Gonzaga squeaked by EWU last season by hitting 7-of-10 shots from the free throw line in the closing seconds of the game (Photo: EWU Athletics)SPOKANE, Wash. -
After losing to No. 1 Stanford at home on Sunday, the Gonzaga women face another interesting challenge on Tuesday. The Zags will host Eastern Washington for a game televised regionally on SWX.
The Eagles have not won at McCarthey Athletic Center since 2001, although they beat the Zags in 2004 on a neutral court at Spokane Arena. The Zags have won the last eight meetings.
Last year EWU came close to a win, but Gonzaga sunk 7-of-10 free throws in the final 30 seconds and escaped with a win.
Eagle-Bulldog Roster Connections (from EWU Athletics)
- EWU recently signed Spokane-native Jade Redmon to a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Eastern starting in the 2013-14 season. Redmon is the younger sister of current Gonzaga guard, Jazmine Redmon, who has started all eight games for the Zags this season, and leads the team in assists with 29. Jade and Jazmine's mother, Shaney, was a track and field athlete at Washington State University, who coincidentally, was coached at WSU by Eastern's current head track and field coach, Marcia Mecklenburg.
- Gonzaga assistant women's basketball coach Lisa Mispley Fortier is married to current EWU associate head men's basketball coach, Craig Fortier. Prior to coming to Eastern in 2011-12, Fortier was an assistant at Whitworth University in Spokane. This husband-wife coaching duo helped lead their respective teams to "Elite Eight" national tournament appearances in 2010.
- Separated by just 20 miles, EWU and Gonzaga often cross paths on the recruiting trail. The two teams often have athletes on their rosters that came from the same high school. Currently, EWU freshman Tisha Phillips and Gonzaga freshman Chelsea Waters represent one such commonality, as the two were teammates at Lewiston High School for two seasons. Phillips and Waters led the Bengals to back-to-back 5A Idaho State Championships in 2011 and 2012. Eastern's sophomore point guard Kylie Huerta attended the same high school as Gonzaga great, Courtney Vandersloot, although the two missed each other as actual teammates at Kentwood by just one year.
