Gonzaga women to retire Courtney Vandersloot’s jersey on Feb. 11

Gonzaga legend Courtney Vandersloot will have her No. 21 jersey retired before the women’s game on Feb. 11, the school announced Thursday night.

Vandersloot, a three-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year and a second-team All-American as a senior in 2011, will be present at the ceremony before the game against Portland.

The announcement, which was years in the making, was made during the Zags’ game against San Francisco.

“I’m excited that we were able to make it work,” GU coach Lisa Fortier said after the game. “I texted her earlier today and asked her if she was going to make it.”

Vandersloot will become the first woman to have her jersey displayed in the McCarthey Athletic Center.

“I know this is a very important place for her,” Fortier said.

Vandersloot capped her GU career in 2011 by leading the Zags to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, the West Coast Conference Tournament and regular-season titles and a 31-5 record in 2010-11.

Retiring Vandersloot’s No. 21 jersey has been in the works for some time; in fact, no one has worn it since she graduated in 2011.

“It’s definitely a priority for us,” GU athletic director Chris Standiford said last year.

The major obstacle was Vandersloot’s schedule; for years she played in Europe during the winter. That isn’t the case this year.

In the 2011 WNBA draft, she became the first Bulldogs player in school history to be drafted in the first round of the WNBA, as she was the third overall pick, taken by the Chicago Sky.

During the 2020 season, she was the first player in WNBA history to average double-digit assists in the season and led the WNBA with 10 assists per game. She also set the WNBA single-game record for most assists in a game with 18 and posted a double-double in nine of 22 games.

In the 2021 season, she helped led the Sky to their first WNBA championship. In the first round of the playoffs, Vandersloot posted the WNBA’s second triple-double in playoff history against the Connecticut Sun. Her triple-double included a playoff-record 18 assists, a personal-best 10 rebounds and 12 points.