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Gonzaga Women's Basketball

Gonzaga women add forwards Taylor Smith, Sierra Lichtie from transfer portal

Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier, pictured in March at the WCC Tournament, continues to add pieces to her team this offseason. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Greg Lee The Spokesman-Review

The Gonzaga women’s basketball team has addressed its biggest offseason need – depth at forward.

The Zags announced Monday the signings of 6-foot-2 Taylor Smith of Pocatello, Idaho, and 6-0 Sierra Lichtie of Riverton, Utah, through the transfer portal.

Smith joins Gonzaga after two seasons at Weber State. She will have two years of eligibility.

She started 27 games last year, averaging 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds and was named All-Big Sky Conference First Team, the first Weber State player to earn the honor since 2017-18.

Smith averaged 30.7 minutes a game last year. She played in 56 games in two seasons, starting in half. She has 263 career rebounds.

“Taylor is a multi’skilled forward that can score and create in a variety of ways,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “She thrives in mismatches and is the kind of player we think is just scratching the surface of her potential.”

Lichtie has two years of eligibility after playing three years at Cal Poly. She will be a graduate student.

In her redshirt sophomore season, Lichtie started 29 games, averaging 10.6 points and 6.7 rebounds.

She was a key player in Cal Poly’s Big West Tournament run that ended in a quarterfinal loss.

Lichtie played in 60 games at Cal Poly, starting in 48. She has 518 career points and 294 career rebounds.

“Sierra is first and foremost a competitor,” Fortier said. “A versatile forward who can guard multiple positions and does whatever it takes to win. Sierra is a smart player and will fit right in with the kind of team focus we have in our program.”

Gonzaga had two spots to fill at forward with the departure of Yvonne Ejim and Maud Huijbens.

The signings of Lichtie and Smith bring Gonzaga’s roster to 13 with six returners, three incoming freshmen and four transfers.

The Zags announced earlier this spring the signings of former Mead three-sports standout Teryn Gardner (5-foot-9 freshman guard) from Boise State and Zeryhia Aokuso, a 5-foot-10 sophomore guard from Saint Mary’s.