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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Georgia Stirton makes big strides to lead Gonzaga women from the point

GU's Georgia Stirton splits George Washington defenders. (Dan Pelle)

One of the answers to how the Gonzaga women’s basketball team reached the Sweet 16 came from halfway around the world.

The pressure of replacing a graduated Zag point guard, and running a foreign offense for a brand new coaching staff, fell squarely on the shoulders of a feisty transfer from Australia.

Georgia Stirton, a 5-foot-8 junior, came to the Zags last year from North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene. She stuck with the commitment even after Kelly Graves left in April to take the job at Oregon.

But her transition to Division I basketball, admittedly, was anything but smooth.

After two years of Mead’s Jazmine Redmon running the show, Stirton appeared a step slow and indecisive as she and freshman backup Emma Stach tried to figure out how first-year coach Lisa Fortier wanted to run Gonzaga’s offense.

Early in the season, Stirton’s indecision led to turnovers. The half-court offense resembled more of a game of keep-away than a coordinated attack.

“I was shocked, quite honestly, about how high the standard was,” Stirton said. “There were times, coming from junior college, when I thought, ‘Maybe I was just a good juco player and this level is too tough for me.’

“But the coaches have always remained patient and positive with me.”

Fortier said remaining calm amid all those turnovers was “a little bit challenging early on.

“But now she understands a lot of things we envisioned her doing,” she said. “It’s been a lot of fun watching her improvement.”

Early in the season, opponents keyed onto the guards’ inexperience and began to pressure them. Through trial and error, they began to understand.

“When I go in, I make sure to take care of the ball and set up the offense as much as possible,” Stirton said. “The biggest thing was just having confidence and not getting intimidated by big-name players and big-name schools.”

Gonzaga (26-7) now plays one of the biggest names in women’s college basketball with No. 2 seed Tennessee looming in the game Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Spokane Arena.

Coming from Melbourne, Australia, Stirton did not grow up watching former coach Pat Summitt win eight titles and Tennessee’s classic battles for dominance with Connecticut and coach Geno Auriemma.

But Stirton and her teammates watched the Lady Vols (29-5) beat No. 10 seed Pittsburgh 77-67 on Monday.

“The (Tennessee) guards are athletic and fast. The bigs are very crafty,” she said. “It should be a very good game.”

Stirton said she remembers that point in the season when she finally felt like she belonged. It came in the first West Coast Conference game at home on Dec. 27 against BYU.

“I remember just being so nervous,” Stirton said. “But I hit a few shots early.”

Stirton finished that 78-62 win with 11 points, five assists and only two turnovers.

“I had better and worse games, but I knew after that game,” Stirton said. “I knew I had to believe in myself and that I’m as good as the others.”

Fortier said her moment came much sooner, when Gonzaga played Montana State on Nov. 21.

“She had a ton of assists (8) and not many turnovers (1),” Fortier said of Stirton. “I was thinking what a great game she had. She was getting better and better and I was thinking there was no question she was our point-guard answer.

“From there on … she had small setbacks and big strides, but she was on the upward swing for sure.”

In the two NCAA tournament wins, Stirton scored seven points in both games and hit huge early shots that forced George Washington and Oregon State to defend all five positions.

When Stirton gets into foul trouble or needs a rest, Fortier turns to Stach, a freshman from Buchholz, Germany, who also showed indecision early in the year.

“She doesn’t play afraid at all,” Fortier said of Stach. “If we call a play for her to hit the game-winner, she’s gonna take it. She has that type of ice in her veins.”

Stach hit the winning 3-pointer in Gonzaga’s epic four-overtime win Feb. 7 over San Francisco.

“In a new setting a long way from home, it took her a while to get her feet under her,” Fortier said of Stach. “But this is who we recruited, a capable player who is fearless.”