2006 to 2012, GU won 44 straight games in January.

MASTERFUL CAREERS AT GONZAGA
• Four Zags are starting or completing their pursuit of a master's degree at Gonzaga.
• Lindsay Sherbert is wrapping up her Masters of Communication Leadership and Sunny Greinacher is finishing her Masters of School Counseling.
• Shaniqua Nilles and Shelby Cheslek are beginning their masters' programs. Nilles is starting her Masters of Communication Leadership, while Cheslek is going for a Masters in Business Administration.

ZAGS ADD UTAH STATE TRANSFER
• Gonzaga has added Makenlee Williams, a transfer from Utah St., to its roster.
• Following NCAA transfer rules, she will sit out the remainder of this season.
• Through seven games, she was leading the Aggies averaging 14.4 points.
• During her USU career, Williams averaged 11.1 points and 4.2 rebounds.
• She appeared in 60 games at Utah State, making 53 starts.

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.
• 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.