SPOKANE, Wash. - As the 2016-17 Gonzaga women's basketball season is on the horizon, there are a number of former Zags still playing professionally, both domestically and internationally. In total, 11 former Zags will continue to play professionally in the 2016-17 season.

Courtney Vandersloot was drafted by the WNBA's Chicago Sky in 2011 and just completed her sixth season with the club. While there she has averaged 8.8 points per game, five assists per contest, two rebounds per game, and started in 157 games. The Sky advanced to the semifinals of the WNBA Playoffs this past year. While at Gonzaga, Vandersloot was the first player in NCAA Division I history to score 2,000 points and dish out 1,000 assists in a career. She was the three-time WCC Player of the Year and three-time All-American.

Kayla Standish was drafted in 2012 by the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, and has been playing internationally since May of 2012. She is currently with the Townsville Fire of the Australian Women's National Basketball League in Townsville, Queensland. With the Zags she was a two-time All-WCC selection and two-time WCC All-Tournament honoree.

Shaniqua Nilles is in her first season playing for the SISU Basketball Klub in the Danish Basketball League in Copenhagen, Denmark. Nilles shot 76 percent from the free throw line in her career and was an impact player for the Zags last season.

Jazmine Redmon joined Nilles with the SISU Basketball Klub in 2016. Redmon was an Honorable Mention All-WCC selection in 2014 and the WCC Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. She is sixth all-time on the Gonzaga career list with 211 steals.

Shelby Cheslek recently signed to play with Dafni Agiou Dimitriou, located in Agios Dimitrios, and they compete in the E.S.K.A South Attica and in Greek's top national league. She was a 2016 Honorable Mention All-WCC selection and three-time Honorable Mention WCC All-Academic honoree. Cheslek ranks second all-time in career rebounds at GU with 932.

Kelly Bowen joined Standish in Australia and will play with the Melbourne Boomers, members of the Women's National Basketball League, in the 2016-17 season. Bowen was a 2009 selection to the WCC All-Freshman Team and is the career leader in games played for Gonzaga at 138.

Haiden Palmer is signed to play with Herner TC in Herne, Germany for this upcoming season. The team competes in the First Bundesliga League. Palmer is a two-time All-WCC selection and 2012 Honorable Mention All-WCC honoree, in addition to being a 2014 All-American. She ranks second all-time at GU in steals with 286.

Lindsay Sherbert is set to join fellow former Zag Palmer in Germany, and will play with the Bad Aibling Fireballs for the second consecutive season. The Fireballs are members of the German Women's Basketball Second Division and located in Bad Aibling in the Bavaria region. Sherbert scored over 900 points in her collegiate career, averaging nearly eight points per game, and was a two-time Honorable Mention WCC All-Academic selection.

Keani Albanez is playing this season with the Athinaikos basketball club located in Athens, Greece. The team has dominated the Greek League Championship in recent years and she will compete against former Zag Shelby Cheslek in the A1 Ethniki Women's Basketball League. Albanez ranks fourth all-time at GU in three-pointers made with 164 and eighth with 180 steals.

Sunny Greinacher is playing with former Zag Haiden Palmer and the Herner TC club in Germany. With the Zags she was a two-time All-WCC honoree and 2013 Honorable Mention All-WCC selection. She was selected to the WCC All-Freshman Team in 2012 and was a three-time WCC All-Academic Team member, as well as a 2015 member of the I-AAA Scholar-Athlete Team. Greinacher ranks fifth all-time at GU with a .502 career field goal percentage.

Georgia Stirton signed recently to play professionally with the Nunawading Spectres for the upcoming 2017 South East Australian League Basketball season that begins in May. Stirton played for the Zags from 2014-2016 and averaged six points per game, starting in all 67 games she entered. She was a career 42 percent shooter from the field and 73 percent from the foul line. She recorded 193 career assists at a 2.9 assists per game clip.

The majority of the international seasons began in early October, and the 2016-17 Gonzaga Bulldogs begin their season with an exhibition game against Corban on Nov. 4, followed by the regular season opener on Nov. 12, versus Nicholls State, both games inside McCarthey Athletic Center.