16/15 GONZAGA (15-1, 4-0 WCC) vs. PACIFIC (11-5, 4-1 WCC)
JAN. 11 | 2 P.M. | SPOKANE, WASH. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER 
TV: SWX (locally)
WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP-OFF
 - Gonzaga will look to improve to 16-1 overall on the season Saturday against Pacific. With a win, Gonzaga will post a 16-1 start to the season for the second time in program history and the second-straight season. 
- The Zags' current 15-1 mark ties for the best start in program history.
- GU is currently on an 12-game win streak, the longest of the season so far. The Bulldogs longest win streak in program history is 23 games, a feat they accomplished from Dec. 10, 2004 to March 6, 2005. The longest recent streak is 15-straight victories which occurred between Dec. 17, 2017 and Feb. 8, 2018.
- Gonzaga broke into the Associated Press Top 25 poll at No. 23 following a 76-70 overtime loss at Stanford on Nov. 17. This week, GU moved up one spot in the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 16 while moving up one spot in the Coaches Poll to No. 15. It's the highest ranking for the Zags this season. Previously, GU reached it highest ranking in history during the 2018-19 season at No. 12/11.
- Gonzaga has won its last three games played on Jan. 11, with the last one coming in a 70-56 win at Portland during the 2017-18 season. 
- Gonzaga currently ranks second in the nation in percent attendance capacity. The Zags average 93.23 percent capacity; that's an average of 5,594 fans that fill McCarthey Athletic Center every game.  
- The Bulldogs also rank inside the top 10 in the nation in scoring defense; Gonzaga limits its opponents to 52.4 points per contest to lead the WCC and rank seventh in the nation.
- Gonzaga returns two starters and seven letter-winners from last season's squad that claimed the Zags' third consecutive and 15th overall West Coast Conference regular season title.
- In 2018-19, the Bulldogs advanced to their third-straight NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Second Round.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
- Pacific returns three starters from last season's squad and added the services of two newcomers and four Division I transfers -- Callie Kaiser (Colorado State), Sofie Tryggedsson (Colorado State), Jordan Cruz (Utah), and Loretta Kakala (Louisville).
- The Tigers were selected to finish third in the league preseason poll, selected by WCC head coaches. 
- Pacific is off to a great start in league play, entering the game with a 4-1 record after escaping Portland with a narrow win. 
- As a team the Tigers average over 70 points per game, and give up just 63.5. They force nearly 20 turnovers per game and average more than 10 steals per contest.
- Offensively, the Tigers are led by the two-headed scoring tandem of Valerie Higgins and Brooklyn McDavid. Higgins averages 16.1 and McDavid averages 15.6 points per game. Each player has taken more than 200 field goal attempts on the season, but no teammate has taken more than 100 entering the game. 
- Higgins also averages a team-leading 8.9 rebounds per game, while McDavid averages 5.7, the next highest on the team. 
- Higgins success on the floor has no limit as she also leads the team in assists with 56, blocks with 16 and steals with 54. She's also the team's most prolific free-throw shooter, heading to the line a team-high 95 times on the year. 
- Pacific has been at its best in the middle two quarters, outscoring opponents by 45 points in each the second and third quarter.

SHARING THE SCORE
- Through 16 games this season, three players average double-figures for Gonzaga with six players averaging over 7.3 points per contest. The Bulldogs have had seven different top scorers this season, spanning each academic year (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior). Jenn Wirth leads the Zags in scoring at 11.0 points per game, Jill Townsend ranks second at 10.9 while Katie Campbell adds 10.8. LeeAnne Wirth adds 9.8 points per contest while Jessie Loera chips in 7.9 and Melody Kempton is at 7.3.

DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
Currently, Gonzaga ranks seventh in the nation in scoring defense at 52.4 points per game. This season alone, Gonzaga has limited eight opponents to 50 points or fewer and 14 opponents to under 60 points. Against BYU, Gonzaga limited the Cougars to 43 points, the fewest scored by a WCC opponent since Gonzaga limited BYU to just 37 points in Spokane on Feb. 24, 2018. Gonzaga followed it up by limiting San Diego to just 42 points on Jan. 4 and 49 points to Saint Mary's on Jan. 9.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE, PLEASE
Jenn Wirth notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a win over SaintMary's on Jan. 9. LeeAnne Wirth notched her second career double-double and the second for the Zags this season Dec. 8 at Washington State. The junior forward finished with a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds. Melody Kempton is the only other Zag to notch a double-double this season; the sophomore forward scored 12 points and hauled in 10 rebounds at Stanford on Nov. 17.

DISHIN' ON UP
With her fifth assist of the afternoon against Portland on Dec. 29, Jessie Loera moved into seventh all-time in career assists with 356. Loera surpassed Robin Allen (355, 1984-88). Loera now has 377 career assists after dishing out seven assists against Saint Mary's on Jan. 9, and she is 16 assists shy of sixth place. Loera also ranks 13th nationally and second in the WCC in total assists on the season with 82.

SHARP-SHOOTER
As of Jan. 9, Katie Campbell leads the WCC and ranks second nationally in three-point shooting percentage, shooting a killer 49.3 percent from long range. The senior guard is now 34-of-69 this season from behind-the-arc. Campbell averages 2.2 made threes per game.

KEEP 'EM UNDER 20
On Jan. 9 against Saint Mary's, the Bulldogs limited the Tigers to just 12 first-half points. It's the fewest points any team has scored against the Zags in a half this season. GU has limited three other programs to 20 or fewer points in a half: Texas Southern (17, 1st half), Eastern Washington (18, 2nd half) and Purdue (20, 1st half).

CHANCES ARE, IT'S GOING IN
As of Jan. 9, Gonzaga ranks 16th nationally in field goal percentage at 46.7 percent; from three, the Zags rank fifth in the nation at 40.8 percent. Gonzaga's 48.1 percent shooting from the floor also leads the West Coast Conference, and four Zags rank in the top 10 in the conference in field goal percentage. Melody Kempton leads the way at .538, second-best in the league. Katie Campbell ranks fifth shooting 51.8 percent, Jill Townsend is eighth at 50.8 and LeeAnne Wirth ranks ninth shooting 50.0 percent from the floor.