#13/11 GONZAGA (19-1, 8-0 WCC) vs. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (7-14, 3-5 WCC)
JAN. 25 | 1 P.M. | SPOKANE, WASH. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER
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THE TIP-OFF
- Gonzaga extended its program-record start with a 70-36 rout of Pepperdine on Thursday, improving to 19-1 overall on the season.
- Gonzaga will look to improve to 20-1 overall on the season Saturday against Loyola Marymount. With a win, Gonzaga will extend its program-record start; previously, Gonzaga's best start was 16-1, a record the Bulldogs set during the 2018-19 season.
- GU is currently on a 17-game win streak, the longest win streak in the nation, and it also sets a new mark for the longest win streak under Lisa Fortier, breaking her previous mark of 16-straight victories (12/20/14-2/21/15). 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 two spots in the Associated Press poll to No. 13 as well as in the Coaches Poll, moving up to No. 11. It's the highest ranking for the Zags this season, and it ties the highest ranking ever. Previously, GU reached its highest ranking in history during the 2018-19 season at No. 12/11.
- Saturday will mark the 10th time Gonzaga has played on January 25th. All of the games played on this date have been West Coast Conference games; Gonzaga carries a 6-3 overall record on the date.
- Gonzaga currently ranks second in the nation in percent attendance capacity. The Zags average 92.86 percent capacity; that's an average of 5,572 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 52.0 points per contest to lead the WCC and rank sixth in the nation.
- Gonzaga is also among the top three-point shooting teams in the nation. At 39.4 percent shooting from long range, Gonzaga ranks fifth in the nation. Four players shoot over 40 percent from long range, led by Katie Campbell at 44.2 percent, while six total Zags shoot at least 33.0 percent from beyond-the-arc.
- 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 LIONS
- Loyola Marymount graduated five seniors from last season's team that finished 18-15 overall with a 10-8 mark in WCC Conference play and advanced to the WNIT.
- This season, LMU was picked to finish sixth in the WCC, while Chelsey Gipson was selected to the Preseason All-WCC team.
- Gipson leads the Lions in scoring at 12.8 points per contest, while Jasmine Jones and Ciera Ellington each add 11.9 and 10.8 points, respectively. As a squad, LMU averages 64.9 points per contest shooting an even 40.0 percent from the floor.
- The Lions average 41.5 rebounds per game to lead the WCC and rank 51st in the nation. Five players average over 4.0 rebounds per contest for the Lions, led by Jones' 8.3 rebounds a game. That number ranks fifth in the conference.
- Three of LMU's seven wins on the season have come during WCC play. After opening conference play on a four-game skid, the Lions rattled off three-straight victories against San Francisco, Santa Clara and at Pepperdine. Despite a career-high 26 points from Jones, LMU fell 74-49 at Portland on Thursday to snap its three-game win streak.
 
THAT'S A TRIPLE ON THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Thursday against Pepperdine, three Bulldogs finished with a double-double. Jill Townsend led the way with her third career double-double and second of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Campbell added her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, while Jenn Wirth added her fourth career double-double and second of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The last time that three players recorded a double-double in the same game was during the 2017-18 season. In Gonzaga's 80-65 victory over Western Illinois on Dec. 21, 2017, Jill Barta (21 pts., 11 reb.), Zykera Rice (14 pts., 13 reb.) and Chandler Smith (12 pts., 11 reb.) combined for three double-doubles. Five Zags have now recorded at least one double-double on the season: Jenn Wirth, Townsend, LeeAnne Wirth, Melody Kempton and Katie Campbell.
 
SHARING THE SCORE
- Through 20 games this season, three players average double-figures for Gonzaga with six players averaging over 7.0 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 11.4 points per game, Jill Townsend ranks second at 11.2 points per game while Katie Campbell adds 11.1 points per game. LeeAnne Wirth adds 9.6 points per contest while Jessie Loera chips in 8.0 and Melody Kempton is at 7.3.
 
DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
Currently, Gonzaga ranks sixth in the nation in scoring defense at 52.0 points per game. This season alone, Gonzaga has limited 10 opponents to 50 points or fewer and 17 opponents to under 60 points. Thursday against Pepperdine, Gonzaga held the Waves to just 36 points, more than 30 points below their season average of 66.4. Pepperdine's 36 points also ties for the fewest points allowed to a WCC opponent under Lisa Fortier. Jan. 16 at Santa Clara, the Bulldogs limited the second-best scoring team in the conference to 52 points, more than 20 points less than SCU's season average of 74.3 points per game. Against BYU on Jan. 2, 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, 49 points to Saint Mary's on Jan. 9 and 46 points to San Francisco on Jan. 18.
 
DISHIN' ON UP
With her fourth assist of the night against Pepperdine on Jan. 23, Jessie Loera moved into sixth all-time in career assists with 398. She surpassed Carla Curfman (393, 1985-89). Loera now has 398 career assists and is three assists shy of surpassing Jasmine Redmon (400, 2010-14) for fifth place. Loera currently ranks 12th nationally in assists with 103 on the season and 30th nationally in assists per game with 5.2.