Gonzaga University Women's Basketball

THE FORTIER FILE Personal Information Name: Lisa Fortier Birthday: April 5 Hometown: Sacramento, Calif. High School: Placer High School Education: Butte College, Oroville, Calif. - 2002 Cal State Monterey Bay - 2004 (B.S. Human Communications) Gonzaga University - 2006 (MA Athletic Administration) Spouse: Craig Fortier Children: Marcus, Calvin and Quincy   COLLEGIATE HONORS NAIA Academic All-American, 2003 All-Cal Pac Honorable Mention, 2003 CSUMB Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, 2004 Recently inducted in the Buttle College and CSUMB Hall of Fame in 2022 Coaching Experience OVERALL 2004-06 - Coordinator Basketball Operations at Gonzaga University 2006-07 - Assistant Women’s Coach University of Northern Colorado 2007-14 - Assistant Women’s Coach at Gonzaga University April 14, 2014 - Present - Head Women’s Coach at Gonzaga University GONZAGA In 12 complete years as the head coach at Gonzaga, Fortier has made 11 postseason appearances (9 NCAA/1 WNIT/1 WBIT), as 2020 is the only year without a postseason appearance due to COVID. Overall record: 313-84 (.788) Fortier is the only coach in program history to have 11 20-win seasons in their first 12 seasons, most recently with 24 wins in the 2025-26 season. In 2024-25, Fortier led the team to 32 wins, which marked the most in program history in a single season. Claimed nine WCC Regular Season Titles and five WCC Tournament Titles  2023-24 Kathy Delaney Coach of the Year 7x WCC Coach of the Year, most recently in 2024-25 Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year in 2015 Naismith Coach of the Year candidate in 2022-23 and 2023-24 Semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year award in 2019-20 and 2023-24 Seven players named the WCC Player of the Year (Lauren Whittaker, Yvonne Ejim x2, Kaylynne Truong, Jenn Wirth, Jill Townsend, Jill Barta) Under coach Fortier, GU has had: - The four Sixth Woman of the Year awards in the WCC (Yvonne Ejim, Jaiden Haile, Maud Huijbens and Melody Kempton) - 26 All-WCC First Team selections - 7 All-WCC Second Team selections - 8 All-WCC Honorable Mention selections - 8 WCC All-Freshman Team performers - 5 All-Americans - 7 WCC Player of the Year selections - 2 WCC Freshman of the Year selections - An Academic All-American (Yvonne Ejim) Becky Hammon Player of the Year (Yvonne Ejim) - 3 WBCA All-American Honorable Mentions (Yvonne Ejim, Maud Huijbens, Allie Turner) In the 2019-20 season, Fortier led the Bulldogs to their first regular-season Top 10 ranking, reaching No. 10 in the WBCA Coaches Poll and a No. 11 ranking in the Associate Press Poll, their highest AP ranking ever The Zags reached the Sweet 16 for the second time under coach Fortier in the 2023-24 season. The team finished with a program best of 32 wins on the year, including the highest ranked win in program history against No. 3 Stanford. GU went undefeated in the conference in 2023-24 at a perfect 16-0. During the season they also won a program record of 24-straight games.  Fortier owns a 313-84 career record. Among active Division I coaches with at least five years at the level, she ranks fifth in winning percentage (.788).  Among active Division I women's basketball head coaches, Fortier and LSU's Kim Mulkey each captured their 300th career Division I win in their 379th career game. Connecticut's Geno Auriemma is the third-fastest active Division I head coach to reach 300 career Division I victories, collecting the milestone win in his 386th career game.    Lisa Fortier was named the Head Coach of the Gonzaga University women’s basketball program on April 14, 2014 after having spent nearly a decade on staff, including seven years as an assistant. Entering her 12th season in 2025-26, Fortier has taken the program to new heights. Fortier is the only coach in program history to have 11 20-win seasons in their first 12 seasons, most recently with the 24-10 mark posted in 2025-26. Going into her 13th year at Gonzaga, Fortier has had seven players named the WCC Player of the Year (Lauren Whittaker, Yvonne Ejim x2, Kaylynne Truong, Jenn Wirth, Jill Townsend, Jill Barta), four WCC Sixth Woman of the Year (Jaiden Haile, Melody Kempton, Yvonne Ejim, Maud Huijbens), 26 All-WCC First Team selections, seven All-WCC Second Team selections, eight All-WCC Honorable Mention selections and eight WCC All-Freshman Team performers. She’s been named the WCC Coach of the Year seven times, and she was selected as the Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year in 2015 along with being a Naismith Coach of the Year candidate in three seasons, including a semifinalist twice. Following the success of the 2023-24 season, Fortier was also named the Kathy-Delaney Coach of the Year.  Fortier’s players have also excelled academically as 45 players have been selected to the WCC All-Academic team along with 12 players earning Division I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete recognition. Yvonne Ejim was also named the program's first Academic All-American in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons along with the Becky Hammon Player of the Year in 2023-24. Fortier also coached 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 selection Chandler Smith and the program’s first ever Senior CLASS Award First Team All-American, Jill Townsend. In 2025-26, the Bulldogs delivered another impressive campaign, finishing the year with an overall record of 24-10, including 14-4 in West Coast Conference play. Gonzaga capped its strong regular season with its 11th WCC Tournament Championship in program history, securing the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The appearance marked the program’s 16th all-time trip to the NCAA postseason. The Zags were powered by standout individual performances throughout the year, headlined by freshman Lauren Whittaker, who became the first Bulldog in program history to be named both the WCC Player of the Year and WCC Freshman of the Year in the same season. Jaiden Haile added to the list of conference honors as she earned WCC Sixth Woman of the Year, giving Gonzaga three major postseason award winners. Nationally, Gonzaga established itself as one of the premier perimeter shooting teams in the country, finishing first in three-point percentage.  In her 11th season at the helm,  Fortier guided the Zags to a 24-11 overall record (17-3 WCC), capturing the West Coast Conference regular-season title.  Gonzaga made a deep run in the WBIT, knocking off UTSA and top-seeded Colorado, before falling to Minnesota in an overtime quarterfinal thriller. Fifth year standout Yvonne Ejim anchored the team, becoming Gonzaga’s all-time leader in both scoring and rebounds. She surpassed 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds, becoming the first player in WCC women’s history to reach both milestones, while averaging nearly 20 points per game. The Zags caught fire in the second half of the season, winning 16 of their final 17 conference games to secure the regular-season crown. The Bulldogs had the toughest non-conference schedule in school history on deck in the 2023-24 season. The Bulldogs started the season with a 7-2 record before taking on No. 3 Stanford at home on Dec. 3. Gonzaga came out hot and didn’t let up any lead as they defeated Stanford, 96-78, for its highest ranked win in program history. After handing Stanford’s most lopsided loss since 2020, the Zags entered the AP and Coaches Polls at No. 23 and remained in the polls for the rest of the season. The Zags went on to win 24-straight games – a school record – to claim their 19th WCC Regular Season. GU went undefeated in the West Coast Conference with a 16-0 record and defeated opponents by an astonishing average of 30.7 points, which was not only a school record, but was also a WCC record. Not only were they undefeated in conference, they remained perfect inside the Kennel during the regular season for the second-straight season to make them have the second-best winning streak at home in the nation – only behind National Champion South Carolina. During those 24-straight wins, one of those stood out in conference games. On Feb. 3, the Zags hosted Pacific and scored a record breaking 19 three pointers to defeat the Tigers, 104-39. The 65-point win was the largest margin of victory over a Division I opponent in school history as seven Bulldogs contributed to the 19 threes made. Going into March Madness with a 32-3 record, the Zags were poised to be a top 16 seed which included hosting rights for the first two rounds. On Selection Sunday, the committee agreed that the Bulldogs deserved to host and selected them as a No. 4 seed. In front of a sold-out crowd at McCarthey Athletic Center, Gonzaga defeated UC Irvine in the first round, 75-56. The game marked the largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament for GU and advanced them to the second round to play No. 5 Utah. Against the Utes, the Bulldogs played in front of the second-straight sold-out crowd in the Kennel and won 77-66 to advance to the Sweet 16 in Portland, Oregon. It was the fifth time Gonzaga has made it to the Sweet 16 and Lisa Fortier’s second time as a head coach. 2022-23 was another phenomenal year with Fortier leading the Zags to their 18th WCC Regular Season Title and 14th NCAA Appearance. The Zags were ranked as high as No. 15 in the AP Poll during the season, even with facing team injuries and sickness. At one point in the season, the Bulldogs only suited up seven players for a couple of games, but they ended the season with an incredible 28-5 record. Gonzaga had big-time wins over then-ranked No. 6 Louisville in Battle 4 Atlantis, which marked the highest ranked win in GU women's basketball history. The Zags then defeated No. 23 Tennessee two days later to secure third-place in the Bahamas. Gonzaga went on to have a nearly perfect conference slate, going 17-1, overall to win the regular season. Kaylynne Truong was named the WCC Player of the Year and tabbed with AP All-American Honorable Mention honors. Truong and Yvonne Ejim were both finalists for 2023 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America as well. As a team, GU led the country in three-point percentage and finished with 40.5% from beyond the arc, which was also a program record. In 2021-22, Fortier led the Bulldogs to an overall record of 27-7, including a 15-2 conference record. Gonzaga won its 10th WCC Conference Championship Tournament title, securing its spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in program history. Fortier and the Bulldogs were seeded No. 9 in the tournament and defeated No. 8 Nebraska in the first round, 68-55. In the next round, GU battled the No. 1 seeded Louisville, and fell by only nine points. Three players earned WCC All-Conference recognition, with Melody Kempton and Kayleigh Troung earning All-WCC First Team and Yvonne Ejim winning Sixth Woman of the Year. This marked the second-straight year that a Gonzaga player was named the Sixth Woman of the Year. Amidst a global pandemic, Fortier guided the Zags to their 17th West Coast Conference regular-season title, ninth WCC tournament title and 12th NCAA Tournament appearance. For the first time in program history, GU was ranked in the national polls every single week of the season, and the Bulldogs collected a slew of personal awards along the way, including Honorable Mention AP All-America honors for both Jill Townsend and Jenn Wirth. In 2020-21, Fortier led the Bulldogs to an overall record of 23-4, including a 16-1 conference record, which secured the fifth-straight West Coast Conference title. The Bulldogs lost in the first round in the NCAA Tournament, but Fortier still led them to a No. 20 ranking in the final rankings. Four players earned WCC All-Conference recognition, with Jenn Wirth named Co-WCC player of the year along with Jill Townsend on the All-WCC First Team. Seven players were recognized on the WCC All-Academic team, including Jill Townsend and Jenn Wirth.  In 2019-20, Fortier led the Bulldogs to their first regular-season Top 10 ranking, reaching No. 10 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll and a No. 11 ranking in the Associated Press poll, their highest AP ranking ever. Gonzaga put together its best regular-season record (28-2), finished the season with a 28-3 record—the highest win percentage in program history—and secured its fourth-straight West Coast Conference regular-season title with a conference- and program-record tying 17-1 record. Gonzaga was slated to host the NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds—the first time the Zags would host since the NCAA adjusted hosting rules to include the top 16 seeds in 2014-15—before the abrupt end of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortier’s Zags further displayed national dominance both offensively and defensively, ranking second in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (39.5) and third in scoring defense (51.9 ppg). Five players earned WCC All-Conference recognition in 2019-20, highlighted by Gonzaga’s ninth Player of the Year, Jill Townsend, while six players were named WCC All-Academic. For her efforts, Fortier was named a semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year award.   2018-19: In 2018-19, Fortier led the Bulldogs a No. 11 USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll ranking and a No. 12 Associated Press Poll ranking while guiding the Zags to a 29-5 overall record, which ties for the second-best in program history. GU claimed its third-straight WCC regular-season title while Fortier was named WCC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in five seasons, surpassing her own conference record for the award. The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history and the fourth time under Fortier, securing the No. 5 seed, the highest in program history. Gonzaga advanced to the NCAA Second Round for the sixth time in history, falling to Oregon State 76-70 in Corvallis, Ore. Fortier coached three Zags to First Team All-WCC honors in Laura Stockton, Zykera Rice and Chandler Smith while Jill Townsend was selected Honorable Mention. Fortier was also selected as a Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Late Season Candidate in addition to being selected as 20 local Spokane women as part of the 2019 Women in Business Leadership Awards.   2017-18: With a young crew that carried just one senior on the roster, Fortier posted her then-winningest season with a 27-6 record, the program’s 10th 25-win season in 11 years. The Zags went 17-1 in conference play, the first WCC Team ever to accomplish the feat, claiming the regular-season title. Gonzaga went on to claim the WCC Tournament title as well, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in history. Three players earned WCC All-Conference recognition, led by Player of the Year Jill Barta, the eighth POY in program history. WNBA Draft pick Jill Barta became the third Zag in history to be named First Team All-WCC three time in her first three seasons.   2016-17: Fortier’s Zags swept the WCC regular-season and tournament championships while Fortier became the fastest coach in program history to 50 wins. At 26-7, Gonzaga advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in nine years and ninth time overall. Fortier’s 2016-17 squad set program records in three pointers made (224), free throw percentage (77.4) along with breaking the single-game three-pointers made record three times, finally settling on 17. Jill Barta became only the second sophomore in the Division I era to score 1,000 career points at GU.   2015-16: In her second year, Fortier led the Zags to the WNIT Second Round behind freshman phenom Jill Barta. Barta was selected First Team All-WCC—the first freshman to earn First Team honors in eight years—while Shelby Cheslek collected Honorable Mention honors. Cheslek was also named WCC All-Academic First Team while Kiara Kudron, Shaniqua Nilles, Emma Stach, Georgia Stirton and Elle Tinkle were honorable mention selections.   2014-15: In her first season as head coach, Fortier led Gonzaga to a 26-8 finish and its seventh-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Zags advanced to their fourth Sweet 16 following a pair of upsets in the first and seconds rounds as an 11-seed. Gonzaga set new program records in 2014-15, including a program-best 77.4 percent from the free throw line which also ranked fourth in the country. The Bulldogs also set new marks in free throws made (534) and made three-pointers (211). Fortier was named the WCC Coach of the Year after guiding the Zags to their 11th-straight WCC regular-season title. Four Zags also collected All-WCC honors as Sunny Greinacher and Elle Tinkle were named All-WCC First Team, Keani Albanez picked up All-WCC Second Team honors and Emma Wolfram was selected to the WCC All-Freshman team. Fortier was also named the WBCA Division I Rookie Coach of the Year after completing the best rookie season of any Gonzaga coach to date. Her 26 wins and 76.5 win percentage were both top of the list among first year finishes for any GU women’s basketball coach.   Fortier first came to Gonzaga in 2004, spending two years as the coordinator of basketball operations. She then spent one season as an assistant coach at the University of Northern Colorado before returning to GU in 2007.In her seven years as a Gonzaga assistant, the Bulldogs produced an overall record of 196-43. The Zags dominated the West Coast Conference during that span, compiling a 98-8 mark to go with seven consecutive WCC regular-season championships and five WCC Tournament titles.   After a second-round appearance in the WNIT in Fortier’s first season as an assistant, the Zags qualified for the NCAA Tournament the next six years, which included a stretch of three-straight Sweet Sixteens from 2010-12. The highlight was an Elite Eight run in 2011, in which the Bulldogs upset three higher-seeded teams.   In addition to serving as Gonzaga’s recruiting coordinator, Fortier has been responsible for coordinating GU’s defense. She also spent time coaching Gonzaga’s guards. She has mentored two WNBA draftees in Courtney Vandersloot and Katelan Redmon as well as Haiden Palmer. She also coached Taelor Karr, the 2012-13 WCC Player of the Year.   A native of Grass Valley, Calif., Fortier played collegiate basketball at Butte (Calif.) Community College before transferring to Cal State Monterey Bay. At CSUMB, she earned Honorable Mention All Cal-Pac Conference honors as a junior and was an NAIA Academic All-American in 2003. She also earned the 2004 CSUMB Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.   Fortier graduated Magna Cum Laude from CSUMB in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in human communications. Fortier earned her master’s degree in sport and athletic administration from Gonzaga in 2006.   Fortier, who spent two years as the Assistant Coaches Representative on the WBCA Board of Directors, is married to Craig Fortier, who joined the Gonzaga staff as an assistant coach in May of 2014, after previously serving as the associate head men’s basketball coach at Eastern Washington University. They welcomed their first son, Marcus, in 2010. Their second son, Calvin, was born in 2012, and they welcomed a daughter, Quincy, in July, 2014.  

Jazmine Redmon enters her third season at Gonzaga going into the 2026-27 season. Since Redmon's arrival, Gonzaga has had two postseason appearances including the WBIT in 2024-25 and the NCAA Tournament in 2025-26. The Zags also won the WCC Regular Season Title during her first year and the WCC Tournament Title in her second year. In 2025-26, the Bulldogs delivered another impressive campaign, finishing the year with an overall record of 24-10, including 14-4 in West Coast Conference play. Gonzaga capped its strong regular season with its 11th WCC Tournament Championship in program history, securing the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The appearance marked the program’s 16th all-time trip to the NCAA postseason. Redmon comes back to GU from Fresno State as she was the assistant coach and director of operations during the 2023-24 season. Prior to that, Redmon played for Gonzaga from 2010-14, winning four West Coast Conference regular-season championships and three WCC tournament championships. In 2013, the defensive stalwart for the Bulldogs was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. As a senior, she earned WCC honorable mention. The point guard finished her career averaging 4.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 77 appearances. She currently ranks No. 6 all-time in career assists (400) and steals (211) at Gonzaga. After college, she played three years professionally in Europe, spending time in Frankfurt, Germany, Thessaloniki, Greece and Copenhagen, Denmark. Following that, Redmon has spent her days coaching in Spokane, Washington, first as an assistant at Mead High School. She has since spent the last three years as the head coach at University High School. Lisa Fortier on Redmon: We are really excited to bring Jazy back to Spokane and Gonzaga. She was a great player and leader for us, and understands our culture and what it takes to have continued success. I loved coaching her the 4 years she was here and am going to enjoy wining with her on a different level now. 

Jordan Green was hired as the first member of Head Coach Lisa Fortier’s staff in April of 2014. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise in both guard and post player development to Gonzaga. Green also has a high knowledge of basketball in the Pacific Northwest as he has recruited the area extensively for most of his professional career.   The Bulldogs have reached new heights during Green’s first 12 complete years at Gonzaga, securing a regular-season Top 10 ranking in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches poll—the highest regular-season ranking ever—along with a No. 11 Associated Press ranking. Each of those milestones came during the 2019-20 season which saw the Bulldogs finish with a program-best 28-2 regular-season record along with the highest win percentage in program history at 90.3 percent (28-3 overall record). The Zags were slated to host the NCAA First and Second Rounds as a Top 16 seed before the season ended abruptly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   Green has helped guide the Bulldogs to nine West Coast Conference regular-season titles, five WCC Tournament titles, 11 post-season appearances including eight NCAA tournament appearances and two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances. Since his arrival, Gonzaga has had seven players named WCC Player of the Year (Lauren Whittaker, Yvonne Ejim x2, Kaylynne Truong, Jenn Wirth, Jill Townsend, Jill Barta), 26 All-WCC First Team selections, seven All-WCC Second Team selections, eight All-WCC Honorable Mention selections and eight WCC All-Freshman Team performers.   Prior to arriving at Gonzaga, Green made stops at Idaho, Idaho State and Seattle University. The Cashmere, Wash., native closed out his third season on the Idaho coaching staff in 2013-14 and first as the associate head coach. As a member of the Vandals, Green coordinated recruiting and team travel, handled scouting responsibilities and worked with their post players. The Vandals posted a 54-45 three-year record with Green on the bench, including a 32-16 mark in the Western Athletic Conference. Idaho also earned NCAA Tournament berths in both 2012-2013 and 2013-14 after winning the WAC Tournament Championship. The Vandals’ NCAA Tournament bid in 2012-13 was only the second in school history and first since 1984-85. It also was their first post-season berth since 1985-86 campaign. Green coached five All-WAC performers including Alyssa Charleston, a three-time All-WAC performer and a Capital One All-American.   Prior to his time at Idaho, Green worked at Idaho State University as an assistant coach from 2004-11. During his tenure, Idaho State won two Big Sky Championships and made a splash in the post-season three-times; one NCAA Tournament and two appearances in the WNIT. The versatile coach was in charge of guard player development in addition to scouting opponents, coordinating travel and assisting with recruiting.   Before his stop at Idaho State, Green kicked off his coaching career with a single season with the men’s basketball program at Seattle University in 2003-04.   Green played basketball collegiately at George Fox University, where he was a three-time captain and a NAIA All-American Honorable Mention. On the all-time statistical charts at George Fox, he ranked third in steals (253), seventh in points (1,468) and 10th in assists (373). He earned his bachelor of science in education from George Fox in 2001, and received his master’s in athletic administration and physical education from Idaho State in 2005.   Green is married to Jessica Green, and they have a son Jaden and daughter Josephine.  

One of the nation's youngest coaching stars, Osahor, an All-American at Washington in 2017, made previous stops at Drake, Arkansas and Oklahoma before arriving in Gonzaga. She was selected to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's 30 Under 30 Class in 2023. Most recently, Osahor helped guide the Zags to a WCC Tournament Title as she mentored the forwards at GU. The Zags were powered by standout individual performances throughout the year, headlined by freshman Lauren Whittaker, who became the first Bulldog in program history to be named both the WCC Player of the Year and WCC Freshman of the Year in the same season. Jaiden Haile added to the list of conference honors as she earned WCC Sixth Woman of the Year, giving Gonzaga three major postseason award winners. In her first season at Gonzaga, the Bulldogs won the West Coast Confernece Regular Season Title and advanced to the quarterfinals round of the WBIT. The Zags caught fire in the second half of the season, winning 16 of their final 17 conference games to secure the regular-season crown. Osahor was a key mentor for GU's forward Yvonne Ejim who won the WCC Player and Defensive Player of the Year. Ejim was also given All-WCC First Team honors and was a national finalist for the Katrina McClain Award along with All-American honors.  During her second season in Norman, the Sooners posted a 14-4 record in Big 12 play en route to the program's first regular-season conference championship since 2009. A 26-7 record, the team's best in over a decade, saw Oklahoma advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. In addition, she oversaw the continued development of Skylar Vann, who repeated as the Big 12's Sixth Player of the Year, and Madi Williams, who became Oklahoma's first WNBA Draft pick since 2013. In her first year at Oklahoma, the Sooners reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 and scored the second most points in program history. Working primarily with OU's post players, the Sooners finished 10th nationally in points in the paint, with nearly half of the team's points coming from the lane. In addition, for the first time since 2007, Oklahoma led the Big 12 in rebounding, more impressively doing so after finishing last in the league in the category the year prior. In two years at Arkansas, Osahor helped guide the Razorbacks to the NCAA Tournament in 2021, and the Hogs would've appeared in the 2020 tournament had it not been canceled. With Osahor on the bench, Arkansas compiled a 43-17 record over the two seasons and finished 15th in the 2021 AP Poll, the highest ranking since 1995. As a player at Washington, Osahor starred on three NCAA Tournament teams and helped the Huskies to the 2016 Final Four and 2017 Sweet 16. The 2017 WBCA All-American is one of just two players in Washington history to record at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. As a senior, she led the nation with 15.3 rebounds per game and 30 double-doubles. She holds the school record for career rebounds and was a finalist for the Naismith Trophy in 2017. After college, Osahor was drafted 21st overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2017 WNBA draft.  Lisa Fortier on Osahor: We are also really looking forward to adding Chantel to our staff. She brings highly level experiences from outside of Gonzaga and has worked with some coaches I really admire. She has played in a Final Four and knows what that entails. I am looking forward to learning from her as much as she will learn from us. 

Stacy Clinesmith, former WNBA veteran and Spokane native, was hired as an assistant women’s basketball coach on May 2, 2014. The standout from Mead high school has been able to transfer her knowledge of the game as a player into developing guards as a coach. Stacy brings tons of energy and enthusiasm, and does a tremendous job of creating relationships with recruits and within the community.   Going into her 13th season with the Bulldogs, Clinesmith has mentored 23 All-WCC guards, including two WCC Players of the Year: Elle Tinkle (twice), Keani Albanez, Laura Stockton (twice), Chandler Smith (twice), Jill Townsend (three times, including the 2019-20 Player of the Year), Katie Campbell, Jessie Loera and Kayleigh Truong (four times), Kaylynne Truong (2022-23 Player of the Year and two All-WCC awards), and Allie Turner (twice). She most recently mentored the 2024-25 WCC Freshman of the Year in Allie Turner. In 2019-20, then-freshman Kayleigh Truong was honored as a member of the WCC All-Freshman team. In the 2020-21 season, Kayleigh Truong was also named to the All-WCC Honorable Mention team and then named to the 2021-22 All-WCC First Team. In 2023, she coached Kaylynne Truong into the WCC Player of the Year as the guard also earned First Team All-WCC honors.  Clinesmith coached the Truongs in their final years at GU. Both were given All-WCC First Team honors at the conclusion of the regular season as the duo led the Zags to a historic season. The Zags went on to win 24-straight games – a school record – to claim their 19th WCC Regular Season. GU went undefeated in the West Coast Conference with a 16-0 record and defeated opponents by an astonishing average of 30.7 points, which was not only a school record, but was also a WCC record. Not only were they undefeated in conference, they remained perfect inside the Kennel during the regular season for the second-straight season to make them have the second-best winning streak at home in the nation – only behind National Champion South Carolina. During those 24-straight wins, one of those stood out in conference games. On Feb. 3, the Zags hosted Pacific and scored a record breaking 19 three pointers to defeat the Tigers, 104-39. The 65-point win was the largest margin of victory over a Division I opponent in school history as seven Bulldogs contributed to the 19 threes made. Clinesmith mentored WCC Player of the Year Kaylynne Truong at guard. The senior was named an AP All-American Honorable Mention and helped lead the Zags as the top three point scoring team in the country during the season. Truong led the team in assists during the year as she stepped up as a leader when her sister, Kayleigh Truong, went down with an injury at the beginning of the year. Kaylynne started in every game for the Zags and dished out 172 assists to rank seventh all-time at GU. She also broke the most made three pointers in a season with 94. Both the Truongs announced during senior day that they would return for another year in 2023-24.   Clinesmith mentored WCC Player of the Year Jill Townsend at guard. The junior led the Zags in scoring (12.3 ppg), second in rebounding (5.6 rpg), first in free-throw percentage (85.1), second in field goal percentage (49.7) and third in three-point field goal percentage (41.1). She also tutored Jessie Loera—who led the Zags in assists and finished her career ranked fourth all-time with 445 assists—and Katie Campbell who was selected to the All-WCC Second Team. In 2018-19, both Loera and Laura Stockton averaged over 4.0 assists per game, while Stockton finished her career ranked third all-time in program history with 459 assists. In 2017-18, Clinesmith oversaw three guards in Stockton, Chandler Smith and Loera who all averaged over 2.7 assists per game and scored at least 6.2 points per contest. Smith picked up All-WCC Second Team honors while Emma Stach was selected WCC All-Tournament. In 2016-17, she tutored All-WCC Honorable Mention selection Stockton at point guard; Stockton finished the season with 144 assists, 10th on the single-season GU list. That season, Gonzaga ranked first in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.06.   Clinesmith arrived at Gonzaga following three seasons as an assistant coach at Santa Clara University. During her stint with the Broncos, Clinesmith coached two All-WCC honorees, and All-Freshman selection and five WCC All-Academic honorees. In  her first season at SCU, she guided the team to its best start in program history, and as the guard coach, mentored Alyssa Shoji who went on to set the WCC single-season three-point field goal record (99).   Clinesmith began her career in the collegiate ranks serving as Oregon State University’s Director of Basketball Operations in 2008-09 and went on to become the assistant coach at Central Washington University in 2010-11.   Before hitting the collegiate coaching ranks, Clinesmith enjoyed a record-setting basketball career. She was tabbed the Washington State 3A Player of the Year while at Mead and went on to become one of the most accomplished guards ever to play at UC Santa Barbara. She finished her college career second in UC Santa Barbara history in assists (647) and fourth in scoring (1,565 points).   Clinesmith led the Gauchos to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and earned All-Big West honors three times, starting with her sophomore season, and was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team as a rookie. The Gauchos won the Big West Tournament titles in each of her four seasons and Clinesmith was tabbed the Big West Tournament Most Valuable Player in 2000.   After her collegiate career, Clinesmith was drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs in the second round of the 2000 WNBA Draft and spent two seasons playing for Sacramento before joining the Detroit Shock in 2002. She went on to play with the Springfield Sprint of the National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL) and the Gigantes de Carolina in Puerto Rico.   Clinesmith graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2000 with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. She has been a certified strength and conditioning coach since 2004.

Fortier joined the Gonzaga women’s basketball staff on May 5, 2014, rounding out head coach Lisa Fortier’s staff hires. Craig, Lisa’s husband, brought over a decade of coaching experience with him to Gonzaga, including three seasons as the associate head coach of the Eastern Washington men’s basketball team.   Fortier had also previously spent time as a graduate assistant for Gonzaga’s men’s basketball team from 2004-06; during that same time, Lisa served as the coordinator of basketball operations for GU’s women’s team.   Working primarily with the posts going into his 13th season at GU, he has tutored 21 all-conference forwards including 14 first team selections and the first-ever WCC Sixth Woman of the Year (Melody Kempton, 2021) followed by Yvonne Ejim also earning the award in 2022, and Jaiden Haile in 2026. Fortier has mentored four WCC Player of the Year honorees in Jenn Wirth (2021), Jill Barta (2018), Yvonne Ejim (2024 and 2025) and Lauren Whittaker (2026). Most recently, Whittaker was one of the top freshmen in the country as she was named the WCC Player and Freshman of the Year for the first time in program history. Ejim was also given the WCC Defensive Player of the year in 2024 and 2025 along with the Becky Hammon Player of the Year. She was also named an AP All-American, Academic All-American and a finalist for Katrina McClain Power Forward Player of the Year in back-to-back years of 2024 and 2025. Ejim went on to get drafted in the WNBA to the Indiana Fever. Wirth, a two-time First Team All-WCC selection, collected multiple postseason awards, including Honorable Mention AP All-America and DI-AAA ADA Scholar Athlete honors, finishing her career ranked 22nd all-time in scoring with 1,051 points and 8th all-time in rebounding with 685. Barta, who was a three-time First Team All-WCC selection in three seasons, became just the third Zag in program history to do that. Barta finished seventh all-time with 1,620 points and 11th all-time with 652 rebounds. She was drafted into the WNBA after three seasons on the court at Gonzaga. Under his tutelage, Zykera Rice, Kiara Kudron and Sunny Greinacher were also selected First Team All-WCC. Rice also joined Barta in the WNBA ranks, earning a training camp spot with the Seattle Storm in 2019.   While at Eastern Washington, Fortier helped direct the Eagles’ defense, and in 2013-14, EWU finished in the top three in the Big Sky in three different categories, including blocked shots (1st; 4.3), field goal percentage defense (2nd; 44.6) and three-point field goal percentage defense (3rd; 34.5). The Eagles also had top three season in school history in turnovers per game, averaging 12.0 in 2013-14, 13.4 in 2012-13 and a school best 11.8 in 2011-12.   Prior to his time with the Eagles, Fortier was instrumental in helping the Whitworth men’s basketball program reach new heights. In 2010-11, Fortier helped the Pirates advance to the NCAA Division III Sectional Final (Elite Eight) for the first time in program history. Whitworth ended that season with an impressive 28-2 mark, also a program record.   Fortier’s experience also includes a one-year stint as an administrative assistant for the men’s basketball team at Colorado State University and a one-year stint and the assistant men’s basketball coach for his alma mater, Cal State Monterey Bay.   He graduated from Cal State Monterey Bay in 2003 with a degree in human connection. He earned his master’s degree in sport and athletic administration from Gonzaga in 2006.   Fortier has been married to Lisa since 2006 and they have two sons Marcus (2010) and Calvin (2012), and a daughter, Quincy (2014).  

Women's basketball head coach Lisa Fortier has announced the hiring of Shannon Donegan as the director of operations for the team.   "Having Shannon back at Gonzaga is a huge win for the department and for me," Fortier said. "She is someone who cares deeply about the quality and commitment of the program, and I trust her as much as anyone I've worked with. Basketball has an amazing way of bringing people back into your life, and we are thankful that is the case with Shannon."       Donegan is most recently coming from The College of New Jersey as an assistant coach starting in 2021-22. Donegan joined the Lions after serving time at Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, and Saint Mary's over the course of the last eight years.   Prior to TCNJ, Donegan served as an assistant coach at Eastern Washington University for a year after three seasons at Gonzaga as the director of operations.   At GU, Donegan helped guide the Bulldogs to an 84-14 overall record, two trips to the NCAA tournament and three West Coast Conference regular season championships. Working with head coach Lisa Fortier, Donegan also helped coach 13 All-WCC Team honorees including two Player of the Year recipients.   Before her time with the Bulldogs, she had a four-year stint at Saint Mary's College of California where she was the director of women's basketball operations and the video coordinator.   Donegan began her coaching career in 2011 at Germantown Friends High school in Philadelphia, Pa., as the girls' varsity coach where she helped improve the team's league record from 6-12 overall to 11-6.   She earned her B.S. in Athletic Training in May of 2012 from Temple University before moving on to get her Master's in Sport Management from the University of San Francisco in May of 2015.   "I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to re-join Lisa and the Gonzaga family!" Donegan said. "The standard of success and atmosphere in The Kennel proves why it is one of the most special places in the country. Lisa is a talented coach, incredible leader, and outstanding role model for her student-athletes. I look forward to returning to the exceptional basketball community she continues to cultivate here in Spokane. Zag Nation, let's go!"