Gonzaga women sign JC transfer shooting guard Katie Campbell

Moving swiftly to fill a sudden vacancy, Gonzaga women’s basketball coach Lisa Fortier has signed a junior college shooting guard out of California.

Katie Campbell, who scored 18.4 points a game for Ventura College in Oxnard, California, last year, will arrive at Gonzaga this fall with three years of eligibility.

Campbell’s signing, announced on Thursday, comes less than a month after sophomore Zhane Templeton left the GU program. Templeton was a 42 percent shooter from 3-point range, but returned home to Texas.

“She was homesick and also had some personal stuff going on,” Fortier said of Templeton, who’s now enrolled at Texas-Arlington.

Campbell is expected to compete immediately for playing time. “She’s a great shooter (41.3 percent last year),” Fortier said.

“We just wanted to add another wing who had some experience,” said Fortier, who has five other guards returning.

However, Laura Stockton and Jessie Loera play the point, while Emma Stach will be a senior next season and Brewster, Washington, product Chandler Smith will be a junior.

The only other returning off-guard is sophomore Corryn Douglas, who averaged only 1.1 minutes a game last year.

The 5-foot-10 Campbell was on the Zags’ recruiting radar two years ago, but “we didn’t need her at the time,” Fortier said.

A native of Westlake, California, Campbell led Oaks Christian High School to a 40-0 record in league play while earning a McDonald’s All-American nomination.

“She has the ability to stretch the defense with her perimeter shooting, and can make plays for herself and her teammates off the dribble,” Fortier said.

Campbell will be the fifth newcomer to the program. GU previously signed four high-school players to letters of intent, including Okanagan star Jill Townsend, twin forwards Jenn and LeeAnne Wirth from Chandler, Arizona, and sharpshooting guard Louise Forsythe of Langley, British Columbia.