Zags Begin Loaded Paradise Jam On Thanksgiving
11/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
No. 25/RV Gonzaga (3-0) vs. (RV) Michigan (4-0)
5:00 p.m. | Thursday, Nov. 24 | Sports and Fitness Center
Radio: Magic AM 790 KJRB Gonzaga IMG Radio Network
Live Stats | Live Video
THEY'RE BACK
- The Gonzaga Bulldogs got their first program win over Stanford and the Cardinal lost for only the eighth time at home since 2007, as GU defeated Stanford 68-63 inside Maples Pavilion last Friday night. Jill Barta led the Zags with 26 points, going eight-of-10 from the field, her fourth-highest career point total. Elle Tinkle scored 18, had five rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and three steals. Laura Stockton added 12 points in 38 minutes of action. GU shot 50 percent on the game and held Stanford at 37.9 percent.
HOW TO WATCH
- The games will stream online exclusively at www.FloHoops.com. To access the live event coverage and replays of the Paradise Jam, users must sign up to become FloPRO subscribers on FloHoops.com. Monthly and annual FloPRO subscriptions on FloHoops are $20 and $150, respectively. Fans can sign up at the direct link here https://www.flohoops.com/live/1600-paradise-jam-woman-s/signup?next=http://live.flohoops.com/#/event/1600-paradise-jam-woman-s.
SERIES HISTORY
- This will mark the first meeting in program history.
- Gonzaga and Michigan are the top two teams receiving votes in the latest USA Today Coaches Top-25 Poll.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
- Kysre Gondrezick earned her first weekly honor from the Big Ten after helping Michigan to a pair of opening weekend wins, and was named Freshman of the Week last week. In her U-M debut, Gondrezick put up 19 points on 6-for-13 shooting, seven rebounds and three assists in just 18 minutes of action against Oakland (Nov. 11). Katelynn Flaherty was named to the Honor Roll following the opening weekend of action. The junior averaged 18.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in just 24.0 minutes per game against Oakland and Niagara.
- Junior Katelynn Flaherty was tabbed No. 25 on ESPNW's Top 25 Players List.
- The 2015-16 Wolverines set school records last year in points (2,751), points per game (78.6), field goals made (1,058), field goal percentage (.478), three-point field goal percentage (.398), and assists (606).
- Junior Katelynn Flaherty was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team and earned a spot on the watch list for the Nancy Lieberman Award.
- The Michigan women's basketball team outscored Western Michigan by 14 points (23-9) in the third quarter en route to a 66-40 win over the Broncos on Monday night (Nov. 21) inside Crisler Center. Head coach Kim Barnes Arico picked up her 87th win as the U-M head coach, moving into third place on the all-time list at Michigan.
BARTA EARNS WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- The redshirt sophomore scored her fourth-highest career point total and season-high as she dropped 26 points to lead Gonzaga to a 68-63 win at No. 11/7 Stanford. Barta shot a scorching 80-percent from the field (8-10), her best career field-goal percentage, and was a perfect three-of-three from 3, the only time she has gone 100-percent making at least three from beyond the arc, with all of them coming in the crucial second half. The forward was nails from the foul line as well, making seven-of-eight, including two with 16 seconds left to increase the lead from one to three. She grabbed three boards, had an assist, and steal in 34 minutes of action. Barta leads the team at 16 points per game, third in the West Coast Conference. She nabbed her first WCC Player of the Week award, and was the first Zag to be honored since Georgia Stirton won the award last January.
BEAT EM', JOIN EM'
- After defeating No. 11 Stanford on the road Friday night, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll released Monday. The Zags received 62 votes in the poll. The Zags were last ranked in the AP Poll on November 21, 2014 at No. 24. GU has now been ranked in the AP Top-25 for 70 weeks all-time, with an average ranking of No. 22. The highest the Zags have ever reached in the poll was No. 15 on March 27, 2010. The Zags are now receiving the most votes of any team not ranked in the newest USA Today Coaches Poll with 58 points.
ABOUT THE JAM
- The three-day tournament takes place Nov. 24-26 at the 4,000-seat UVI Sports and Fitness Center. This will be the second time GU has played in the Paradise Jam. The Bulldogs lost all three of their games in the 2005 tournament. Gonzaga battled with perennial powers Maryland, Tennessee, and Michigan State in that event. The games will stream online exclusively at www.FloHoops.com. The tournament field includes eight teams separated into two divisions. The pair of four-team divisions will play a round-robin format. GU will play in the Reef Division Tournament, while the separate Island Division Tournament includes NC State, LSU, UTEP, and Kansas State. Rutgers captured the Island Division championship last season, while Maryland earned the Reef Division title.
FAST OUT THE GATES
- So far the Zags have outscored their opponents 75-24 in the first quarter. The Zags have shot above 50 percent in all three quarters. The Zags have also shot above 50 percent from three in the quarter, while holding their opponent below 25 percent. GU has bested their opponents in rebounds (39-22) and had 13 assists compared to six for their opponent in the quarter. In the first quarter the Zags have outscored their opponent 20-2 in second-chance points and 19-4 in bench points.
STARTING STRONG AGAIN
- Gonzaga is off to a 3-0 start this season, the best start since head coach Lisa Fortier's first season in 2014-15, when the Zags also started 3-0. The Zags are averaging 82.7 points per game and have won by an average of 33.7 points per game in their first three contests, which ranks 33rd and ninth among NCAA Division I schools, respectively. GU is shooting 48.6 percent from the field, 13th in the NCAA. The best start in school history was in 2008-2009 and 2012-2013 when the Zags won five-straight to start.
BLOCK PARTY
- The Zags have blocked 22 shots already this season, compared to only five for their opponents. Jill Barta is leading the party with 2.33 blocks per game, 49th in the NCAA. As a team GU is averaging 7.3 blocks per game as a team, which is ninth in the NCAA and first in the WCC.
THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION
- The Zags went 0-3 last time they participated in the Paradise Jam in 2005, but are 11-11 in Thanksgiving Tournaments since 2003. They have traveled to Hawaii, Mexico, and the domestic United States in those tournaments.
