No. 14/12 GONZAGA (27-3) vs. SAINT MARY'S (20-10)
MARCH 11 | 12 P.M. | LAS VEGAS, NEV. | THE ORLEANS ARENA
WATCH: theW.tv
RADIO: KJRB 790 AM/94.1 FM
WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP-OFF
- Gonzaga and Saint Mary's meet for the 72nd time in program history and the eighth time at a neutral site in the WCC tournament. GU holds a 6-1 overall mark against the Gaels at a neutral site, and a perfect 4-0 record against SMC in Las Vegas.
- The Bulldogs have won six of the last seven meetings including the last two straight. In the last six wins, GU has scored an average of 72.7 points per game while limiting the Gaels to 64.5 points per game. Of the last seven meetings, two games have been decided by five points or less, while four games have been decided by 10 points or more.
- Gonzaga led the WCC in 20+ point victories over conference opponents during conference play. So far this season, the Bulldogs have won by 20 or more points 10 times during conference play. Saint Mary's is the next closest program with five victories over WCC programs by 20 or more points. Every program in the WCC except San Diego and San Francisco have at least one win over a conference opponent by 20 or more points.
- The Bulldogs currently lead the WCC in six categories: Scoring defense (57.3 ppg, 35th nationally), scoring margin (+16.5, 13th nationally), field goal percentage defense (.370), three-point field goal percentage (37.7%), rebounding defense (31.5 rpg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2). The Zags also rank second in seven categories: free throw percentage (75.0%), field goal percentage (45.9%), three-point field goal percentage defense (29.2%), rebounding margin (+6.4), steals per game (9.3), turnover margin (+3.6) and offensive rebounding percentage (.377).
- Gonzaga is ranked for the 13th-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. 16 following wins at Santa Clara (74-61) and at San Francisco (64-44).
- 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.
- With its 24th win on Feb. 24 against Santa Clara, this season's squad becomes the 13th in GU history to reach at least 24 wins on the season. It also marks the third straight season and 12th of the last 13 seasons that the Zags have had at least 24 wins on the year.
- With Gonzaga's win over Loyola Marymount on March 2, the Bulldogs secured their 15th regular-season WCC title after having won the WCC 1988, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '17 and '18.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: 72nd meeting; Gonzaga leads 43-28
In Spokane: 22-10| In Moraga: 15-17| N: 6-1
Current Streak: Gonzaga, Won 2
Last Meeting: Gonzaga defeated Saint Mary's 66-52 in Moraga on Feb. 2.
Series Notes: Gonzaga and Saint Mary's meet for the 72nd time in program history.
- Monday will mark the 12th time the two programs have met while Gonzaga has been nationally ranked. The Bulldogs are 9-2 overall when facing the Gaels as a nationally ranked program; the Zags are currently on a four-game win streak when facing SMC as a nationally ranked program, defeating Saint Mary's by an average of 11.0 points per game.
- Out of the last 39 meetings, Gonzaga has won 32. The Bulldogs put together a 17-game win streak from 2004-11 and allowed the Gaels just one streak of two wins.
 
SCOUTING SAINT MARY'S:
- The Gales are fresh off a 70-38 quarterfinal victory over Loyola Marymount in the WCC Tournament. Saint Mary's shot 45.5 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Lions 53-26. Four players finished in double-figures for the Gaels, led by 18 points from Madeline Holland. Megan McKay (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Sydney Raggio (10 points, 12 boards) finshed with double-doubles while Sam Simons added 10 points and five assists.
- Saint Mary's is 20-10 overall on the season and secured the No. 4 seed and a bye to the quarterfinal round with a 12-6 overall conference record.
- As a team, the Gaels average a league-leading 76.1 points per game shooting a conference-best 48.2 percent from the floor. The Gaels also lead the conference in rebounding margin (+8.0), assists per game (16.2) and defensive rebounds per game (28.6).
- Four players average double-figures for the Gaels while three players shoot ovver 50 percent from the floor. First Team All-WCC performer Sydney Raggio leads SMC with 12.8 points per game shooting 51.8 percent from the floor while fellow First Team All-WCC selection Megan McKay adds 12.7 points shooting a league-leading 60.7 percent. Sam Simmons adds 11.2 points shooting 51.0 percent while Jasmine Forcadilla contributes 10 points per game shooting 48.2 percent from the floor.
- Raggio and McKay also lead the team in rebounding, hauling in an average of 8.8 and 7.5 boards per game, respectively.
- In the last meeting, the Bulldogs defeated SMC 66-52 in Moraga, Calif., on Feb. 2, dominating the Gaels inside with a 34-26 advantage in the paint. GU limited Saint Mary's to 32.7 percent shooting and forced 21 turnovers. Four Zags finished in double-figures, led by 14 points from Jenn Wirth; Jill Townsend added 12 points while Katie Campbell and LeeAnne Wirth added 10 each.
 
ZAGS IN THE WCC TOURNAMENT
- The Bulldogs secured the No. 1 seed for the 13th time in program history when they clinched the outright WCC regular-season title with a 68-58 win over Loyola Marymount on March 2. Santa Clara has been the number one seed five times, the next highest total.
- The Zags are 26-4 all-time as the No. 1 seed.
- Gonzaga has reached the title game 11 times as the No. 1 seed and has never won the championship as anything but a No. 1 seed. Since the tournament moved to Las Vegas in 2009, Gonzaga has won seven of the 10 titles.
- Gonzaga is 28-17 all-time in the WCC tournament with eight titles in 13 finals appearances. The Bulldogs won their first tournament title in 2007 with a 64-47 win over Loyola Marymount; including the win in 2007, Gonzaga has won eight of the last 12 WCC tournament titles including the last two straight.
- The Bulldogs are currently on a six-game win streak in the WCC tournament.
- Lisa Fortier is 7-2 all-time in WCC tournament games with title-game appearances in two of her first four seasons (2017, 2018). Fortier carries a 2-0 record in WCC tournament title games.
- In GU's 13 title game appearances, it has faced every WCC opponent except San Francisco and Pacific.
               - vs. BYU              (1-1)
               - vs. LMU             (1-1)
               - vs. PEPP            (1-0)
               - vs. POR              (0-1)
               - vs. SMC             (1-0)
               - vs. USD              (2-1)
               - vs. SCU              (0-1)
 
ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
- For the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2011, three Bulldogs earned first team all-WCC accolades. Zykera Rice, Laura Stockton and Chandler Smith each picked up First Team All-WCC honors for the first time in their careers.
- Head Coach Lisa Fortier picked up her fourth career WCC Coach of the Year honor. It marks the fourth time in her first five years she's earned the award, extending her own WCC record. Last season, Fortier set the record of three honors in her first four seasons.
- Jill Townsend rounded out the All-WCC honors with an honorable mention nod, the first of her career.
 
SPEAKING OF AWARDS...
- Five Zags earned WCC Academic All-Conference honors, led by Chandler Smith with her second straight All-Academic Team honor. Zykera Rice, Katie Campbell, Jill Townsend and Jenn Wirth all picked up All-Academic Honorable Mention nods.
 
FORTIER NAMED NAISMITH COACH OF THE YEAR LATE SEASON CANDIDATE
- On Feb. 27, Lisa Fortier was named one of 15 nominees for the Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year Late Season Candidate.
- Fortier is one of just two coaches with fewer than 10 years experience as a head coach. Both Fortier and Carolyn Kieger of Marquette are in their fifth year as a head coach.
 
KEEP AN EYE ON...
- Zykera Rice is currently 24 points shy of eclipsing 1,000 career points. The senior has 977 total points, with 427 coming this season. That's 43.7 percent of her total career points in one season, and counting.
- Katie Campbell is three treys shy of moving into 10th place for three-point field goals in a single season. Currently, she has 55 made threes on the year, two shy of Shannon Mathews' 57 made threes during the 2004-05 season. Jessica Malone owns the top three spots with 90, 78 and 77 made threes during the 2001-02, 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons, respectively.
- Laura Stockton currently sits in third all-time in career assists with 458; it doesn't look like she has a chance to surpass Shannon Mathews (600 career assists), but it does look like she has a shot to surpass Mathews on the single-season assists list. Currently, Mathews claims the 10th spot with 141 assists during the 2003-04 season. Stockton currently has 126 assists this season, and she's averaged 4.8 assists over the last four games.
- Sophomore Jenn Wirth currently ranks second in field goal percentage in a single season. Wirth has converted 79-of-141 attempts to shoot 56.0 percent. In her 23 games played, that's an average of 3.4 made field goals per contest. Her 56.0 percent shooting ranks second in the conference.
 
SECOND IN THE NATION IN ATTENDANCE PERCENT CAPACITY
- The Gonzaga women's basketball team currently ranks second in the nation in attendance percent capacity at 93.74. This season, the Bulldogs have averaged 5,625 fans per game of the 6,000 seats in McCarthey. This season alone, Gonzaga has had four sellouts of 6,000: vs. No. 8/7 Stanford on Dec. 2; vs. Santa Clara on Jan. 24, vs. BYU on Feb. 16 and vs. Loyola Marymount on March 2. Since McCarthey opened in 2004, the women's basketball team has recorded 31 sellouts.
 
DUAL SUCCESSES
Both the women's and the men's basketball programs are thriving this season. Currently, the combined wins between the women (27) and the men (29) are the highest combined wins between programs in the nation with 56. Belmont is the next closest with 52 combined wins while Mississippi State (51) and Kentucky (50) each have at least 50 combined wins.
 
1.  Gonzaga                                      56
2.  Belmont                                       52
3.  Mississippi State                        51
4.  Kentucky                                      50
5.  New Mexico State                     49
6.  South Dakota State                   48
     Buffalo                                         48
     Baylor                                           48
9.  Marquette                                   47
     Stony Brook                                47