Here are some things Ole Miss fans need to know before the Rebels (23-11) tip-off against the Gonzaga Bulldogs (24-9) at 2:30 p.m. CT in an opening-round NCAA Tournament game from Minneapolis, Minn. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
GONZAGA NOTES
* The Gonzaga women’s basketball team travels to Minneapolis for the First Round in the NCAA Tournament to play the No. 5 seed Ole Miss on Friday, March 20. The Zags are 2-2 all-time against five seeds with the last meeting being a 77-66 win against No. 5 Utah in 2024.
* Freshman Lauren Whittaker is shooting 55.3% from the floor, which ranks first in the West Coast Conference and 27th in the nation. With 641 points this season, she ranks second among freshmen scorers in the country and is sixth on Gonzaga’s single-season scoring list. Earlier this season against Pacific, Whittaker broke the Gonzaga freshman scoring record, surpassing Tammy Tibbles’ mark of 475 points set in 1984-85.
* Lisa Fortier has led the Bulldogs to a 10th-straight season of at least 20 wins. It is the 11th time she has reached 20 wins in a season.
* Gonzaga ranks second in the nation in three-point percentage at 39.0%.
* Individually, Allie Turner leads the team with 84 made three-pointers this season and ranks first in the WCC. Earlier this season against Saint Mary’s, she tied the Gonzaga single-game record with nine made threes.
* Overall, the Bulldogs are shooting 45.4% from the floor this season, which ranks first in the West Coast Conference.
* Gonzaga has outrebounded its opponents in 31 games this season and holds a +11.0 rebound margin, which ranks first in the WCC and sixth in the country.
* Whittaker has scored at least 20 points in 13 games this season. Against Oregon State earlier this year, she scored 37 points to break the Gonzaga freshman single-game scoring record of 33. She has reached double figures in 25 games and recorded 17 double-doubles, a Gonzaga freshman record and 14th in the nation.
* Whittaker has pulled down 335 rebounds this season, averaging 10.2 per game. She set Gonzaga’s single-season rebound record earlier this season against Santa Clara, passing Yvonne Ejim’s previous record of 325 rebounds from last year.
* Gonzaga represents the last three WCC Freshman of the Year honorees with Lauren Whittaker (2026), Allie Turner (2025) and Zeryhia Aokuso (2024) during her time at Saint Mary’s.
* Head coach Lisa Fortier owns a 313-83 career record. Among active Division I coaches with at least five years at the level, she ranks fifth in winning percentage (.790). Fortier also ranks second in WCC history with 185 career conference wins and holds the highest winning percentage in league play at 87.3% (185-28).
* Lauren Whittaker was named WCC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, becoming the first player in Gonzaga history to win both in the same season and just the second freshman in WCC history to earn Player of the Year (Sonya Carter, U.S. International, 1986).
* Gonzaga has produced the WCC Player of the Year for four-straight seasons and the Freshman of the Year in back-to-back seasons.
* Whittaker led the WCC in scoring (19.3), rebounding (10.2) and field goal percentage (.568) with a conference-best 17 double-doubles and a record 13 WCC Freshman of the Week honors.
* Jaiden Haile was named WCC Sixth Woman of the Year and to the All-Freshman Team after averaging 6.8 points and 6.2 rebounds in 18.8 minutes while playing all 31 games. This was GU’s fourth Sixth Woman of the Year honor (Melody Kempton, Yvonne Ejim, Maud Huijbens).
* Allie Turner earned All-WCC First Team honors after averaging 14.4 points, shooting 45.6% from three and 96.1% from the free throw line with 105 assists.
* Gonzaga placed two players on the All-WCC First Team (Turner, Whittaker).
Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Zeryhia Aokuso (55) catches a pass against the Saint Mary’s Gaels in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images
WHAT GONZAGA THINKS ABOUT THE REBS
– Ole Miss enters the matchup with a 23-11 overall record and an 8-8 mark in SEC play
– Averaging 75.4 points per game while allowing 62.0, a +13.4 scoring margin
– Strong on the glass, outrebounding opponents 40.0 to 32.5 per game
– Led by Cotie McMahon at 19.9 points per game, one of three players averaging double figures
– Forcing 18.1 turnovers per game while averaging 8.1 steals defensively
– Went 2-1 in the SEC Tournament with wins over Auburn and Vanderbilt before falling to Texas
NO STRANGERS
SERIES INFO: This will be the fourth matchup between the two programs as the Rebels lead the series, 2-1
STREAK: Ole Miss – 2
FIRST MEETING: In 1994, the Zags won in 1994, 66-62, at the Holiday Classic in Provo, Utah.
LAST MEETING: In 2023, the Bulldogs lost to Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament in the First Round, 71-48.
FORTIER ON YO’
“Yeah, so we were coaches in the WCC, young assistant coaches, neither of us are that young anymore (laughing). So we were young assistant coaches together in the WCC back when she was at Portland. And we got to know each other really well then. And I think have just stayed friends, we’re Moms in Coaching, I think we love to coach our teams hard, and love our players well, and there’s a lot of similarities. So she’s a friend of mine, we do a lot of the Moms in Coaching and WBCA things together. We check in with each other if there’s a reason, you know, for I need help with this, or what do you think about this option. So there’s definitely a history there. And, for sure a mutual rhythm. Obviously we only played each other once, but we’ve known each other for a good long time and we’re always cheering for her and I think she’s always probably doing the same for us. Except for when we play each other.”