Heather Bowman's return from a broken hand was a timely one for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. After missing five games, the sophomore forward returned on Jan. 3 against St. Joseph's, just one game before the team entered West Coast Conference play. Bowman suffered a spiral fracture in her left hand before the team's biggest game of the year, against then top-ranked Tennessee, where a devastating 96-73 loss in Knoxville exposed the Zags as overmatched against elite opponents without their leading scorer and rebounder. Head coach Kelly Graves admitted after their loss to Tennessee that the teamed struggled to compete in the paint without Bowman, their strongest inside presence at 6-feet-2-inches. "Every weapon that you have is important. There were some times out on the court that 5-feet-10-inches was our tallest player. That's not enough when you're going against players of that ability," Graves said. The Bulldogs dropped two more of their five games without Bowman, their second losing stretch since the first road trip of the year. There was the possibility that Bowman could miss six to seven weeks if the injury did not heal on its own, and required pins to be placed in her left hand. Fortunately, Bowman's hand did heal on its own and she returned to play after three weeks. Even more fortunately for the Zags, it appears she hasn't missed a beat. Before the injury, Bowman was averaging close to 21 points and 11 rebounds per contest. Since returning, despite not being 100 percent, she has led the Bulldogs in scoring three times in five games, and averaged 24 points and 6.5 rebounds over the recent road trip to San Diego and San Francisco. "The timing was nice," Bowman said. "It was a pretty smooth transition, and with St. Joe's I was able to get my feet wet, and then had about a week to get ready for the conference." For weeks, the use of her hand was limited to simulated exercises in order to keep the muscles moving, before she was cleared to play again. Her hand has not fully healed, however, and requires a considerable amount of taping every game so that only her thumb and little finger are exposed. It also causes her soreness throughout games, but her efforts were still enough to earn her WCC player of the week honors for the third time this season. "It's always nice to get those honors, because it generally means the team is doing well," Bowman said of the accolade. And now that she is back, the team is doing well. Gonzaga is undefeated in the West Coast Conference, and players and coaches are quick to admit she is an instrumental part of that success. "She gives us that inside presence," Graves said. "Defensively maybe more than anything, and we really look to get the ball inside more when she's on the court." Graves noted that the team averages twice as many free throw attempts when Bowman plays. "Having Heather back is huge for us. It opens up everything on the outside for our shooters, and gives us a consistent threat on the inside. She really gives us more everywhere," senior guard Michelle Elliott said. Another surprising development for the Zags during Bowman's injury was the emergence of sophomore Vivian Frieson. The forward missed the first six games of the season due to injury and saw limited playing time during her recovery. After Bowman's injury, she found herself in the starting lineup, and for those five games averaged 13.6 points and five rebounds. Now that both players are healthy, they have remained in the starting lineup playing alongside each other in the post. "Since we've put Vivian and Heather in the lineup together, we haven't lost," Graves said. "For about a dozen or so games we kept searching for that right combination in the lineup, and now we found it." Graves says the team has found a consistency with the new lineup. Everybody knows their role, when they are coming into the game and what they are expected to do. "It's funny, when people think injury, they think it only affects one person," Graves said. "But it affected our whole team. It's a mindset thing."
Gonzaga undefeated in WCC The Gonzaga Bulldogs completed their first flawless road trip of the season last week, beating both San Diego and San Francisco to stay undefeated in West Coast Conference play, and move to a 13-6 record overall. "There will be very few teams who will be able to sweep those two teams on the road," junior Maria Hasset said. The Zags are vastly improved on the road, winning four of their last five away from the McCarthey Center. "Early road losses gave our freshmen and sophomores some experience," Elliot said. "Playing a rigorous preseason schedule will help us a lot down the road," Hassett agreed. Gonzaga looks to extend its unbeaten streak this weekend when the team begins a homestand against Portland, St. Mary's and Santa Clara. Graves calls Portland the team he is most worried about in the WCC. "Our conference is as strong this year as it's been in the last six years," he said. "I think it's the toughest stretch of the season," Elliott added. The Zags are fully healthy for the first time all year, and confident in their depth being an asset during the final stretch of the season. "Our bench is the deepest in the league," Hassett said.
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