Home court advantage.

That was one of the biggest assets to the Gonzaga (11) upset over Miami (3) Monday night in Spokane. The Lady Zags are still dancing as they swing into the Sweet 16 for the third straight year, while the team from the Sunshine State is headed home.

It was a physical and hard-earned 65-54 victory for GU. While it was probably unfair seeding by the selection committee to ship both Rutgers and Miami to the freezing Northwest to play Gonzaga on their home court in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, it is also the return the Bulldogs get for consistently making and winning in the Big Dance. A cold Eastern Washington and a trip to the Sweet 16 is better than South Beach any day of the week.

For Miami, Shenise Johnson racked up 20 points and 13 rebounds to earn a double-double. Her teammate, 6’6” center Shawnice Wilson, also scored in double figures with 12 points—she was one board shy of a double-double.

Gonzaga’s seniors led the way, with Kayla Standish dropping 19 points for the night with eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Katelan Redmon knocked in 16 points with eight boards as well. Likewise, sophomore Haiden Palmer grabbed eight rebounds and was in double figures scoring wise with 15.

While the Hurricanes will return to Miami to soak up the sun and mourn the loss, the Zags will pack up for a cross country trip of their own and visit Kingston, Rhode Island. The girls are slated to face second seeded Kentucky in the round of 16 next Sunday. The time has yet to be determined.

Gonzaga's bench celebrates Monday after beating Miami and earning a spot in the Sweet 16. (Photo courtesy of @ZagWBB)

The Good: Gonzaga’s women upset Rutgers to advance to the next round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bad: The men fell to Ohio State in the round of 32, ending their season at 26-7.

The Ugly: Whatever that stuff growing on the faces of the men’s team is.

THE GOOD: Lady Zags' bench celebrates

Zags don’t lose in the McCarthey Athletic Center, and that fact remained true as the 11^th seeded Lady Bulldogs took down No. 6 Rutgers 86-73. It was all blue as the Zags wore their dark uniforms as the away team, despite playing in their home gym. The Scarlet Knights never really had a chance, they trailed from the first basket and no way were the Zags or the crowd going to let them back in.

GU held a 20-4 advantage 10 minutes into the game, and kept that 15+ point lead most of the game. Kayla Standish led the team in scoring with 23 points. Kelly Bowen earned a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Also in double figures was Haiden Palmer with 21 and Taelor Karr who chipped in 14 points.

For Rutgers, Erica Wheeler took over the scoring with 28 point. Khadijah Rushdan grabbed a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards. In all fairness, it was rather rude for the selection committee to send a six seed to an 11 seed’s home gym across the country. In the words of the Scarlet Knight’s head coach C. Vivian Stringer; however, “it’s the arena we play in,” indicating that wherever her game is scheduled is where her team needs to play, no matter any other circumstances, they need to step up.

Gonzaga advances to the second round of the Big Dance to face third seeded Miami. The Hurricanes defeated No. 14 Idaho State Saturday. Game time is set for 6:30pm (PST) in Spokane.

THE BAD: GU's bench as the loss sets in

In Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon, Gonzaga came out playing tough as the men took on second seeded Ohio State. Until the last few seconds of the half, GU made a statement leading the Buckeyes. OSU took a two point advantage into the locker room at the half—they never looked back.

The Zags remained in the game, even after trailing by as much as ten in the second half, but in the end OSU avoided the huge upset with a 73-66 win. The Zags fought for the Sweet Sixteen, and brought it to a three point game with one minute to go, but things just didn’t fall their way.

By the looks of the box score, OSU should have dominated GU, as four of their starters were in double figures; however, their bench had no points. The Bulldogs added ten from the bench, keeping them that much closer—three starters were in double digits for GU.

Gary Bell Jr. led the Zags with 18 points and five assists. Elias Harris chipped in 16 points, while Kevin Pangos added 10. The Buckeye’s two big men, Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas each racked up 18 points, while Aaron Craft contributed with 17 and William Buford tossed in 13.

GU played three Big Ten teams this season, and lost all three of those games. I guess that conference just had the Zags’ number. And if nothing else comes from the loss, the nasty facial hair can disappear off the boys’ faces now that they lost.

THE UGLY: Gross facial hair growing on Rob Sacre and Elias Harris' faces during the tournament

It was a career high and a career must, Kayla Standish scored 31 points on the way to a Gonzaga victory over arch rival St. Mary’s in the semi-finals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. The game was back and forth and extremely tight the entire way, but the Bulldogs prevailed 83-78 in Las Vegas.

Kayla Standish was a scoring machine on the court Saturday

Standish racked up 20 points in the first half, but the Zags trailed 49-47 at the break—it was one of the best shooting performances by two teams in a half, as both teams were right around 60% from the field. Three other Zags finished the afternoon with double figure scoring performances. Katelan Redmon had 20 for the day and Taelor Karr finished with 11 points and seven assists. Off the bench, Haiden Palmer netted 14 points.

The Gaels were a tough match for Gonzaga, as the teams split wins, both winning on the road, during the regular season. GU’s depth and height proved to be the deciding factors in the hard fought conference tournament victory.

The Lady Zags will face the winner of the BYU-San Diego game Sunday for the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Gonzaga’s men’s and women’s basketball program received numerous conference awards this week for having outstanding squads on and off the court.

Most importantly, redshirt junior Mike Hart and senior Shannon Reader were named to the WCC All-Academic teams. Hart is a Business Administration major and tallied a 3.63 GPA. Reader earned a 3.26 GPA as a Public Relations major.

On the court, GU had a strong presence, with numerous men and women making the all-conference team, as well as earning individual awards.

Gonzaga dominated the WCC awards, proving they are the best of the WCC

Four lady Zags were honored as Kayla Standish and Katelan Redmon were named to the All-WCC first team squad. The seniors, who both represented the United States in the Pan-Am games prior to the season starting, had a great year individually, and as a team for the Zags. They are a part of the winningest class in GU Women’s Basketball history.

Haiden Palmer, a red-shirt sophomore, was honored as the Co-newcomer of the Year for the league—she transferred after her freshman season at Oregon State. Palmer was also a first-team Honorable Mention. Freshman Sunny Greinacher was named to the All-Freshman team.

For the men, senior Rob Sacre was named the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year. His seven foot presence and ability to block-out in the paint made it extremely difficult for opponents to move inside on the Zags. Sacre also racked up enough blocks this season to move to second all-time in that stat at GU. He was given a spot on the league’s 10-man WCC First team, as well.

Kevin Pangos, the freshman super star from Canada was honored as the WCC Newcomer of the Year. Pangos lit up the conference awards, earning spots on the all-WCC first team roster, and the All-Freshman team. He was joined by fellow freshman starter Gary Bell Jr. on the conference freshman squad.

Joining Pangos and Sacre on the 10-man team, was junior Elias Harris. For his third straight year the power forward was honored by the conference. As a freshman he earned a spot on the first team and as the New Comer of the Year. Last season he was recognized as an honorable mention for the all-conference roster.

Both the Gonzaga men’s and women’s basketball teams won critical games Saturday. The ladies hosted University of San Diego, while the guys were at Pepperdine.

The women moved their record to 21-3 with a 69-58 win. It wasn’t a blow out like many of the Lady Zags’ games, but it was a hard fought win with some great performances. Katelan Redmon led all scorers with 24 points. Also in double figures for the Bulldogs was Kayla Standish with 15 points and 13 rebounds to earn a double-double, and Haiden Palmer, who netted 14 points for GU.

The women hold a tie for first place in the West Coast Conference with BYU. The two teams face of Thursday in Provo for a chance to take control over the conference.

On the men’s side, it looked like the boys had put the devastating and embarrassing loss to BYU Thursday behind them and were going to make a statement at Pepperdine. The first half was completely dominated by the Bulldogs, who were taking advantage of their opponents who have only won twice in conference play.

However, just as it happened several times at the beginning of the season, a large leaded faded quickly in the middle of the second half when the Waves roared back from a 15 point deficit to make it a two point game.

Panic set in.

What was happening to the Zags? We could not lose to Pepperdine.

Finally after the three minute GU scoring drought was over, the Bulldogs began to chip away and build their lead back up. The Waves kept fighting, and their six three pointers in the second half sure helped them make it a game, but in the end, Gonzaga rolled to a 72-60 win.

Three Zags scored in double figures. Rob Sacre and Kevin Pangos each racked up 15 points, while Guy Landry Edi chipped in 13. Pangos was 3-6 from behind the arc, and Edi was 2-3. Mathis Mönninghoff had five points in 11 minutes on the court, but showed some fire and great penetration to the basket, indicating he could be a tremendous asset down the line if he chooses to be as aggressive as he was in Malibu.

There are seven NCAA Division I schools that have both their men’s and women’s teams ranked in the AP Top 25 poll. Gonzaga is one of them.

After losing to St. Mary’s on January 12^th, the men dropped out of the rankings, but have finally returned this week at No. 24. The Zags have rallied together four straight wins to rank among the elite teams in the nation.

The women continue to climb the polls as they remain tied with BYU at the top of the WCC and earned a spot at No. 20 in the AP standings. BYU sits at 22 in the polls. The two teams face off on February 9^th in Provo for the first time this season to potentially determine the conference leader.

Both the men’s and women’s teams have several similarities in their success this season. Each team has a 17-3 record for the season and one conference loss to St. Mary’s. The talent level on both teams is very broad and there isn’t one superstar that really controls the game like both programs have had in the past.

However, the height and depth in the post position, along with very gifted guards, has enabled both teams to grab victories on the court.

Kayla Standish, Kelly Bowen, and Katelan Redmon are the Big Three for the ladies, as they are all over six feet tall. Freshman Sunny Greinacher stands atop all of them at 6’4” and brings great height off the bench.

The guys have a similar situation, with Elias Harris, Rob Sacre, and Sam Dower bringing size and experience to the post. Ryan Spangler is the freshman coming off the bench and producing good minutes.

The men's basketball team

The Lady Zags

At guard for the women, Haiden Palmer, Taelor Karr, and Jazmine Redmon have contributed in various roles with much success. Two first year Zags (Palmer and Karr both transferred) and a sophomore make up the trio who rotate constantly throughout the game. Both Karr and Palmer are shooting very well from the perimeter.

On the men’s side, Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell Jr., and David Stockton share the most minutes on the court for the one and two positions. Pangos and Bell are first year players at GU and Stockton is a sophomore. Bell Jr. and Pangos are also incredible three point shooters.

It is interesting to see the parallels between the two squads. They are both very talented teams with a diverse array of players in various positions. Look out for both the men and women to make a run come March.

Several colleges around the nation have the duplicate mascots. It is not often that opponents face each other with the same one however; and it is even rarer that the men’s and women’s teams face different schools and all four teams are the Bulldogs.

With the same nickname for all four teams, it may be a curious question as to who the top dogs are. Well, the answer is clear—the Gonzaga Bulldogs are the best in the nation.

Monday night Gonzaga’s ladies played the Georgia Bulldogs in Vegas at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. It was the No. 12 Georgia team that controlled the majority of the game, leading by 10-15 points throughout.

With less than five minutes to go, the Zags began to fight a little harder and close the gap—at the 4:55 mark it was an eight point game. It was a crazy final stretch, and with three seconds left on the clock, Haiden Palmer nailed a three pointer to seal a 71-68 win for Gonzaga.

It was an epic comeback of the underdog—literally. The Lady Zags were ranked 25^th in the polls. Georgia continues to be a dominant presence in the women’s college basketball scene; Gonzaga has only recently emerged as a nationally recognized program.

Lots of Bulldogs, but only one school is the best

Tuesday night, more Bulldogs battling continued as it was a highly touted contest even before tipoff. National runner up for the past two seasons, Butler, travelled to Spokane to take on GU in the Kennel. The story line of Gonzaga and Butler is very similar.

The two teams broke into the NCAA tournament as unsuspecting mid-major basketball programs and developed into national powers through their consistent dominance. Their head coaches are extremely well-known and reputable in the world of NCAA athletics. Mark few has a .792 winning percentage at Gonzaga in 12 years at the helm, while the young Brad Stevens has accumulated a .797 success rate at Butler as the leader over the past five years.

Both teams have been considered Cinderella stories; rising up against the major powers in college basketball and beating them. When Butler entered the MAC Tuesday, it was a fight for top dog. Which Bulldog, mid-major program would emerge as the best in the country this year? Butler’s recent trips to the NCAA title have made them the superior team at the Big Dance, but Gonzaga has been a power for a much longer time.

The Zags held and edge of roughly ten points for most of the 40 minutes. Butler made a few surges to close it within single digits, but in the end, Gonzaga sealed a 71-55 win.

As a team, GU rallied for nine three pointers. Kevin Pangos produced one of his best games in a while, contributing 19 points. Elias Harris had his second game in a row with a dominating performance, scoring 19 as well. Both Pangos and Harris had three treys as the team shot 50% from behind the arc.

No other Zag reached double digit scoring figures. Harris tallied a team high nine rebounds—demonstrating the lack of presence the big guys are having inside; granted Gonzaga did a lot of successful shooting from the perimeter.

After the past two nights, it is obvious Gonzaga basketball doesn’t need rankings or past NCAA tournament wins to determine the best Bulldog squad around, because the Zags men’s and women’s programs proved they are the top Bulldogs this year.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike toppled the Zags with 33 points and 18 boards

Could it be possible? Could a team that lost their super-star All-American to graduation beat the squad that knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament—a team that ranks fifth in the country?

Well at halftime, it sure looked like Gonzaga had a chance to pull off the upset, considering the Zags were up 32-31. However, by the end of the second half, the Cardinal held a 76-61 advantage over the Bulldogs.

It was a good game. Stanford and Gonzaga are in the process of building a West Coast power rivalry, as they are two women’s basketball programs dominating the western region of the country and proving to be the top two teams in the west. Unfortunately, in the second game of the season, GU just wasn’t fully prepared to take on the enormous task of knocking of the perennial power.

Part of Stanford’s dominance is thanks to the Ogwumike sisters—they contributed a total of 52 points for the Cardinal. Nnemkadi, the older sibling, led all scorers with 33 points along with 18 rebounds. The younger sister, Chiney, tossed in 19.

For Gonzaga, Haiden Palmer had a team high 13 points. Taelor Karr and Kelly Bowen chipped in 10 apiece. The Sunday afternoon loss at Stanford dropped the Zags to 1-1 on the season.

GU will travel to Moscow, Idaho Thursday to play U of I at 6pm.

They both won. That is what counts initially—a 1-0 start to the season, the best way to begin. However, the Lady Zags accomplished their 101-88 win against Hofstra in a very different fashion than the men’s 77-69 victory over Eastern Washington University Friday at Gonzaga.

New Faces, Same Result

For the women, the key to their success is depth and plenty of talent. Obviously they can score, seeing as they broke the 100 point barrier in their first game of the year. The number of players that saw considerable time on the court also is proof of their depth.

Eight players saw double digit minutes in the contest; seven had over 20 minutes of court time, a sign of a strong rotation designed by Coach Kelly Graves. Four of the eight ladies are first year players for the Zags: Haiden Palmer, Taelor Karr, Sunny Greinacher, and Keani Albanez—two freshmen and two transfers.

Four ladies also notched double digit points; with Katelan Redmon accomplishing a double-double. Redmon had 15 points and 13 boards. Kayla Standish scored a team high of 22 points, with Kelly Bowen adding 17, and Palmer chipping in 14.

The talent on this roster is wide-spread and will definitely be put to the test as they face the perennial power of the west—Stanford—at The Farm on Sunday at 2pm.

A Narrow Escape

On the men’s side of things, Easter Washington came to play, and well, Gonzaga didn’t. The Zags snuck out the win at home against EWU, but that was only because the Eagles played their hearts out it caught up to them in the final minutes.

Eastern used up four time outs in the first half, and was out of team time outs before the first media timeout of the second half. That was a major factor in their loss Friday night. The other critical component to not pulling of the huge upset was five guys fouling out of the game.

If it weren’t for the timeout and foul situation, there is no doubt in my mind that the Eagles would have come away from the MAC with one of the biggest upsets in either schools’ history. Eastern played with a tremendous amount of heart, and had the mindset of winning the game, despite the majority of the spectators, and definitely all of Gonzaga presuming the matchup would be a blowout in favor of the Zags.

While the Eagles were busy trying to win the game, the Bulldogs were doing everything they possibly could to not lose it—although at times it seemed as if they were attempting to hand their regional competition the upset of the year in the first game of the season.

Gonzaga was 19 for 51 from the free throw line. That is terrible. That stat alone shows how horribly they played tonight. Free throw equals free points! If nothing else changed besides making all those freebies the Zags would have won by 40 points. However, they missed, causing a less than peaceful emotional roller coaster for everyone packed in the Kennel.

A surprising starting five took the court for the Bulldogs, and maybe that is what caused the inconsistency and poor play for Gonzaga. As predicted Rob Sacre, Elias Harris, Marquise Carter, and David Stockton were starters, but the fifth man—Mike Hart—was an absolute surprise to most of GU’s supporters (and probably Eastern’s team and fan base too).

What may have been even more of a shock than Hart getting the start was that he did not come of the court the entire second half! After only nine minutes in the first half, the walk-on, redshirt junior didn’t leave the floor in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Another interesting second half adjustment by GU was that while Stockton started at the point, Kevin Pangos finished the second half with 16 minutes, compared to David’s five. The freshman filled the role in crunch time, so it is only a question as to if he will continue to be the go to guy to run the offense, or of Stockton will remain the starter—especially with zero points and two assists in 19 minutes.

Rob Sacre tallied a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Elias Harris was the dominate player on the court showing tremendous power on offense and defense with 16 points and two blocks. Carter added 17 points for the Bulldogs, while Pangos kicked in 11—shooting a perfect six of six from the free throw line.

Just like the ladies, the men will be tested with a PAC-12 school, as they host Washington State Monday night at 9pm. That game will be featured on ESPN as part of the Midnight Madness Marathon.

A look a the new Lady Zags

Courtney Vandersloot graduated in May as the only Division 1 men or women’s player to have over 2,000 points and 1,000 assists. She was drafted third overall in the WNBA draft. Anyone following the GU women’s basketball program knows that and understands that the team this year will definitely be different than the past four years with the all-start point guard on the court.

However, it is time to move on for the Lady Zags, and use this new season to strut their new team.  Several key players from last years’ Elite Eight team return to the MAC for the 2011-2012 season, and a few new faces joined the squad, who are expected to make an impact.

Haiden Palmer, a transfer last year from Oregon State, will play her redshirt sophomore season after sitting out last year. Palmer has a great reputation as a point guard, and will likely fill in the role for Courtney with her new style of play. At OSU, she started every single game (31), averaged over 10 points per game, and made the PAC-10 All-Freshman team.

Taelor Karr is a junior transfer from Kansas State University, and has been declared eligible by the NCAA, and is also predicted to be a major asset to the Bulldogs’ roster. Karr played in all 32 games at K-State last year, and started 29 of them. The 5’8” guard will bring valuable experience of high level basketball to GU, as the Big 12 is one of the toughest women’s basketball conferences in the NCAA.

The group of freshmen coming to Gonzaga bring some great height to the roster. There are seven first year players, five of whom are 6’0” or taller. Sunny Grienacher, from Germany is 6’4” and Shelby Chelsek of Pullman, Washington is 6’5”—capping of the height as the tallest player on the squad. Megan Benedict is 6’1” and a guard, which is a nice combination. Danielle Walters, a redshirt freshman, and Shaniqua Nilles of Spokane Valley, are each 6’0” tall.

The other two freshmen, Maikai Viela (5’6”) and Keani Abanez (5’10”) round out the new group of faces earning spots on the roster.

Last season was a one that definitely made history in women’s basketball at Gonzaga, but this team of ladies is ready for the challenge of a new year. The team may look different than the 2010-2011 squad, but the goals are the same, and hopefully the results will be too.