Next woman up: Gonzaga’s Courtney Vandersloot’s No. 21 jersey will eventually hang at the Kennel; who might be next?
Someday soon, the jersey of Gonzaga legend Courtney Vandersloot will take its much-deserved place in the rafters of the Kennel.
It will hang alongside the greats of the men’s program: John Stockton, Frank Burgess and Adam Morrison.
That’s elite company, and proof that GU doesn’t give out that honor lightly. After all, Ronny Turiaf, Dan Dickau and Kevin Pangos are among those still waiting, and there’s been plenty of buzz about current Zag Drew Timme.
That begs the question: Are there any obvious “next up” candidates in the women’s program?
No one is better qualified to consider that question than current head coach Lisa Fortier, whose history with the program dates to her days as a graduate assistant under Kelly Graves in 2003.
The Zags were in building mode back then, clawing their way out of the basement in the West Coast Conference when Vandersloot was still in high school.
Since then, they’ve done nothing but win, as several players put the team on their backs to help establish the program as the perennial tournament team it has become. Not surprisingly, some of them played one or more seasons with Vandersloot.
However, the program hardly lost a step with the graduation of Vandersloot in 2011 and the departure of Graves three years later.
Today, we look back at some of the greatest women (not named Courtney Vandersloot) to play at Gonzaga.
Vivian Frieson (2006-10)
The Zags were just beginning their upward trajectory when Frieson signed with the Zags out of Garfield High in Seattle.
“She was one of those as a freshman who didn’t really get it at first, it but just kept getting better,” Fortier said.
By the time she finished in 2009, the 6-foot-1 Frieson was the No. 2 career rebounder in school history (she now ranks fourth). She also averaged 12.5 points and 7.4 rebounds.
And Frieson was versatile. “She was the first forward who brought it up the court, Larry Birding it when we needed it,” Fortier said. “She was also a great passer, a very vocal leader and made some big shots.”
None was bigger than the bucket she put up with 18 seconds left in a second-round NCAA Tournament game against Texas A&M in 2010. It went in, sending the Zags to the first Sweet 16 in program history.
Heather Bowman (2006-10)
Vandersloot was still attending high school in Kent, Washington, in 2006, when Bowman signed with GU out of Lewis and Clark High School.
Few adapted faster to the college game than Bowman, who was named WCC Player of the Year as a freshman in 2007.
By the time she finished her career, Bowman had 2,165 points and was the school’s career scoring leader, a title she still holds today.
“Her midrange shooting – at that time, for a post player, was the best we ever had,” Fortier said. “But mostly she was physical and tough, played with black eyes and didn’t ever shy away from bigger players.”
Also the top scorer in WCC history, Bowman was a four-time all-conference and all-WCC tournament selection. For her career, she averaged 16.8 points and 6.8 boards.
Kayla Standish (2008-12)
Another key player during the best run in program history, Standish arrived at GU out of Ellensburg in 2008.
One of the best forwards in program history, the 6-2 Standish is best known for her back-to-back 30-point NCAA Tournament games against Iowa and UCLA in 2011.
With 1,585 points, Standish ranks eighth on the GU career scoring list, sixth in rebounds with 809 and second in blocked shots with 176.
“She’s always in the conversation (about top GU players) because she could do it all,” Fortier said. “People underestimated her.”
Katelan Redmon (2009-12)
A Spokane native who prepped at Lewis and Clark, Redmon played one year at Washington before returning home and playing three seasons with the Zags.
The 6-1 Redmon “was great in the midrange and a strong finisher around the basket, and she cared a lot about the game,” Fortier said of Redmon, one of the key players playing alongside Vandersloot.
Redmon also was a major factor in carrying the program forward after the Elite Eight run in 2011. Ten years after graduating, she still leads the program in career field-goal percentage (51.7%).
A two-time all-WCC pick, she ranks 10th in career scoring despite playing only three years at GU.
Jill Barta (2015-18)
We will never know, but had she stuck around another year, Barta might have been the leading scorer in program, history.
In just three years (she redshirted as a freshman), the 6-1 forward from Montana rose high in the GU record book. She’s seventh in career scoring, 1,620 points, 10th in rebounding (652) and is the top free-throw shooter in school history (85.2%).
Barta scored 30 more points in seven games, tops in GU history
“If she’d stayed another year she would have shattered several of the records,” Fortier said. “She had all the confidence and she loved the big moment.”
A three-time all-WCC selection, Barta was at her best in the WCC Tournament. In 2017, she put up 37 points against Saint Mary’s in the tournament title game.
Jill Townsend (2017-21)
Statistics never meant much to Townsend, and they didn’t reflect her value on the court.
A 5-11 guard from Okanogan, Washington, she averaged just 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds. Then again, she put up those numbers while playing just 22 minutes per game.
“She’s definitely in that conversation (on GU greats),” Fortier said. “So many times she played with injuries, and she did the things that got the whole building fired up.”
Others noticed. Going into her senior year, Townsend was the first player in program history to be named to the preseason watch list for national player of the year.
She also rose in the big moments, none bigger than her last-second, game-winning shot in the 2021 WCC title game.