16/13 GONZAGA (16-1, 5-0 WCC) at SANTA CLARA (8-8, 2-3 WCC)
JAN. 16 | 7 P.M. | SANTA CLARA, CALIF. 
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THE TIP-OFF
- Gonzaga will look to improve to 17-1 overall on the season Thursday at Santa Clara. With a win, Gonzaga will post a 17-1 start to the season for the first time in program history. GU posted a 16-1 start last season, in addition to the current mark. 
- GU is currently on an 14-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 remained the same in the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 16 while moving up two spot in the Coaches Poll to No. 13. 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 and Santa Clara met for the first time ever on Jan. 16, 1988, exactly 32 years ago.
- Gonzaga currently ranks second in the nation in percent attendance capacity. The Zags average 93.33 percent capacity; that's an average of 5,598 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 53.2 points per contest to lead the WCC and rank ninth 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.

WIRTH NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Jenn Wirth had a fantastic week with back-to-back double-doubles to lead Gonzaga to wins over two of the top teams in the league in Saint Mary's and Pacific. 
- First, she helped the Zags to a dominating 74-49 win over the previously undefeated Gaels with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a block and a steal. Wirth was 5-for-11 from the floor in the game and had three offensive rebounds among her total of 10 boards.
- Then on Saturday, Wirth scored a career-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting and added 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in a 68-67 win over then-second-place Pacific. Her 24-point effort was the first 20-plus scoring game for the ultra-balanced Gonzaga squad on the season, and well over her season scoring average of 11.0 points per game. She had six offensive rebounds in the game and scored 16 of her 24 points in the first half, which amounted to nearly half of GU's 33-point total at the intermission.
- For the week, Wirth was 15-for-24 (.625) from the field and averaged 17.0 points in 30.8 minutes per game.

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
- Santa Clara (8-8, 2-3 WCC) is second in the West Coast Conference in scoring with 74.3 points per game and field goal percentage at 44.9-percent while shooting 33.9-percent beyond the arc. 
- Defensively, the Broncos allow 68.2 ppg and marks of 38.3-percent and 27.7-percent from the floor and downtown.
- Tia Hay leads the team with 13.1 ppg and 3.8 assists per game but is currently out with a foot injury. 
- Ashlyn Herlihy scores 10.2 ppg and leads the way with 7.7 rebounds per game. Merle Wiehl has knocked down a team best 26 3-pointers and is second in scoring with 10.5 ppg and grabs 4.8 rpg. 
- Lauren Yearwood is second on the league with 25 blocks while scoring 8.1 ppg and pulling down 6.5 rpg.

SHARING THE SCORE
- Through 17 games this season, three players average double-figures for Gonzaga with six players averaging over 6.9 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 11.8 points per game, Katie Campbell ranks second at 11.1, Jill Townsend while adds 10.9. LeeAnne Wirth adds 9.4 points per contest while Jessie Loera chips in 8.1 and Melody Kempton is at 6.9.

DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
Currently, Gonzaga ranks seventh in the nation in scoring defense at 53.2 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 won WCC Player of the Week with back-to-back double-doubles in a pair of league games. First, she notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Saint Mary's on Jan. 9, then posted a career-high 24 points along with 10 rebounds in a win over Pacific. 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 383 career assists after dishing out six assists against Pacific on , and she is 10 assists shy of sixth place. Loera also ranks 15th nationally and second in the WCC in total assists on the season with 88.

SHARP-SHOOTER
As of Jan.14, Katie Campbell leads the WCC and ranks fourth nationally in three-point shooting percentage, shooting a killer 48.1 percent from long range. The senior guard is now 37-of-77 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. 14, Gonzaga ranks 18th nationally in field goal percentage at 46.2 percent; from three, the Zags rank fifth in the nation at 39.8 percent. Gonzaga's 46.2 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. 

THE POWER TO ERASE
On Dec. 29 against Portland, Gonzaga found itself down 20 points to the visiting Pilots in the second quarter. GU outscored Portland 38-20 in the second half to erase the deficit and pull out the win. The 20-point deficit was the largest that the Bulldogs have erased in a victory under head coach Lisa Fortier. Gonzaga limited Portland to just four points in the final 10 minutes, the fewest points scored by an opponent in a single quarter against the Zags this season.