Sooner than expected, Jill Townsend is back on the basketball court – which is a surprise to absolutely no one at Gonzaga.

One of the top high school wings in the nation has given an oral commitment to play for the Gonzaga women’s basketball program in the fall of 2020.

It’s always fun to see family and friends, but after nine years in the WNBA, a trip to Seattle doesn’t have the same allure that it once did for Courtney Vandersloot.

The former GU star can see the Kennel from her office just off Division Street, and she’s always welcome to join the current Zags for a practice.

Gonzaga’s Canadian connection is still going strong. Yvonne Ejim, a 6-foot-2 power forward from Calgary, Alberta, with international experience, is expected to sign with the Zags.

Gonzaga women’s basketball coach Lisa Fortier still has a few things to learn about the international game.

The Gonzaga women will play in another eight-team Thanksgiving weekend tournament this season.

Gonzaga’s outside shooting game is going to get more help, though perhaps not until the fall of 2020. Former Vanderbilt guard Cierra Walker, one of the top perimeter shooters in the Southeastern Conference this year, announced via social media on Monday afternoon that she’s transferring to GU.

Gonzaga head women’s basketball coach Lisa Fortier has been selected as one of four court coaches for the 2019 USA Basketball Junior National Team trials, May 16-20 at the United States Olympic Training Center.

Gonzaga’s Zykera Rice has been invited to participate in the Seattle Storm’s May 5 training camp in Seattle, becoming the ninth player in program history to either be drafted or invited to a WNBA training camp.

As the Gonzaga women left the court at Gill Coliseum on the night of March 25, their faces showed fatigue and disappointment, but not a trace of “What if?”