Gonzaga Game Notes vs. USF

Gonzaga (9-4, 0-2 WCC) vs. San Francisco (8-5, 2-0 WCC)
6:00 p.m. | Thursday, Jan. 5 | McCarthey Athletic Center
TV: SWX (Play-By-Play: Greg Heister | Color Commentator: Stephanie Hawk-Freeman)
Radio: Magic AM 790 KJRB Gonzaga IMG Radio Network
| Live Video

HOW TO WATCH
- The game will be televised live locally on SWX. SWX is slated to broadcast five home games and one away game in the 2016-17 season. The live stream will also be available at THEW.TV

LAST TIME OUT
- The Gonzaga Bulldogs trailed early, then grabbed a second-half lead, before Pacific regained that lead late to hand Gonzaga the 65-63 loss on Saturday afternoon in Spokane.
- Jill Barta scored 15 and grabbed eight rebounds and Kiara Kudron scored 10 and grabbed eight boards. Point guard Laura Stockton had 14 points, dished seven assists, and had three steals.

SERIES HISTORY
- The Zags lead the all-time series 37-25 and are 20-10 in Spokane, and 12-2 inside the McCarthey Athletic Center against the Dons.
- Gonzaga enters Thursday riding a 10-game home winning streak in the series dating back to 2007.
- GU's loss in San Francisco in their last meeting last season ended a 21-game win streak the Zags had been on.
- Dating back to 2003, Gonzaga has won 27 of the last 31 games, including 13 of 15 in Spokane.
- The best game of the series, and one of the best in Gonzaga history, was a 91-84 four-overtime win on February 7, 2015 in Spokane. The game featured 21 lead changes and 14 ties. The game lasted two hours and 50 minutes with four overtime periods. The four overtimes were the most in WCC history during league play, and it was also the longest game this season at any level of women's college basketball. Keani Albanez led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the field. Sunny Greinacher added 19 points and three blocks.
- San Francisco had the majority of their success in the series in the 1990's, winning nine straight from 1995-1998 and eight straight at home from 1992-1999.

SCOUTING THE DONS
- Junior forward Michaela Rakova earned West Coast Conference player of the week honors on Monday. Rakova averaged 16.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting .577 (15-of-26) from the field for the week.
- Junior guard Anna Seilund took home West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors on December 19. Seilund scored a game-high 20 points while going a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line in their lone game.
- The Dons only lost two seniors from their WCC Tournament Championship a year ago.
- Senior guard Rachel Howard was selected to the preseason All-WCC team. She tallied a career-high 30 points while dishing out a career-best seven assists in USF's win over Seattle.
- San Francisco was picked seventh in the WCC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
- Howard is averaging 14.5 points per game and 18 points per game in conference play to lead the team. Seilund is averaging 10.5 and 13, Kalyn Simon averages 10.2 and 13, and Rakova averages 8.5 and 16. Nia Alexander is also averaging 10.5 points per game in conference two games in. Howard leads the way averaging 5.4 rebounds per game.

LOCKED IN UNDER THE LIGHTS
- The Zags are 4-0 this year in games that are televised live.
- They beat Northwestern, Washington State, and Eastern Washington on SWX, and Stanford on the Pac-12 Bay Area Network.
- GU was 4-5 in televised games last season.
- The SWX lineup will finish with three West Coast Conference home games including San Francisco at 6 pm on January 5, Santa Clara at 6 pm on January 19, and Saint Mary's at 2 pm on February 11. GU's final regular-season game at BYU on February 25 will be available regionally on BYUtv. The television package may expand as other games are under consideration by broadcast partners.

KUDRON NOT TO BE OUTDONE
- Redshirt senior Kiara Kudron has been a force on the glass, dishing assists, and scoring points this season.
- She is averaging 10.2 points per game on the season and 16 points per game in conference play.
- Kudron also averages 7.5 rebounds per game, eighth in the WCC, and 8.5 rebounds per game in the two WCC games.
- She is second on the team behind point guard Laura Stockton with 37 assists, and she has the lowest turnover rate of any starter.
- She has led the team in scoring three times this season, led in rebounds six times, and led in assists six times.

NEW YEAR, FRESH START
- Coach Fortier is 4-0 in WCC play in the first week of January. GU has averaged 70 points per game in those wins and won by an average of 23 points.
- The first quarter against Pacific is the only time the Zags have failed to score 10+ points in a quarter in 52 quarters this season.
- Gonzaga has won 38 of the last 42 home games versus WCC opponents.

DEFENSE IS THE FUEL
- The Gonzaga defense has led the way for the Zags this season. The Bulldogs lead the WCC allowing just 57.6 points per game.
- They win by an average of 15.7 points per game, leading the conference.
- They lead the conference by limiting their opponent to 36.6 percent shooting from the field and 26.8 percent shooting from three.
- GU leads the WCC averaging a +10.4 rebounding margin.
- The Zags also lead the conference with 5.6 blocked shots per game.
- GU leads the WCC with a 15.4 assist to turnover ratio.

SWEET HOME SPOKANE
- The Zags numbers at home this year are staggering. Besides the 6-1 record, GU is averaging 77.1 points per game inside McCarthey Athletic Center and beating their opponent by an average of 27.6 points per game.
- GU is shooting 45 percent and holding their opponent to 32 percent from the field.
- The Zags have controlled the glass as well, averaging 46.4 rebounds per game, an 18 rebound per game advantage over their competitor.
- The Bulldogs are averaging 17.9 assists per game while only seeing 9.3 per game headed in the other direction.
- The Zags have blocked 35 shots in seven games, and have only had 12 of their shots blocked in 280 minutes of action in The Kennel.
- GU is dialing 38 percent from long range and their opponent is struggling at 21 percent behind the arc.