LAS VEGAS – The No. 12/11 Gonzaga women's basketball team will face fourth-seeded Portland in the West Coast Conference Tournament Semifinals Monday afternoon at 12 p.m. inside the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
#12/11 GONZAGA (28-2) vs. PORTLAND (19-11)
MARCH 9 | 12 P.M. | LAS VEGAS | THE ORLEANS ARENA
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
THE TIP-OFF
- Gonzaga secured the outright West Coast Conference title Feb. 20 with a 75-47 victory at Loyola Marymount, the 16th regular-season title in program history.
- Gonzaga's 56-42 victory at Portland on Feb. 29 set a new mark for best start in program history as the Zags improved to 28-2 on the season. Gonzaga's previous record for best start was 27-2, a mark set during the 2004-05 season. That year, GU strung together a program-best 23-game win streak and finished the season 28-4 overall with an unblemished 14-0 mark in WCC play. The Bulldogs advanced to the second round of the WNIT, losing at Missouri State 85-66 to end the season.
- GU also improved to 17-1 in conference play with the win at Portland, tying the program and conference record for WCC wins in a single season. Gonzaga's 2017-18 squad is the only other team to post a 17-1 conference record.
- Gonzaga collected a league-leading five WCC All-Conference awards on Tuesday including the program's ninth Player of the Year honor, awarded to
Jill Townsend. Townsend also collected her first career First Team All-WCC honor.
Jenn Wirth was also selected First Team,
Katie Campbell Second Team,
Jessie Loera Honorable Mention and
Kayleigh Truong took home All-Freshman honors.
- A win Monday would extend the program record for the best start in history with a 29-2 overall record.
- With the 53-46 victory over Santa Clara on Feb. 15, the Zags finished undefeated at home for the fourth time in program history and the first time since the 2013-14 season; it also marks the seventh undefeated home conference slate in program history. GU is currently on a 16-game win streak inside The Kennel, the longest streak under Head Coach
Lisa Fortier. GU has not lost a game inside McCarthey since Feb. 16, 2019. Previously, GU's top mark under Fortier was 12 straight home wins, which occurred from 11/7/18-2/14/19.
- Gonzaga set a new program record on Feb. 25 as it moved up three spots in the USA Today Sports Top 25 Coaches Poll to No. 10. It's the highest program ranking ever. The Zags ranked 11th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, released on Feb. 24, which ties the program record in that poll. Currently, Gonzaga ranks 12th in the AP Poll and 11th in the Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs broke into the Associated Press Top 25 poll at No. 23 following a 76-70 overtime loss at Stanford on Nov. 17.
- Monday will be the fifth time in program history that Gonzaga has played on March 9. Gonzaga has only played San Diego and BYU on the date, splitting meetings with the two programs with an even 2-2 record on the date.
- Gonzaga leads the nation in attendance percent capacity at 94.87 percent. That's an average of 5,692 fans inside the McCarthey Athletic Center every game. This season alone, Gonzaga has had six sellouts, including four of the last five home games.
- The Bulldogs also rank inside the top five in the nation in scoring defense; Gonzaga limits its opponents to 51.3 points per contest to lead the WCC and rank second 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 second in the nation. Two players shoot over 40 percent from long range, led by
Kaylynne Truong at 43.8 percent, while eight total Zags shoot at least 30.0 percent from beyond-the-arc.
- The Zags also rank inside the top 30 in the nation in field goal percentage. At 44.5 percent shooting from the floor, GU ranks 30th nationally and second in the WCC.
SCOUTING THE PILOTS
- Portland carries a 19-11 overall record. The Pilots finished 11-7 in the West Coast Conference to secure the No. 4 seed in the WCC Championships. Portland defeated Pacific 76-69 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2011.
- As a squad, the Pilots average 69.7 points per game shooting 44.8 percent from the floor. UP leads the league in both categories.
- Three players average double-figures for Portland, led by freshman post Alex Fowler at 17.8 points per game; that mark also leads the WCC. Haylee Andrews adds 15.9 points per game (3rd in WCC), while Kate Andersen averages 14.0 points per contest. All three players shoot over 47 percent from the floor, led by Fowler at 54.4 percent which ranks 36th nationally.
- Portland adds 35.4 rebounds per game, led by Fowler with 7.9 per contest to rank fifth in the WCC. Andrews adds 5.7 rebounds per game while Keeley Frawley adds 4.5.
- In the last meeting, Gonzaga defeated Portland 56-42 in Portland on Feb. 29.
Jenn Wirth and
LeeAnne Wirth both led the Zags with 14 points each.
WCCs: BY THE NUMBERS
- Gonzaga has won eight WCC Tournament Titles, winning its first in 2007. The Zags claimed three-straight from 2009-2011, and back-to-back titles in 2013-2014 AND 2017-2018.
- Since the Bulldogs won their first tournament title in 2007, only three other teams have claimed a title: BYU (2012, 2015, 2019), San Diego (2008) and San Francisco (2016).
- Since the WCC Tournament relocated to Las Vegas for the 2009 championships, Gonzaga has claimed seven of 11 tournament titles.
- This will be the seventh time in program history that the Bulldogs will meet the Pilots in the WCC Tournament, and it will be the first time since 2011. Gonzaga won that matchup 97-71. The programs share an even 3-3 record as the Pilots claimed the first three victories while Gonzaga has won the last three matchups.
NAISMITH COACH OF THE YEAR SEMIFINALIST
- Head Coach
Lisa Fortier was named one of ten semifinalists for the Naismith Women's Coach of the Year. Fortier, the youngest coach on the list of 10 semifinalist, makes her second-straight appearance in the nominations for the award. Last season, Fortier was named a late season candidate but did not advance to the semifinalist round.
WCC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jill Townsend became the ninth player in program history to be named the WCC Player of the Year and the second Zag in the last three seasons. Townsend averaged a team-leading 13.3 points per game through conference play and ranked second on the squad in rebounds with an even 6.0 per game. The Okanogan, Wash., native finished in double-figures 13 of 18 games including three double-doubles and a career-high 28 points. The junior guard shot 47.9 percent from the floor during conference play, 43.1 percent from long range and 83.8 percent from the charity stripe.
ZAGS COMBINED FOR BEST RECORD
As of March 6, Gonzaga's men's and women's basketball programs has the best combined record in the country. The Zags have a combined 57-4 record for a 93.4 win percentage, three more wins than the next closest combined programs. Baylor ranks second with a 54-4 combined record for a 93.1 win percentage.
UP FOR GRABS
There is a lot on the line for the Bulldogs at the WCC tournament. Not only could GU claim its ninth tournament title and secure its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance, but the Bulldogs could also record their second-ever 30-win season. The only other season GU eclipsed 30 wins was in 2010-11 when it finished 31-5 and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight. In program history, GU has 18 total 20-win seasons; the Zags have posted at least 20 wins in 13 of the last 14 seasons (including this season). Gonzaga has also been predicted to be a top four seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament, revealed as No.12 in the last two NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee Top-16 reveals. A sweep of the WCC Tournament would put GU in a good spot to carry out that prediction.
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 437 career assists and is three assists shy of surpassing Amy Simpson (439, 1982-86) for fourth place. Loera currently ranks 33rd nationally in assists with 146 on the season and 44th nationally in assists per game with 4.9.
SHARING THE SCORE
- Through 30 games this season, two players average double-figures for Gonzaga with five 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 12.2 points per game, while
Jenn Wirth adds 10.5 points per contest.
LeeAnne Wirth adds 8.8,
Jessie Loera chips in 7.4 and
Melody Kempton adds 7.0 points per contest.
DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
Currently, Gonzaga ranks second in the nation in scoring defense at 51.3 points per game. This season alone, Gonzaga has limited 16 opponents to 50 points or fewer and 24 opponents to under 60 points. In the last five games, the Zags have limited every opponent to 50 or fewer points, while limiting San Francisco to 38 points on Feb. 13. Three weeks prior on Jan. 23, GU held Pepperdine to just 36 points, the fewest points scored by an opponent this season and more than 30 points lower than the Waves' season average. Pepperdine's 36 points also ties for the fewest points allowed to a WCC opponent under
Lisa Fortier. Only two opponents have scored 70 or more against the Zags this season: Stanford (76) and Saint Mary's (70).
