Gonzaga women will challenge for WCC title if point guard position is solidified

Gonzaga women’s basketball player Sunny Greinacher has entered that zone where she knows everything she does for the Bulldogs will be for the last time.

The 6-foot-4 forward from Essen, Germany, will be one of three senior scorers who will be relied upon as the team furiously tries to get a couple of new guards playing within the system that has won or tied for the West Coast Conference championship for the past decade and has made six consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.

“There is definitely a sense of urgency, knowing this is my last year,” Greinacher said. “It’s just crazy. There is definitely that big urge to do especially good this year.”

In her first year as head coach, Lisa Fortier inherits a squad that finished 29-5 and lost to James Madison in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

But after that game, the team lost its top scorer, Haiden Palmer, and a four-year-starting point guard Jazmine Redmon to graduation. Then, top backup and four-game starter, Danielle Walter, decided to follow former coach Kelly Graves to Oregon.

Not long after Graves arrived in Eugene, one of Gonzaga’s top guard recruits, Lexi Bando, flipped her commitment to the Zags and instead became a Duck.

That has left a McCarthey Athletic Center-sized door open for newcomers Georgia Stirton (5-8 transfer from North Idaho College), Emma Stach (5-9 freshman of Buchholz, Germany) and Kacie Bosch (5-9 freshman of Lethbridge, Alberta).

“There is a big responsibility for those three on the point now,” Greinacher said. “They have done a great job so far. We also have more role players who are stepping up and seeking the opportunity to do more.”

Fortier said she plans to take all the time allowed to make sure the new guards get acclimated to how Gonzaga attacks other teams.

“Both Stirton and Emma Stach are really coming along,” Fortier said. “It’s not as easy to learn the position as the other four are. There are a lot of intracacies in running a team and how we want them to run it. It’s not as easy as just learning the plays.”

As a result, Fortier said she will rely heavily on Greinacher, and fellow seniors Lindsay Sherbert, a 6-foot wing, and 5-10 shooting guard Keani Albanez to lead the younger players and shoulder a heavier scoring load.

“The new players are doing the best they can, but they need someone to guide them. Those guys (Sherbert, Greinacher and Albanez) are pulling them along. They are gentle, yet firm, making sure they do it the right way.

“They have been as helpful as we have been as coaches in molding them into the point guards that we want them to be.”

Provided the Zags get the ball up the court, opposing teams will not find anything easy in the paint when they encounter Greinacher or returning 6-5 center Shelby Cheslek. She’s joined by another 6-5 center in Emma Wolfram, of Kamloops, British Columbia, who redshirted last year.

Fortier even said she could see a scenario when both 6-5 players are on the court at the same time.

“One (Cheslek) is defensive minded and one (Wolfram) is more offensive minded. She’s one of our best mid-range shooters,” Fortier said. “So, if we can get (Wolfram) and Shelby working together defensively, then you certainly can run them together. We’ll be tall if we get them both out there. That’s for sure.”

Sherbert, who averaged 10.8 points last year, slashes to the basket and pops free for long-range shots. Albanez works more as a spot-up shooter and Greinacher, who averaged 11.8 points and 5.4 rebounds, finds her points in transition and around the basket.

The team also has several other capable juniors in 6-foot wing Shaniqua Nilles, 6-2 forward Kiara Kudron and 6-2 guard Elle Tinkle. They are part of a roster that has nine players 6 foot or taller.

Fortier wouldn’t predict how she thinks her first team will finish, especially given the upgraded competition in the conference. The team opens the season at home on Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. against Dayton.

“I hope it goes well,” she said. “I hope we can get them to play as hard as they can every day.”

Regardless of who steps up on any given night, Greinacher said the players are driven to keep Gonzaga’s run of success alive.

“The people who have left Gonzaga or played for Gonzaga, they deserve to have the tradition continue,” she said. “Lindsay and Keani and I leave next year. Then the next seniors will have that legacy. We just pass it on.”

Idaho

Idaho smashed the competition last year in its final year in the Western Athletic Conference as the Vandals women’s basketball team earned its second-straight bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Jon Newlee has four of five starters returning and now has four players from Australia, including leading scorer Stacey Barr, who averaged 18.2 points a game.

The team has been picked to finish third by coaches in its first year in its return to the Big Sky. The Vandals finished 25-9 and 15-1 in the WAC last year.

“We are trying to get our new players involved in everything as quickly as possible,” Newlee said on the school’s website. “We have so many returners that they could get lost in the shuffle a little bit.”

Newlee added two new freshmen and two junior college transfers in 6-foot post Renae Mokrzycki (North Idaho College) and 6-2 post Tayla Corrigan.

“They should be able to catch up pretty quick,” Newlee said of Mokrzycki and Corrigan. “They are experienced.”

EWU

Eastern Washington got off to a slow start last year but the Eagles women’s basketball team rallied in Big Sky play to finish with a winning record.

This year, Big Sky coaches picked Wendy Schuller’s squad to finish fifth. The Eagles return leading scorer and All Big-Sky senior guard Lexie Nelson. She’s joined by starter Hayley Hodgins and late-season starters in senior Melissa Williams and sophomore Jade Redmon on a team that finished 16-14 and 12-8 in the Big Sky.

“We’ve got a really, really solid core of kids that have been in the program and know how we play and have bought into what we want to do,” Schuller said on the school’s website. “They’ve put a culture into our program this year that is what we feel like we need in order to be successful.”

The team seemed to turn a corner once Redmon (Mead), younger sister to former Gonzaga guard Jazmine Redmon, took over the starting point-guard position.

“In a lot of ways, how Jade goes is how we’re going to go,” Schuller said. “She’s that type of point guard who can change a game with her ability to get into the lane on offense and her tenacity on defense.”

WSU

The Washington State women’s basketball team is looking for more after finishing third in the Pac-12 Tournament and playing in the postseason for the first time in 23 years when it played in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

The team finished 17-17 and 9-9 in the Pac-12.

“I’m really excited,” Coach June Daugherty said on the school’s website. “It’s not just the excitement, it’s the expectation to build upon that and get to the postseason and get to the NCAA tournament. It is something that is definitely driving us.”

The team returns the 1-2 scoring punch of Lia Galdeira and Tia Presley, of Spokane, who both were named to the All Pac-12 first team last year. Presley led the team in scoring with 19 per game, followed by Galdeira’s 18.5. The Cougars also added seven new freshmen.

“We are way longer and athletic, whether it is in the post or guard position,” Daugherty said. “We are very excited about that.”

UW

There will be no lack of experience on a Husky team that put together its third-straight 20-win season and made it to the quarterfinals of the WNIT.

The Huskies’ spotlight should shine on the backcourt with senior Jazmine Davis and sophomore Kelsey Plum.

Davis can become the first UW player to earn four All-Pac-12 first team honors. She needs just 276 points to become UW’s all-time leading scorer.