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.