#12/11 GONZAGA (21-1, 10-0 WCC) vs. BYU (13-7, 8-2 WCC)
FEB. 1 | 2 P.M. | SPOKANE, WASH. | McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER
SWX | LIVE VIDEO (OUT OF REGION) | LIVE STATS
 
THE TIP-OFF
- Gonzaga extended its program-record start with a 57-46 victory over San Diego Thursday inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. The win extended GU's record-breaking start to 21-1, including an unblemished 10-0 mark in WCC play.
- Gonzaga has started conference play 10-0 five times in program history. The first three seasons the Zags started 10-0 they went on to finish conference play with an undefeated 14-0 record: 2004-05; 2009-10; and 2010-11. Following the expansion of the WCC, Gonzaga opened conference play with a 15-0 mark during the 2014-15 season and a 13-0 mark during the 2017-18 season.
- Gonzaga will look to improve to 22-1 overall on the season Saturday against BYU. 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 an 19-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.
- With the win over San Diego on Thursday, the Bulldogs have now set a new home win streak record under Lisa Fortier. GU has won 13-straight games dating back to Feb. 28, 2019 with 11 home wins so far this season. Previously, GU's top mark under Fortier was 12 straight home wins, which occurred from 11/7/18-2/14/19.
- 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 poll to No. 12 while holding steady at No. 11 in the Coaches Poll. 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 the Zags have played on Feb. 1. Gonzaga carries a 4-5 record on the day; all of the games GU has played on this date have been West Coast Conference games. In the first game the Bulldogs played on Feb. 1, the Zags defeated Santa Clara in Spokane 59-45 on Feb. 1, 1990.
- Gonzaga currently ranks third in the nation in percent attendance capacity. The Zags average 93.41 percent capacity; that's an average of 5,608 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 51.7 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 39.9 percent shooting from long range, Gonzaga ranks third in the nation. Four players shoot over 40 percent from long range, led by Jill Townsend at 47.5 percent, while seven total Zags shoot at least 30.0 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 COUGARS
- BYU returns its top two scorers in Paisley Johnson and Brenna Chase-Drollinger from the 2018-19 season, along with Sara Hamson who led the Cougars in rebounds and blocks a season ago. Last season's top scorer, Shaylee Gonzales, suffered an injury in the offseason and has not seen the floor this season.
- Through 20 games this season, BYU carries a 13-7 overall record with an 8-2 mark in WCC play. Since opening conference play with a 2-2 record, BYU has strung together six-straight wins to rank second in the conference.
- As a squad, BYU averages 62.0 points per contest shooting 40.0 percent from the floor. BYU's 62.0 points per game ranks second-to-last in the conference.
- Two players average double-figures for the Cougars, led by Paisley Johnson at 14.3 points per game. Brenna Chase-Drollinger adds 11.3 points per contest.
- Defensively, BYU limits its opponents to 55.4 points per game; that mark ranks second in the conference behind Gonzaga at 51.7 points per contest.
- As a team, BYU averages 40.4 rebounds per game, 15.2 assists per game and 14.4 turnovers per game. The Cougars also average a league-leading 6.7 blocks per contest, nearly two blocks per game higher than the next team. Sara Hamson leads the charge with a nation-leading 92 blocks on the season, averaging 4.6 blocks per outing. That mark also leads the nation.
- Hamson also leads the charge on the glass with a team-leading 8.1 rebounding average. Shalae Salmon adds 5.1 rebounds per game while Babalu Ugwu adds an even 5.0.
- In the last meeting, Gonzaga held BYU to 43 points and delivered the Cougars their first WCC loss of the season. Katie Campbell led the Bulldogs with 11 points while Kayleigh Truong chipped in 10. GU held Chase-Drollinger and Johnson to eight and seven points, respectively.


SERIES REVIEW
- OVERALL: Gonzaga leads the series 16-12
- HOME: 9-3, Gonzaga leads
- ROAD: 6-5, BYU leads
- NEUTRAL: 3-2, BYU leads
- FIRST MEETING: BYU won 80-63 in Spokane in 1983-84
- LAST MEETING: Gonzaga won 55-43 at BYU (1/2/2020)
- STREAK: Gonzaga, Won 1
 
DISHIN' ON UP
With her third assist of the night against Loyola Marymount on Jan. 25, Jessie Loera moved into fifth all-time in career assists, surpassing Jasmine Redmon (400, 2010-14). Loera now has 409 career assists and is 21 assists shy of surpassing Amy Simpson (439, 1982-86) for fourth place. Loera currently ranks tied for 13th nationally in assists with 114 on the season and 32nd nationally in assists per game with 5.2.
 
SHARING THE SCORE
- Through 22 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).
Jill Townsend leads the Zags in scoring at 11.9 points per game, Jenn Wirth ranks second at 11.2 while Katie Campbell adds 10.7. LeeAnne Wirth adds 9.3 points per contest while Jessie Loera chips in 8.0 and Melody Kempton is at 7.4.
 
DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
Currently, Gonzaga ranks sixth in the nation in scoring defense at 51.7 points per game. This season alone, Gonzaga has limited 11 opponents to 50 points or fewer and 19 opponents to under 60 points. Jan. 23 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.