(4) GONZAGA (24-10, 17-3 WCC) at (2) MINNEOSTA (22-11, 8-10 BIG 10)
THURSDAY, MARCH 27 | 5 P.M. PACIFIC TIME | MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. | WILLIAMS ARENA (14,625)
ESPN+ | 101.5 FM
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

THE TIPOFF
- After beating No. 1 seed Colorado on Sunday, the Gonzaga women's basketball team heads to No. 2 seed Minnesota on Thursday, March. 27. 
- GU won its 20th WCC Regular Season Title after finishing the regular season 22-9 and 17-3 in the conference.
- Yvonne Ejim made history in the second quarter on Feb. 6. as she eclipsed 2,166 points to become the new scoring leader in Gonzaga women's basketball history. She broke Heather Bowman's record of 2,156 points scored from 2006-10.  
- Allie Turner's 101 made threes is the most made in a single season at Gonzaga. She broke the record against UTSA to pass Brynna Maxwell's record of 96 in a single season (2023-24). She is one of two players in Gonzaga history, men's or women's, to reach 100 threes in a single season with the only other Bulldog being Dan Dickau in 2001-02.
- Turner is also the first true freshman to score 20+ points in multiple games since Heather Bowman.
- Ejim has recorded 39 double doubles in her career and 14 this year alone. Prior to the game at Santa Clara, she scored double digits in 72-straight games. She also ranks 10th in the nation in scoring with 684 points this season. 
- Lisa Fortier was named the WCC Coach of the Year for the seventh time last week. Yvonne Ejim was named the WCC Player of the Year and WCC Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season. Allie Turner was named the WCC Freshman of the Year and was the first freshman to make All-WCC First Team since Courtney Vandersloot.
- On Jan. 30, Ejim became the first WCC women's basketball player to eclipse 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. 
- Allie Turner has made a huge impact as a freshman already this season. She ranks first in the nation in three-pointers made (101) among freshmen and is averaging 13.5 points per game. Overall, she is fifth in the country and finished first in the WCC in made three-pointers. 
- The Bulldogs went undefeated in the month of January and went on a 14-game winning streak.
- Bree Salenbien has made her return to the court for the first time since a knee injury sustained last February. She had her first career double double against WSU with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She had a career-high 17 points at SCU. 
- On Jan. 18, Ejim broke the all-time rebounding record at Gonzaga. She now holds the record at Gonzaga for most rebounds, most points and most made field goals in a career. 
- Ejim ranks sixth in the nation in field goals made this season with 269. 
- Ejim leads the Zags with 20.6 points a game, which ranks 15th in the country and first in the WCC. She also grabs an average of 9.1 rebounds a game this season to rank first in the conference and on the team. 
- Gonzaga is shooting at 36.7% from beyond the arc to rank 16th nationally and first in the WCC.  
- As a team, GU has a rebound margin of +9.7 to rank sixth in the country. Overall, they have an average of 39.7 rebounds a game.
- Head coach Lisa Fortier currently sits at 289-73 in her career. Among active Division I coaches, she is seventh in winning percentage at 79.8%. Fortier is also now tied in second place on the WCC career coaching wins list with 171. 

THE SERIES
SERIES INFO: First-ever meeting between the two programs
COMMON OPPONENTS: Both beat Montana, Minnesota beat Oregon St. while GU went 1-2 vs the Beavers

SCOUTING THE GOPHERS
- The WBIT bid marks Minnesota's 18th postseason appearance and second consecutive season appearing in a national tournament. 
- Last season, the Gophers made their seventh WNIT and advanced to the championship game for the first time in program history. 
- Minnesota collected two All-Big Ten Awards at the end of the regular season, as voted on by the league's coaches and media. Amaya Battle and Grace Grocholski earned All-Big Ten Honorable mention nods, by both coaches and media. Senior Maggie Czinano was also named the team's representative for the Sportsmanship Award for the second consecutive season. 
- Minnesota set a program record this season with 12 nonconference wins, surpassing the previous high of 11 set in seven different seasons, most recently in 2018-19.
- On three occasions this season, five Gophers have scored in double digits (Montana, Illinois, Ohio State).On 10 occasions, four have scored in double figures (Nebraska, Prairie View A&M, UMass Lowell, Illinois, Houston, Rutgers, Maryland, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Oregon).

WBIT NOTES
- Gonzaga's Yvonne Ejim set a new mark with seven steals in the win over UTSA. The previous mark was 6, Paris Clark, Virginia vs. High Point, 1st round, March 21, 2024
- Not only did Ejim set the steals mark, but she also added a 20 points/10 rebounds effort as well with 24 points and 16 boards. The 16 boards are one short of the record held by Kendall Bostic of Illinois, who had 17 rebounds twice in a game in 2024.
- GU's attendance (2,571) in the first round against UTSA ranks third all-time in WBIT history.