Fans get peek at new-look GU women

The McCarthey Athletic Center was rocking Saturday as the Gonzaga women’s basketball team took the court.

Spike the Bulldog was marching around the crowd. Someone even brought a face photo of Lindsay Sherbert to wave about. And, the Gonzaga pep band did its best to honor Bon Jovi and others.

The event was all for fun as Gonzaga hosted Fan Fest to let 1,589 Zag partisans get a look at the new team.

“It’s pretty neat to see this many people for a 5-on-5 scrimmage,” senior wing Lindsay Sherbert said. “It shows what a great program Gonzaga has.”

But the biggest question going into the season appears to remain unsettled. New coach Lisa Fortier is trying to find guards to replace leading scorer Haiden Palmer and point guard Jazmine Redmon.

The candidates are North Idaho College transfer Georgia Stirton, who showed strong ball control skills, and a pair of 5-foot-9 freshmen in Emma Stach and Kacie Bosch.

Stach, from Buchholz, Germany, displayed a quick shot and tenacious defensive skills during the scrimmage, which the red team won 21-18 over the blue team.

“They’ve been OK,” Fortier said of the guards after only eight practices. “But, it’s been a lot of learning for them. Their heads have been spinning a little.”

But the Zags have all kinds of options inside, with a pair of 6-foot-5 centers in junior Shelby Cheslek and redshirt freshman Emma Wolfram. Fortier also has seven forwards and wings taller than 6-0.

“We could pound the ball inside more early on,” Fortier said. “But I think the guards will come along very quickly.”

Gonzaga returns one senior guard in Keani Albanez, who has primarily been used as a shooting guard.

“We have so many veterans coming back, we’ll be fine,” Fortier added. “That length will be helpful with our defense.”

Sherbert said the roster is loaded with talent.

“I think this is a team that will surprise a lot of people and continue to get better as the season goes along,” Sherbert said. “As soon as we are all on the same page, I think we will be pretty special.”

Gonzaga opens the season Sunday Nov. 16 against NCAA tournament team Dayton.