#15/16 GONZAGA (23-3, 12-2 WCC) at SANTA CLARA (11-14, 4-10 WCC)
FEB. 21 | 7 P.M. | SANTA CLARA, CALIF. | LEAVEY CENTER
STREAM: theW.tv
RADIO: KJRB 790 AM/94.1 FM
WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP-OFF
- Gonzaga and Santa Clara meet for the 69th time in program history and the 35th time in Santa Clara.
- GU has won five straight over the Broncos and 25 of the last 27 meetings. Santa Clara won back-to-back games in 2016, including a 59-58 victory over the Bulldogs in the WCC Tournament. That win was also the last win for the Broncos in the series on March 3, 2016.
- The Bulldogs are coming off just their third loss of the season, a 66-64 loss to BYU at home on Feb. 16. It was GU's second loss of conference play; the Zags also fell to BYU on the road, 70-68 in Jan. 17.
- The Bulldogs currently lead the WCC in five categories: Scoring defense (57.5 ppg, 36th nationally), scoring margin (+16.5, 15th nationally), rebounding defense (30.6 rpg), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and offensive rebounding percentage (38.5). The Zags also rank second in seven categories: field goal percentage (45.7%), field goal percentage defense (37.6%), three-point field goal percentage (36.5%), rebounding margin (+7.3), steals per game (9.6), turnover margin (+3.9) and defensive rebounding percentage (.718).
- Gonzaga is ranked for the 12th-straight week after entering the polls at No. 24/22 on Dec. 3. Following wins at Pacific (Jan. 31, 63-51) and at Saint Mary's (Feb. 2, 66-52), Gonzaga moved up to No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 12 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. The Zags' No. 12 ranking is the highest in either poll in program history. This week, the Bulldogs fell to No. 15 following their 66-64 loss to BYU on Feb. 16.
- Gonzaga eclipsed the 20-win plateau with its 63-51 victory at Pacific on Jan. 31. It marks the 14th time in program history that the Bulldogs have won at least 20 games; the Zags have eclipsed the 30-win game only once. During the 2010-11 season when the Bulldogs advanced to the Elite Eight, Gonzaga finished with a program-record 31 wins with a 31-5 overall record.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: 69th meeting; Gonzaga leads 39-29
In Spokane: 23-8| Santa Clara: 15-19| Neutral: 1-2
Current Streak: Gonzaga, Won 5
Last Meeting: Gonzaga defeated Santa Clara 78-61 in Spokane on Jan. 26.
Series Notes: Gonzaga and Santa Clara meet for the 69th time in program history and the 35th time in Santa Clara.
- Since 2004, Gonzaga has lost just four times to Santa Clara, and each of those losses have happened either in Santa Clara or at a neutral site game as part of the WCC tournament. The Bulldogs are 30-4 against the Broncos since the 2003-04 season.
- SCU's 61 points against GU in the first meeting this season was the most points the Broncos had scored against the Bulldogs since defeating GU 71-64 in Santa Clara on Jan. 28, 2016.
- Gonzaga has limited Santa Clara to 48.8 points per contest in the last five games, while GU has averaged 62.6 points per contest.
- In 10 true road games this season, Gonzaga has averaged 73.6 points per game while limiting its opponents to 58.0 points per contest. As a team, GU has shot 45 percent from the floor and 33 percent from long range in true road games while winning the rebounding battle by a +3.5 rebounding margin. Zykera Rice, Chandler Smith and Jenn Wirth all average double-figures on the road as Rice averages 12.2, Smith 10.4 and Wirth 10.1.
- In the last meeting, Gonzaga led by three (36-33) at the half and out-scored SCU 42-28 in the second half to take the 78-61 win. Rice led all scorers with 18 points, Chandler Smith added a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards while Jill Townsend added 14 points. Nine of Townsend's 14 points came in the first half as she hit back-to-back-to-back treys in the second period.
 
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA:
- The Broncos recently snapped a five-game losing streak with a big 88-83 win at Pacific on Feb. 16. Both Ashlyn Herlihy and Tia Hay finished with 20+ points as Herlihy picked up her third double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 boards while Hay added 21 points. Santa Clara's bench came up big, outscoring Pacific's bench 30-9.
- As a squad, Santa Clara averages 62.2 points per game shooting 40.3 percent from the floor and 28.9 percent from long range. The Broncos average 34.4 rebounds per contest, 14.1 assists per game and 8.1 steals per game.
- Both Hay and Herlihy average double-figures for the Broncos, led by Hay at 15.3 points per game (7th in WCC). Herlihy adds 11.4 points per contest.
- Herlihy leads the Broncos in rebounding at 7.5 per game; Lauren Yearwood is the next highest rebounder with 6.6 per contest.
- Currently, Santa Clara ranks fourth in the conference in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 66.3 points per game. The Broncos also rank second in blocked shots with 4.1 per game and third in three-point field goals made per game with 6.3.
 
MOVING ON UP
Laura Stockton dished out three assists in GU's 66-64 loss to BYU on Feb. 16. Stockton now has 439 career assists to rank tied for third all-time in GU history. She is one assist shy owning third place; former Zag Amy Simpson also has 439 career assists to rank tied for third. Currently, Stockton leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference with 4.3 assists per game. Thursday at Santa Clara, Stockton needs just one assist to sit alone in third place.
 
RICE DOUBLES UP
Zykera Rice's 20-point performance against BYU on Feb. 16 was her 50th double-figure performance of her career and her fifth game of at least 20 points in her career. This season, Rice has scored in double-figures 21 times, and she's scored at least 20 points three times.
 
BENCHIN' IT (REVISITED)
It's no secret that the Bulldogs have a deep bench as eight players average at least 20 minutes per game and six players average at least 8.5 points per contest. And the Zags continue to dominate their opponents in bench scoring as Gonzaga has outscored all but two of its opponents in bench scoring this season. In the two games the Bulldogs' bench was outscored, it was by an average of 2.0 points per game.
 
SHOTS FIRED, AND MADE
Currently, Jill Townsend and Zykera Rice are shooting over 50 percent from the floor for the season. Townsend leads the Zags and ranks fourth in the WCC shooting 53.2 percent from the floor, while Rice ranks fifth shooting 51.3 percent. (Sophomore Jenn Wirth is currently shooting 57.6 percent from the floor, but she does not qualify for the overall season field goal percentage as she has not played in at least 75 percent of the season's games).