Gonzaga lands Bowman in stellar class
A potential nationally ranked signing class bolstered by a local standout put the Gonzaga women’s basketball team in the spotlight on Wednesday, the first day players could sign a letter of intent.
The Bulldogs landed six players on the first day of the early signing, including Heather Bowman of Lewis and Clark and Canadian Janelle Bekkering, who turned down Stanford. Bekkering is the sister of Eastern Washington player Henry Bekkering.
The GU class also included San Diego State transfer and Pasco grad Michelle Elliott, Vivian Frieson of Garfield in Seattle, Simone Jordan of Franklin in Portland, and Tatriana Lorenzo from Hawaii.
“This is the most exciting recruiting class we’ve ever had at Gonzaga and is considered by some experts one of the top recruiting classes in the nation,” said GU coach Kelly Graves. “Included in this year’s group are several national-level recruits who will hopefully continue to lead our program into the upper echelon of NCAA programs.”
Washington State signed three players, Idaho one with another expected today, and Eastern Washington, which played at California Wednesday night in the preseason WNIT, is expected to announce three signees today.
Bowman, a 6-foot-2 forward, is rated the 38th-best prospect in the country by Scout.com and one of the top 10 forwards. A three-year starter entering her senior year, she helped lead the Tigers to three straight state tournaments and has twice been an All-Greater Spokane League first-team selection. She averaged 16.5 points and 8.3 rebounds last year when LC finished third at state.
Bekkering, a 6-foot guard from Taber, Alberta, played for the Canadian U-19 team that finished ninth in the world championships last summer.
Elliott, a 5-11 guard, led SDSU in scoring as a freshman (12.3 ppg) and sophomore (11.1) and twice earned All-Mountain West Conference recognition. She was a three-time All-Big Nine first-team selection and helped the Bulldogs finish fourth at state in 2003 with a 27-2 record.
Frieson, a 6-foot forward, helped Garfield win the state title last year. Prior to that, she played at Bremerton, averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds as a sophomore.
Jordan is a 5-10 guard who played the last three seasons at Jefferson. She was first-team all-league after averaging 18 points, six rebounds and six assists as a sophomore but missed last season with a knee injury.
Lorenzo is a 5-7 point guard from Kamehameha. Her team was second in state her freshman year, losing to Punahou, which was led by current GU point guard Rachel Kane.
WSU’s class includes Colleen Betteridge, a 5-8 guard from Chief Sealth in Seattle, Shanice Brown, a 6-3 center from California, and Marisa Stotler, a 6-1 forward from Arizona.
Betteridge transferred from Redmond this fall after averaging 11.7 points and 3.9 assists. Brown averaged 11.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks for Elk Grove High School. Stotler, a three-year starter, averaged more than 20 points and 12 rebounds for Dodson High School in Chandler
Idaho signed Katie Madison, a 6-foot post from Prairie (Wash.) High, and is expecting another letter of intent from an Australian player today. Madison, the St. Helen’s League 4A player of the year as a junior, has averaged 13.8 points in her career.