Gonzaga women’s basketball is giving fans their first real look at a roster that comes back with a ton of familiar faces.
The program announced that its annual FanFest will be held Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2:00 PM PT inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. The event serves as the women’s team’s version of the men’s “Kraziness in the Kennel,” with player introductions, coaching staff speeches and a full slate of on-court activity. Fans can expect a three-point shootout, a skill challenge and an intrasquad scrimmage to finish things off.
That familiarity is the big story for Lisa Fortier’s group heading into the 2026-27 season. Gonzaga is bringing back nearly its entire roster from last year, a major contrast to the men’s team, which has 11 newcomers among its 15 players.
Of the 13 players on last season’s roster, only three are no longer in the program: senior Ines Bettencourt and transfers Paige Lofing and Vera Gunaydin. Lofing is back home in Montana, while Gunaydin is at North Alabama.
Bettencourt’s situation is the one still hanging in the air. She spent two years at Gonzaga after two years at UConn and has been granted a fifth year of eligibility through a lawsuit in California. She could return to Spokane after starting all of last season, but she also entered the transfer portal, so her status and eligibility remain unresolved.
For now, the core is intact. Bettencourt is the only starter not yet set to return, while guards Allie Turner and Zee Aokuso, forwards Taylor Smith and WCC Player of the Year Lauren Whittaker, and reserves Jaiden Haile, Teryn Gardner, McKynnlie Dalan and Julia Wilson are all back in the mix.
Gonzaga also added to the group with two transfer guards, Emmy Roach from Rider and Jocelyn Medina from Denver, plus freshman forward Abby Lusk from Pocatello, ID.
Last season, the Zags needed a little time to find their footing, opening 6-5 through the first 11 games before catching fire and winning 18 of their next 22. That kind of cohesion could matter again as Gonzaga enters the new-look Pac-12, where Oregon State looms as the biggest rival and Colorado State and San Diego State remain regular threats.
The Beavers look like the main obstacle between Gonzaga and the first title in the rebuilt conference, but with Whittaker and Turner leading the way, the Zags still have the look of a team built to reach the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season and sixth time in the last seven years.
In Other News...
Gonzaga's Loaded New Roster Comes With One Huge Question
Gonzaga has spent the offseason reshaping its roster for the 2026-27 season, and the result is a group that looks dramatically different from the one that finished last year. Only four players are back, while 11 newcomers have arrived to give the Bulldogs a blend of size, skill and experience that could make the team one of the deeper groups in the country if everything comes together.
The catch is obvious: five of those additions are still waiting on NCAA eligibility decisions, and that uncertainty hangs over the whole operation. Three come from the high school class of 2022, while two others bring professional experience from overseas, leaving Gonzaga in the familiar position of having plenty of upside on paper but no final answer yet on how much of that roster will actually be available when the season tips off. [Read more 🡒]