SPOKANE, Wash. — The Gonzaga women's basketball team has made 15 NCAA Tournaments since 2007. Starting in 2021, the Zags haven’t missed a big dance, making an appearance each year for four years. Monday's game marked a historic moment for the Bulldogs as they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2015.
In 2007, the GU women made their first appearance in the tournament. Gonzaga came into the big dance as a 12 seed. They wouldn't make it past the first round, falling to Middle Tennessee.
The Zags had seven straight appearances in the NCAA Tournaments from 2009-2015. The Zags would miss out on a chance to play. But, in 2009, the team came back and got past the first round but lost to Pittsburg in the second round.
This didn't discourage the team. In 2010, the Zags entered the tournament as a seven seed and danced all the way to the regional semifinals (Elite Eight), where they lost to Xavier. This momentum carried into 2011 when the team advanced to the Elite Eight again as an 11 seed, where they lost to the number two seed, Stanford. The Zag squad would experience a similar story in 2012 when they lost in the Sweet Sixteen to Kentucky.
In 2015, Lisa Fortier stepped up into the Gonzaga head coach position. The Zags entered the tournament as an 11 seed and advanced all the way to the Sweet Sixteen against Tennessee at the Spokane Arena. Though they pushed the game into overtime, they lost 73-69.
After this big run, the Zags missed out during the 2016 tournament. From 2017 to 2019, the Zags made an appearance each year, ranking as high as a five seed to as low as a 15 seed.
The Bulldogs have made waves in the NCAA Tournament each year since 2021 but haven't made it past the second round.
In 2024, the Bulldogs were selected as a number four seed, the highest in Gonzaga women's basketball history.
By the numbers
- 15 years overall (4 years consecutive)
- 5 Sweet Sixteen appearances
- 1 Elite Eight appearances
- No national titles
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