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Women's Basketball At Portland Saturday
Feb. 22, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
GAME No. 27 - UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND GONZAGA UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS (19-7, 10-1 West Coast) UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND PILOTS (15-11, 5-6 West Coast)
UP NEXT: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team travels to Portland, Ore. for a contest against Northwest rival the University of Portland on Saturday, Feb. 23. Game time is slated for 2 p.m. The Bulldogs have clinched at least a share of the West Coast Conference regular season title for the fourth-straight season and are looking to secure the title outright against the Pilots. GONZAGA SECURES FOURTH STRAIGHT WCC REGULAR SEASON TITLE:The Gonzaga University women's basketball team enters the week with a 10-1 mark in conference play, and can clinch the WCC regular season title outright with a win over the University Portland on Saturday, Feb. 23. The Zags, who already secured at least a share of the WCC title after Santa Clara University lost on Thursday, Feb. 21, became the first program to win four straight regular season titles since Santa Clara captured four straight from 1991-94. 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 home game, along with all WCC Tournament games, 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. GONZAGA DEFEATS SAN DIEGO: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team closed out its 2007-08 West Coast Conference regular-season home slate on a high note defeating the University of San Diego 76-60 at the McCarthey Athletic Center Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs improved to 10-1 in WCC action and 19-7 overall, while the Toreros, who had come into the contest riding a four-game winning streak, fell to 4-6 in conference and 13-11 overall. Gonzaga played solid on both ends of the court in the first half and went into the locker room with an impressive 50-29 lead. The Bulldogs finished the half shooting 57.6% (19-33) from the floor, including 55.6% (5-9) behind the three-point arc, and was 77.8% (7-9) at the charity stripe. The Bulldogs broke the game open after a jumper by junior Jami Bjorklund at the 15:49 mark broke a 9-9 tie. The jumper by Bjorklund started a 20-2 run that gave the Zags a 29-11 advantage with a little over 10 minutes left in the half. The Toreros were able to slice the Bulldogs advantage to 11 with their own 8-1 spurt, but a 20-4 push by Gonzaga over the next six minutes gave GU its largest lead of the half at 50-23 with 1:19 remaining. Sophomore Tiffanie Shives capped off the remarkable run with her second three-pointer of the half. The Bulldogs had three players close out the opening half in double-figures, including sophomore Heather Bowman who scored 14. Shives added 12 points, while freshman Courtney Vandersloot posted 11 and dished out six assists. It was all San Diego in the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Toreros muscled up 20 points, while limiting Gonzaga to nine, to cut the Zag lead to just 10, 59-49, with 9:21 remaining in the contest. The Toreros could not sustain their momentum though, as the Bulldogs used a 12-3 spurt to put the game out of their reach. One of the highlights of the second half was senior Rachel Kane making one last appearance on the McCarthey Athletic Court. Kane, who suffered a career-ending knee injury on Jan. 26, was subbed into the contest with 49 seconds left to a standing ovation. She was in for one play before being subbed out to the hugs and applause of the Bulldog coaches and players. Gonzaga had five players finish the game in double-figure points. Bowman scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, dished out three assists and made one steal. Vandersloot added 14 points, seven assists, two rebounds and one steal. Shives added 14 points, while sophomore Vivian Frieson and freshman Janelle Bekkering registered 12 and 10 points, respectively. San Diego was led by Morgan Henderson and Amanda Rego who scored 17 and 13 points, respectively. Sam Child added 11 points and Amber Sprague brought down a game-high 10 rebounds. SCOUTING THE PILOTS: The University of Portland enters into its game with Gonzaga University holding a 15-11 overall record and a 5-6 mark in West Coast Conference action. The Pilots, who are currently in fourth place in the WCC standings, are coming off an 80-78 victory over the University of San Francisco on Feb. 16. The win over USF was head coach Jim Sollars' 300th win at Portland. The Pilots are led by Laiken Dollente who is averaging 14.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. ALL-TIME AGAINST PORTLAND: Gonzaga University leads the all-time series against the University of Portland 29-26 and has won the last 14 meetings dating back to the 2002 campaign. The last time the Pilots defeated the Bulldogs was Jan. 31, 2002 by the score of 62-59. Gonzaga head coach Kelly Graves, a former Portland assistant, has only lost to the Pilots three times during his tenure; which were the first three meetings after he took over the Bulldog program in 2000-01. 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. 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 67.7% at the charity stripe on the road, hitting only 132 of 195 attempts. The Zags at home at the McCarthey Athletic Center are sinking 74.3% of their free throws, draining 194 of their 261 attempts. In West Coast Conference games, Gonzaga is hitting 72.1% (160-222) 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 45.3% (765-1688) from the field over their 26 games, including six 50.0% or higher shooting nights and 23 40.0% or higher shooting games. Gonzaga is hitting 46.2% (397-859) from the field at home contests, 44.4% (368-829) on the road and 46.4% (326-703) 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 47 three-pointers this season. ELLIOTT IN THE GONZAGA RECORD BOOKS: Gonzaga University senior Michelle Elliott has etched her name in the Bulldog record books, quite a feat for the two-year member. Elliott is seventh in the career record book for three-pointers made, having drained 92. She bumped down former assistant coach Triana Allen to take over the seventh spot and is just below current assistant Jennifer Mountain (6th - 116). The senior also holds two spots in the individual season record book for three-pointers made. She has hit 47 three-pointers this season, good enough to hold the 8th spot. Elliott is also 10th having sank 45 as a junior last 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. 17. Bowman is currently 14th in the nation in points per game, averaging 19.5, and 42nd in field goal percentage, hitting 53.9 percent. Amber Holt of Middle Tennessee State University is leading the nation in points at 26.6, while Crystal Langhorne of Maryland has the best field goal percentage at 64.3 percent. Vandersloot is 19th in the nation is assists per game averaging 5.7, and is 40th in assist turnover ratio at 1.84. Claire Faucher, of Portland State University, is leading the nation in assists with 8.8 per contest and Kristi Cirone of Illinois State University is the leader in assist-turnover ratio at 3.3. Gonzaga as a team is also ninth in the nation in scoring offense and 10th in assists per contest. The Zags are scoring 77.2 points per game and dishing out 17.3 assists per contest. The University of Connecticut leads the nation in team assists with 21.5 per game, while the University of North Carolina is the top scoring team at 88.7. VANDERSLOOT PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gonzaga University women's basketball player Courtney Vandersloot has been named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week as announced by the conference office Monday. This is Vandersloot's first WCC weekly honor of her career and the Bulldogs fifth overall Player of the Week honor this season. Vandersloot posted outstanding all-around numbers in leading Gonzaga to wins over the University of San Francisco and the University of San Diego last week. The freshman averaged 16.0 points, 7.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game as the Zags moved closer to clinching a share of the program's fourth-straight WCC regular season title. She also shot an impressive 50.0 percent (12-24) from the field and 60.0 percent (3-5) from beyond the three-point arc. Vandersloot scored 18 points, while dishing out eight assists and grabbing five rebounds against USF, committing just one turnover in the win. She closed out the week with 14 points and seven assists in Saturday's victory over the Toreros. 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 138-100 record. He has been named the WCC Coach of the Year at Gonzaga three times (2003 & 2005 & 2007) and boasts a 205-126 career record including 99-52 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 205-126 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 20 of 21 Gonzaga University contests she has played in and has also been the overall leading scorer in 14 of the 21 games. Of her 20 double-figure performances, 11 have been 20+ point games. Bowman has now posted 42 double-figure scoring games over her two seasons with the Zags, including 23 of 25 double-figure contests in West Coast Conference action. BOWMAN IN SINGLE SEASON RECORD BOOK: Gonzaga University sophomore Heather Bowman's 103 free throws made this season as vaulted her into the single-season Top-10 in free throws made. Bowman's total ranks her ninth. Her total of 101 free throws made in 2006-07 puts her in the 10th spot as well. Maria Stack is the single-season leader in free throws made, having hit 179 during the 1984-85 campaign. 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 26 games, getting the starting nod 19 times, is leading the team in assists, averaging 5.7 per game. She has dished out four or more assists in 21 Zag games, including a career-high 10 against the University of Washington on Nov. 12. Vandersloot is also averaging 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. 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 147 assists to her credit this season to rank her fifth. Maria Stack owns the single-season assist record, dishing out 207 during the 1984-85 campaign. 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 5.9. HOME ATTENDANCE: The Gonzaga University women's basketball team averaged 1,858 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 the Bulldogs final home game of the season against the University of San Diego on Feb. 16. A total of 2,333 people watched Gonzaga defeat the USD 76-60 in both Michelle Elliott's and Rachel Kane's final home game. 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. Kane was able to take the court for a single play on Feb. 16 in Gonzaga's last home game of the season. 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 256 points this season to up her career point total to 1,160. 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 University is averaging 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. She also has hit 38 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.
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