Zags Look To Rebound Against Waves

Women's basketball plays at Pepperdine Saturday

Feb. 8, 2008

Game No. 24 - PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY
Saturday, February 9 - 2 p.m.
Firestone Fieldhouse - Malibu, Calif.
Gametracker: www.GoZags.com

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS (16-7, 7-1 West Coast)
F - 30 Heather Bowman, 6-2, So., Spokane, WA
     (19.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.3 spg)
F - 44 Vivian Frieson, 6-0, So., Seattle, WA
     (9.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
G - 21 Courtney Vandersloot, 5-8, Fr., Kent, WA
     (9.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.4 apg)
G - 31 Michelle Elliott, 5-11, Sr., Pasco, WA
     (9.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.7 apg)
G - 32 Jami Bjorklund, 5-11, Jr., Spokane, WA
     (10.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.7 apg)
HEAD COACH: Kelly Graves (University of New Mexico, 1988)
GONZAGA RECORD: 136-100 (8th year); CAREER RECORD: 202-126 (11th year)

PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY WAVES (6-16, 1-7 West Coast)
F - 21 Miranda Ayim, 6-3, So., London, Ont., Canada
     (11.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.8 bpg)
F - 31 Jessica Ross, 5-10, Jr., Gilroy, CA
     (5.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.9 apg)
C - 44 Teiosha George, 6-4, Sr., Palmdale, CA
     (10.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
G - 22 Daphanie Kennedy, 5-7, Sr., Oakland, CA
     (18.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.8 apg)
G - 32 Shannon Johnson, 5-8, Sr., Highland Village, TX
     (2.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.8 apg)
HEAD COACH: Julie Rousseau (Cal State Los Angeles, 1991)
PEPPERDINE RECORD: 46-73 (4th year); CAREER RECORD: Same

UP NEXT: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team hopes to bounce back from its first West Coast Conference loss when it plays at Pepperdine University Saturday, Feb. 9. The Bulldogs, who had their eight-game winning streak snapped by Loyola Marymount University, will face off against the Waves at 2 p.m.

LIVE VIDEO COVERAGE: All home Gonzaga University women's basketball contests can be seen live on CSTV's all-access through GoZags.com. Check out the the women's basketball schedule page for the link to the video broadcast. Gametracker is also available for all home games and can be accessed at GoZags.com

ON THE RADIO: Gonzaga University will have all regular-season home games broadcast on the radio this season as Steve Myklebust returns for his fourth year of calling the action. Each game will be broadcast on KGA 1510 AM in Spokane with a pre-game show 20-minutes prior to tip. Games will also be available on the internet at GoZags.com.

TICKET INFORMATION: Single game tickets to Gonzaga University women's basketball can be purchased through TicketsWest at 325-SEAT (7328), TicketsWest.com, at any TicketsWest outlet, or at the McCarthey Athletic Center Ticket Office, Monday through Friday, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Women's Basketball Ticket Prices are as follows: $7-Reserved $5-General Admission Adult; $3-General Admission Child (12 and under), or Senior (65 and over); Gonzaga Students, Faculty & Staff are free with a valid Gonzaga ID.

ZAGS HOME TV SCHEDULE: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team will have nine home games televised this season. The Bulldogs will have eight broadcasted locally and one nationally. The Zags will appear nationally on ESPNU and locally on KAYU, KHQ and GU TV this season.

GONZAGA DEALT FIRST WCC LOSS: The Gonzaga University women's basketball squad had its eight-game winning streak snapped Thursday evening when Loyola Marymount University upset the first-place Bulldogs 75-60 in a West Coast Conference match-up at the Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles. The Zags (16-7, 7-1 WCC) lost their first WCC game of the season and first regular-season conference match in 14 games. The loss is also only the fifth WCC loss in nearly three and a half seasons for the Bulldogs and the first to the Lions in six games. The last time Loyola Marymount (13-10, 5-3 WCC) earned a victory over Gonzaga was on Jan. 14, 2006 when it earned a 75-46 decision. The Bulldogs were unable to hold on to their 10-point halftime lead as the Lions came out of the locker room on fire using a 15-5 run to knot the game at 45-45 with 14:35 left. Amanda DeCoud then sank her second of two free throws to give Loyola Marymount its first lead of the contest at 46-45. The Lions continued to steamroll past the Bulldogs and built a 62-51 lead at the 6:50 mark. Gonzaga cut Loyola Marymount's lead to eight twice in the final 4:30 of the contest but the Lions used free throws down the stretch, sinking 7-of-10, to secure the double-digit victory. The game was a tale of two halves for Gonzaga. The Bulldogs went into the halftime with a 40-30 advantage by hitting 43.9% (18-41) from the field and all four of their free throw opportunities. The Zags held the demanding 28-18 rebounding advantage, including the 11-6 edge in offensive boards. Sophomore Heather Bowman nearly had a double-double at the end of the first stanza scoring 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds; five of which were offensive. The Zags were then limited to just 20 points in the second half by hitting only 8-of-24 (33.3%) from the floor and only 4-of-10 (40.0%) from the charity stripe. Loyola Marymount won the battle of the boards in the second half 22-14 and 7-4 on the offensive end. Bowman was shut down in the final half, only getting two shots off and converting on one of them.Bowman finished the contest with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, along with four assists, two blocks and two steals. Freshman Courtney Vandersloot added 10 points, but only dished out two assists. Gonzaga, who came into the game hitting about six three-pointers a game, did not hit a three-pointer in the contest. Senior Michelle Elliott, who is leading the squad in three-point attempts at 4.4 per game, did not get a single three-pointer off in the setback. Loyola Marymount was paced to victory by Jenna Sybesma and DeCoud who scored 20 and 19 points, respectively.

SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine University currently holds a 6-16 overall record and a 1-7 mark in West Coast Conference action. The Waves have lost five-straight WCC contests. Pepperdine is led by Daphanie Kennedy who is averaging 18.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. Pepperdine is coached by Julie Rousseau in her fourth year with the Waves.

ALL-TIME AGAINST PEPPERDINE: Pepperdine University leads the all-time series with Gonzaga University 28-18 and have won 10 of the 18 meetings during Bulldog head coach Kelly Graves tenure. The Bulldogs defeated the Waves 68-56 to open the 2007-08 WCC season. The game was featured on ESPNU. The Waves and Zags split the WCC series a season ago, as Gonzaga earned a 58-35 victory at Pepperdine and Pepperdine took a 70-56 decision in Spokane.

LOOKING FOR NUMBER FOUR: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team is looking to capture its fourth-straight West Coast Conference regular-season championship and second-straight WCC Tournament title. The Bulldogs, who are 38-4 over the past three WCC seasons, are coming off a 13-1 WCC campaign in 2006-07. Of the four losses during the past three seasons, two have been to Pepperdine University and one to both Loyola Marymount University and Santa Clara University. Last year's lone loss was to the Waves showcased on ESPNU.

STRONG START: The Gonzaga University women's basketball squad closed out the regular-season non-conference portion of its schedule with a 9-6 record. It is the best start to a Bulldog season in three years. Last season, playing against some tough competition, the Zags finished their non-conference schedule at 8-8. In 2005-06, Gonzaga was 5-10 during non-conference.The 2004-05 season the Bulldogs had their best non-conference record during head coach Kelly Graves tenure, closing out the first part of the year at 11-2.

BOWMAN RETURNS: Sophomore forward Heather Bowman returned to the Gonzaga University women's basketball lineup Thursday, Jan. 3 and scored a game-tying high 14 points to help the Bulldogs defeat Saint Joseph's University 67-43 at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in Philadelphia, Penn. Bowman, who had missed five games with a broken left hand, was one of four players to finish in double-digit points for the Zags. Bowman jumped back in full force getting the starting nod after a three-week layoff due to a spiral fracture of her left hand. Bowman has averaged 18.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game over the nine games since she's been back. She also has hit an impressive 60.0% (63-105) of her shots and 83.0% (39-47) from the charity stripe.

FREE THROWS: Gonzaga University is struggling with its free throws on the road this season but is nearly opposite at home in the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs are shooting a dismal 67.3% at the charity stripe on the road, hitting only 115 of 171 attempts. The Zags at home at the McCarthey Athletic Center are sinking 74.7% of their free throws, draining 165 of their 221 attempts. In West Coast Conference games, Gonzaga is hitting 72.2% (114-158) at the charity stripe.

SHOOTING STARS: The Gonzaga University women's basketball squad has had a strong shooting season so far in 2007-08. The Bulldogs are currently shooting 44.8% (667-1489) from the field over their 23 games, including four 50.0% or higher shooting nights and 20 40.0% or higher shooting games. Gonzaga is hitting 45.9% (334-728) from the field at home contests, 43.8% (333-761) on the road and 45.2% (228-504) in West Coast Conference games.

ELLIOTT SETS TREY RECORD IN ROAD WIN: Senior Michelle Elliott hit a single-game school record nine 3-pointers and finished with career-high 31 points to lead the Gonzaga University women's basketball team to a 75-63 victory over Sacramento State University Saturday, Dec. 8. Elliott, who hit three 3-pointers in the first half and drained six in the second stanza, broke the 14-year old Bulldog single-game three-pointer record held by Ivy Safranski. Safranski hit eight 3-pointers in a 105-69 victory over Northeast Louisiana on March 26, 1994 during the WNIT. Elliott closed out contest hitting 11-of-16 from the floor, including 9-of-12 three-pointers. Elliott's previous best was 25 scored as a sophomore at San Diego State University during the 2004-05 season. Her Bulldog career-high was 22 scored against Sacramento State last season. Her nine 3-pointers is tied for the second most hit in a single-game this season in NCAA Division I. Heather Ezell, of Iowa State University, hit 10 three-pointers on Nov. 18 against Sacramento State. Elliott has drained a team-leading 42 three-pointers this season.

NATIONAL STATISTICS: Gonzaga University women's basketball players Heather Bowman and Courtney Vandersloot are both ranked in the top of the nation in multiple statistical categories as of Feb. 3. Bowman is currently 13th in the nation in points per game, averaging 19.8, and 43rd in field goal percentage, hitting 53.6%. Amber Holt of Middle Tennessee State University is leading the nation in points at 26.8, while Liz Sherwood of Vanderbilt has the best field goal percentage at 66.8%. Vandersloot is 18th in the nation is assists per game averaging 5.6. Claire Faucher, of Portland State University, is leading the nation in assists with 8.7 per contest. Gonzaga as a team is also ninth in the nation in scoring offense and assists per contest. The Zags are scoring 76.7 points per game and dishing out 17.5 assists per contest. The University of Connecticut leads the nation in team assists with 22.0 per game, while the University of North Carolina is the top scoring team at 89.1.

BOWMAN NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Gonzaga University women's basketball sophomore Heather Bowman has been named the West Coast Conference Player of the Month for January, WCC Commissioner Michael Gilleran announced today. Bowman returned from missing five games due to a hand injury to lead the Zags to a perfect 7-0 record during the month of January, including a 6-0 mark to open WCC play. Bowman ranked fourth in the conference with 17.1 points per game and grabbed 6.3 rebounds per contest, while shooting an impressive 59.5 percent (47-79) from the field to lead the WCC. The sophomore was tabbed for WCC Player of the Week honors on Jan. 21 after averaging 24.5 points and shooting a blistering 76.0 percent (19-25) in wins at the University of San Diego and the University of San Francisco. Bowman finished in double-figure points in all but one contest during the month, including three 20-plus point performances. This marks the second WCC Player of the Month accolade this season for the Spokane native, who was also tabbed for league recognition in November.

HEAD COACH Kelly Graves: Kelly Graves is in his eighth season as the head coach at Gonzaga University having built the Bulldogs into an annual West Coast Conference contender. After winning just five games his first season, Graves has guided the Bulldogs to three-straight West Coast Conference regular-season titles. This past season he added a WCC Tournament championship and the Zags inaugural berth in the NCAA Tournament to his GU highlights. Gonzaga finished the 2006-07 season with a 24-10 overall record and a 13-1 record in the WCC; which helped Graves garner WCC Co-Coach of the Year honors. Graves is currently the school's career wins leader with a 136-100 record. He has been named the WCC Coach of the Year at Gonzaga three times (2003 & 2005 & 2007) and boasts a 202-126 career record including 96-52 in WCC action.

200 CAREER VICTORIES: Gonzaga University women's basketball head coach Kelly Graves earned his 200th career victory as the Bulldogs defeated the University of Portland 76-50 Saturday Jan. 26 in the McCarthey Athletic Center. Graves, who was coaching against his former mentor Jim Sollars head coach of the Pilots, now has a 202-126 Division I career record over 11 years.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Gonzaga University sophomore Heather Bowman has registered six double-doubles on the season and now has 10 career double-doubles to her credit. Bowman scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in GU's victory over the University of Nevada and then followed that up with 25 points, along with 11 rebounds in the Zags victory over the University of Montana. In GU's setback at Arizona State University, Bowman scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds; both game-highs. In the second game of the ASU Classic Bowman had 15 points and a game-high 14 boards; one shy of tying her career-high, against UC Riverside. Bowman's then had a double-double of 23 points, 12 rebounds in a 71-58 victory over UC Davis. Her latest double-double was a 19 point, 10 rebound performance in GU's 75-60 loss to Loyola Marymount University, Feb. 7.

DOUBLE-DIGIT POINTS: Heather Bowman has scored in double-digit points in 17of 18 Gonzaga University contests she has played in and has also been the overall leading scorer in 12 of the 18 games. Of her 17 double-figure performances, 10 have been 20+ point games. Bowman has now posted 39 double-figure scoring games over her two seasons with the Zags, including 20 of 22 double-figure contests in West Coast Conference action.

TRUE FRESHMAN: True freshman Courtney Vandersloot, of the Gonzaga University women's basketball team, has had a strong start to her collegiate career. Vandersloot, who has played in all 22 games, getting the starting nod the last 16 games, is leading the team in assists, averaging 5.4 per game. She has dished out four or more assists in 18 Zag games, including a career-high 10 against the University of Washington on Nov. 12. Vandersloot is also averaging 9.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.

CRASHING THE BOARDS: Gonzaga University sophomore Vivian Frieson grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds in the Bulldogs 74-70 victory at the University of San Francisco, Jan. 19. Frieson's previous career-high was eight brought down on two different occasions. The 16 rebounds was also the highest GU single-game rebounding output in six seasons. The last time a Zag had 16 or more rebounds was Feb. 22, 2003 when Anne Bailey finished with 20 against the University of Portland. Frieson is currently second on the Bulldogs squad in rebounds per game, averaging 6.1.

SINGLE-SEASON TOP-10: Gonzaga University freshman Courtney Vandersloot broke into the Bulldog single-season assists Top-10 after she dished out five in the Zags 36-point victory over Santa Clara University, Feb. 2. Vandersloot has 125 assists to her credit this season to rank her 10th. Maria Stack owns the single-season assist record, dishing out 207 during the 1984-85 campaign.

HOME ATTENDANCE: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team is averaging 1,818 fans at the McCarthey Athletic Center this season. Two Bulldogs home games this season broke into the Zag all-time attendance Top-10. GU had 2,352 fans in attendance in its opening contest against the University of Washington; the eighth highest attended game in Zag history. The 10th highest attended game was against Purdue University on Dec. 19; 2,232 people watched the Bulldogs dropp a three-point heartbreaker to the Boilermakers.

WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gonzaga University women's basketball player Heather Bowman was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 21. Bowman helped Gonzaga hold on to its lead atop the WCC standings as the sophomore averaged 24.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in road wins at the University of San Diego and the University of San Francisco over the weekend. Bowman poured in 26 points and pulled down five rebounds in Thursday's victory over the Toreros and followed that performance up with a 23 point, eight rebound output in the Zags win over the Dons. Bowman shot 19-of-25 (76.0%) from the field and was near perfect from the charity stripe, hitting 11-of-12 (91.7%) from the free throw line on the week. This is Bowman's third WCC Player of the Week accolade this season and the Bulldogs fourth overall. Senior Michelle Elliott was also named WCC Player of the Week once this season.

ZAGS CUT HAIR FOR GOOD CAUSE: Three members of the Gonzaga University women's basketball program cut their hair for a good cause. Assistant coach Lisa Mispley Fortier cut off 10 inches prior to the new year and donated the hair to Locks of Love. It was Mispley Fortier's third time donating hair to Locks of Love. Amanda Brown, a sophomore reserve on the Zags squad, was the first player to go under the scissors. Brown cut eight inches off and donated it to Pantene Pro-V's Beautiful Lengths program. The final player to shed some hair was senior Michelle Elliott. Elliott chopped off nearly 12 inches prior to the Jan. 26 game against the University of Portland. She too donated the hair to Locks of Love.

KANE ENDS GREAT CAREER: Senior guard Rachel Kane tore the ACL in her left knee during the Jan. 26 game against the University of Portland. The injury forces Kane to end her career as she has already used a medical redshirt year. Kane, who torn the ACL in her right knee twice during college (2003-04; 2005-06), closes out her career at Gonzaga scoring 351 points, grabbing 255 rebounds, making 75 steals and dishing out 285 assists. Her assist total ranks her sixth in the Bulldog career assists list.

FIRST TIME: Junior guard Jami Bjorklund posted her first collegiate double-double in Gonzaga University's 91-72 victory over the University of Washington, Nov. 12. Bjorklund finished the game with 17 points and 10 rebounds; six of which were offensive.

SCORING 1,000 POINTS: Senior Michelle Elliott hit the 1,000-point plateau against Sacramento State University Dec. 8. The guard came into the season with 904 total points and has scored 227 points this season to up her career point total to 1,131. Elliott played her first two collegiate seasons at San Diego State University registering 549 points over those two years. Last season, in her first year with Gonzaga University, Elliott posted 315 total points.

MAKING HER MARK: After sitting out a year after transferring to Gonzaga University, sophomore guard Tiffanie Shives is finally settling in. The transfer from Michigan State is averaging 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. She also has hit 35 three-pointers this season; second-best on the squad. Shives earned her first starting nod against UC Davis Dec. 6 and shined in the debut. The guard finished with 15 points, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor, including 3-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc. She also had eight rebounds in the Bulldogs first road victory.

ZERO'S BEHIND THE ARC: When the Gonzaga University women's basketball squad finished 0-for-6 from behind the three-point arc against Loyola Marymount University Feb. 7, it was the first time in 125 games the Bulldogs had not hit at least one three-pointer in a game. The last time the Zags were shutout from beyond the arc was on Feb. 15, 2004. Gonzaga went 0-for-6 at home against the University of San Francisco. Ironically, it was also the first time neither team hit a three-pointer in the game. Against the Lions, LMU finished 0-for-11. In Gonzaga's game against San Francisco in 2004, the Dons finished 0-for-10.