Gonzaga's Lisa Fortier loses first underclassmen to transfer portal

Lisa Fortier and the Gonzaga women's basketball team fought their way back into the NCAA Tournament in 2026, on the back of an extremely young roster that came together as the season went on.

Backed by redshirt freshman superstar Lauren Whittaker - who earned WCC Player of the Year honors - as well as sophomore sharpshooter Allie Turner, the Zags finished 14-4 in WCC play and won the WCC Tournament in dramatic fashion over Oregon State, before falling as a No. 12 seed to No. 5 Ole Miss in the first round of the Big Dance.

The future remains very bright for Fortier and the Zags, however, with only one graduating senior on the roster in Ines Bettencourt. While Bettencourt's leadership and tenacity on defense will be missed, Gonzaga should be a strong contender in the new look Pac-12 in 2026-27 - provided they keep this young core together through the transfer portal chaos.

That already took a hit with the news on Tuesday that Paige Lofing, a 5'9 freshman guard from Billings, MT, has put her name in the transfer portal after one year in Spokane.

Lofing joins Vera Gunaydin - who redshirted this past year - as a Gonzaga guard in the portal, giving coach Fortier a pair of roster spots to work with this offseason.

Impact of losing Lofing

Lofing was part of a three-woman freshman class that included forward Jaiden Haile and guard Julia Wilson. Lofing played the least among the trio, appearing in 27 games and averaging 2.2 points in 6.6 minutes. She shot just 16.7% (2-12) on two-point attempts but was a sniper from beyond the arc, drilling 42.1% (16-38) of her three-point attempts - none bigger than the long-range bucket she hit in Corvallis to send Gonzaga into overtime against Oregon State in their first matchup of the season.

Lofing had a career-high 17 points on 5-8 shooting, including 4-5 from three, on Jan. 31 in Pullman against Washington State, a game which accounted for nearly 29% of her total points on the season.

Even with Bettencourt moving on, Lofing was going to have a hard time stepping into a significant role for the Zags in 2026-27. Turner and Zee Aokuso each started all 34 games last year and are both expected back in the mix next season, along with rising junior guard Teryn Gardner (19.8 MPG off the bench) and fellow freshman Julia Wilson, who played 10.5 minutes across 31 games.

Lofing will have more opportunity to play elsewhere in 2026-27, perhaps closer to home at Montana or Montana State, although her heroic shot against Oregon State will not be forgotten by Zag fans anytime soon.

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