March 20, 2010
Game Notes • Gonzaga starters were Janelle Bekkering, Vivian Frieson, Courtney Vandersloot, Heather Bowman, and Tiffanie Shives. North Carolina started Chay Shegog, Cetera DeGraffenreid, Laura Broomfield, Tierra Ruffin-Pratt. • Gonzaga is now 28-4 and extends their winning streak to 19 games. North Carolina finishes the season 19-12. Gonzaga plays Texas A&M, who defeated Portland State 84-53 in the previous game, on Monday 3/22 at 6:30 pm. • This is Gonzaga's second ever tournament victory (2-2). This is the second straight year that Gonzaga has played the first and second rounds in Seattle. Last season, as a 12-seed, they upset fifth-seeded Xavier before falling to Pittsburgh in the second round. This was North Carolina's 22nd tournament appearance (18th under coach Sylvia Hatchell) with an all-time tourney record of 39-21 (37-17 under Hatchell). • Courtney Vandersloot, the 2009-10 WCC player of the year, had just 9 points but led the game with 15 assists and 5 steals. This marks the 11th time she has dished 10 assists in a game and the 12th time she has compiled 5 steals. Vandersloot is Gonzaga's all-time leader in assists. • The Bulldogs got a lift in the second half from their strongest three-point shooter, Tiffanie Shives. Shives, a 5'7" senior, hit four three-pointers in a three-minute span. The last put the Bulldogs up 72-69, a lead they didn't give up for the remainder of the game. Shives finished with 16 points in just 22 minutes. • UNC's size, a point of emphasis for the Bulldogs in preparation for the game, was combated by a strong performance by Gonzaga front line. Senior forwards Vivian Frieson (16 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Heather Bowman (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) battled the bigger Tar Heels inside all game, and UNC only outscored Gonzaga in the paint by six points, 46-40. That is not to say that UNC was not productive inside. 6'5" F/C Chay Shegog had 19 points and 9 rebounds and 6'1" forward Laura Broomfield had 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. • GU's Katelan Redmon, playing on the same floor she called home for a year (she played her freshman season at Washington), came off the bench to lead the Bulldogs with 18 points on 8-11 shooting, making both of her three-point attempts. |
