 |
Women's Basketball Hosts Nevada
Nov. 16, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
Game No. 2 -NEVADA GONZAGA UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS (1-0, 0-0 West Coast) UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA WOLF PACK (2-1, 0-0 Western Athletic) Game No. 3 -MONTANA UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA GRIZZLIES (1-1, 0-0 Big Sky) THIS WEEKEND: Gonzaga University women's basketball continues its opening four-game homestand Saturday when it welcomes the University of Nevada to the McCarthey Athletic Center. The fourth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Wolf Pack is set to begin at Noon. 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. BULLDOGS HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR 2007-08: Despite the loss of two senior starters from last year's NCAA Tournament team, the Gonzaga University Bulldogs have high hopes entering the 2007-08 season. Head coach Kelly Graves thinks this team could be better at the end of the year than last season's team as Gonzaga does return 10 players who played last season including returning starters Heather Bowman, the West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year last season, Rachel Kane and junior Jami Bjorklund. Gonzaga kicks the season off with four-straight home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center. ZAGS BEAT WASHINGTON TO OPEN THE 2007-08 SEASON: It was the perfect beginning to the new season for the Gonzaga University women's basketball team. Facing the University of Washington in Spokane for the first time since the 1997-1998 campaign, the Bulldogs earned their first victory in 18 tries over the Huskies with an impressive 91-72 win Monday, Nov. 12. It was also a phenomenal collegiate debut for redshirt freshman Janelle Bekkering as she posted a career-high 20 points, including 16 in the first half. With the win the Bulldogs improved to 1-0 on the season and are now 6-0 in home openers, while the Huskies dropped to 0-2 overall. SCOUTING THE WOLF PACK: The University of Nevada has opened its season 2-1 after defeating Santa Clara University (62-51) and Eastern Washington University (74-68) and falling to San Diego State University (67-61). The Wolf Pack also won its only exhibition game of the season, posting a 68-40 win over Sonoma State University. Nevada finished the 2006-07 season 17-15 overall and 10-6 in the Western Athletic Conference and advanced to the WNIT for the first time in program history. The Wolf Pack is coach by Kim Gervasoni who is in her fifth season with Nevada and has a 43-81 overall record. ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST NEVADA: This will be only the fourth meeting between Gonzaga University and the University of Nevada. The Bulldogs hold the slight 2-1 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last two. The last time Gonzaga faced-off against Nevada was during the 2004-05 season at the Thanksgiving Classic hosted by the University of Idaho. The Zags earned a 70-49 victory. SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES: The University of Montana split its opening two contests of the 2007-08 campaign. The Grizzlies opened the season with a 70-64 loss at Boise State University before bouncing back with a 79-54 victory over visiting Montana Tech. Montana is led by Mandy Morales who is averaging 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists over the Grizzlies first two contests. Montana is coached by Robin Selvig in his 30th season. Selvig holds a 673-193 record over his 30 years with the Griz. ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST MONTANA: This will be only the 25th meeting between Gonzaga University and the University of Montana. The Grizzlies hold the 18-6 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last two contests: 88-78 (2007), 72-60 (2006). The Bulldogs last defeated Montana during the 2004-05 season with a 57-51 win at Montana. The last time the Zags defeated the Griz in Spokane was the 2003-04 season with a 60-52 victory. FRIENDLY CONFINES OF THE McCARTHEY ATHLETIC CENTER: Gonzaga University women's basketball opens the 2007-08 campaign with four-straight home contests. It is the first time in school history the Bulldogs will host four games to start the season. The longest homestand prior to this year was last season when Gonzaga had three-straight home games, going 3-0. HIGH POINTS: Gonzaga University women's basketball opened its 2007-08 season with a 91-72 victory over the University of Washington, Nov. 12. The 91 points scored by the Bulldogs is a school record for highest point total scored in an opening game. The previous highest was 88 scored in a opening victory at the University of Idaho during the 1993-94 season. The Zags earned a 88-62 victory. The 91 points is also only the 11th game in school history where Gonzaga scored 90 or more points. BOWMAN AMONG TOP WCC RETURNERS: Gonzaga University sophomore forward Heather Bowman has been selected as one of the Top 6 returning players in the West Coast Conference for the 2007 season. Bowman was the WCC's Newcomer of the Year last season and the WCC Tournament Most Valuable Player. Bowman led the conference in scoring in WCC contests (16.3 ppg). Joining Bowman on the top returning player list are Dominique Carter from the University of San Francisco, Daphanie Kennedy and Teena Wickett from Pepperdine University and Amanda Rego and Amber Sprague from the University of San Diego. THREE STARTERS RETURN: This year the Gonzaga University Bulldogs return three starters from the 2006-07 squad that made its inaugural appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Returning to the mix is senior guard Rachel Kane, junior guard Jami Bjorklund and sophomore forward Heather Bowman. Kane played in all 34 games, getting the starting nod 22 times. She averaged 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and a team-best 3.9 assists per contest. Bjorklund started 28 games for the Bulldogs and averaged 9.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Bowman, the WCC Newcomer of the Year, played and started in all 34 games for the Zags. She averaged 13.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game as a freshman. BEKKERING HITS THE FLOOR: Redshirt freshman Janelle Bekkering waited for over a year to hit the basketball court in a Gonzaga University jersey. The 6-0 forward from Alberta, Canada sat out her first season with the Bulldogs after having surgery to repair a torn ACL. Her first game as a Zag was phenomenal. In a 91-72 victory over the University of Washington, Bekkering finished with 20 points, 16 coming in the first half, along with three rebounds and two assists. TRUE FRESHMAN: True freshman Courtney Vandersloot, of the Gonzaga University women's basketball team, had a strong showing in her first-ever collegiate contest. Vandersloot, who came off the bench to play 26 minutes, dished out 10 assists in the Bulldogs 91-72 win over the University of Washington. Vandersloot also scored six points and grabbed four rebounds, two of which were offensive in the win. DOUBLE-DOUBLE: 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. The 10 rebounds was also a career high for the Spokane native. BULLDOGS FACE TOUGH SCHEDULE: Gonzaga University, coming off a season that saw it win their first-ever WCC Tournament Championship and make their inaugural appearance in the NCAA Tournament, have put together one of the strongest schedules in school history. Of the 15 non-conference match-ups on the slate this season, 10 opponents either made it to the NCAA Tournament or participated in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) in 2007. Included in that list is a game against the defending National Champions the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers and Elite Eight members Arizona State University and Purdue University. RECEIVING VOTES IN COACHES POLL: Gonzaga University women's basketball team, who is coming off an impressive 91-72 victory over in-state rival the University of Washington, once again appeared among the schools also receiving votes in the latest USA Today/ESPN Division I Top 25 Coaches' Poll. The Bulldogs garnered five votes, up from four votes last week. Gonzaga will continue the new season this Saturday as it welcomes the University of Nevada to the McCarthey Athletic Center for a noon game. ZAGS ON ESPNU: Gonzaga University women's basketball will have one home game nationally televised. The Bulldogs opening West Coast Conference game against Pepperdine University, Jan. 10 will be broadcast on ESPNU. BULLDOGS 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 PICKED TO FINISH SECOND: Defending West Coast Conference Tournament Champion Gonzaga University has been picked to finish second this year in the WCC in a preseason vote of the league coaches. The Bulldogs garnered three first place votes, and received 55 total points to finish second in the annual coaches poll. 2007-08 West Coast Conference
|
