Gonzaga retires Courtney Vandersloot’s jersey in pregame ceremony

Vandersloot is the first women's player to have her jersey retired at Gonzaga

The McCarthey Athletic Center was the place to be Saturday afternoon.

Aside from hosting a battle for first place in the West Coast Conference, the Kennel gathered to spread awareness for those impacted by breast cancer and retire Courtney Vandersloot's No. 21 jersey in a pregame ceremony.

Vandersloot became the first women's player to have her jersey retired in program history. Gonzaga has also honored Dan Dickau's No. 21 and Kelly Olynyk's No. 13 before games this season. 

With family members and former teammates in attendance, Vandersloot watched from center court as her jersey was unveiled above section 107.

"I'd like to think that you guys are all here for me today, but the truth is I know that you guys have been showing up here well before I was here, and then continued on after I was gone and that's what makes this place so special," Vandersloot said in front of a sold out crowd.

Head coach Lisa Fortier, who was an assistant when Vandersloot was at Gonzaga, spoke highly of the point guard's impact on the program.

"The way she carries herself on the court and the way that she carries herself off the court, the things that she stands for and stands up for are things that we hope to inspire our players to do and our fans to do."

During her four seasons at Gonzaga, Vandersloot was a three-time WCC Player of the Year recipient and the first Division I player of either gender with 2,000 points and 1,000 assists in her career. 

She capped off her collegiate career by leading Gonzaga to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, a WCC regular season and tournament title and a 31-5 record during the 2010-11 season.

"It was the perfect match and I can't say enough about how special this place is," Vandersloot said of Gonzaga. "They invest in their players and they want you to be great in your future whatever that is."

Vandersloot was selected third overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2011 WNBA Draft, marking the first time a former Gonzaga women's player was selected in the first round. 

In 12 seasons with the Sky, she averaged a WNBA record 6.6 assists per game and became the first player in league history to average double-digit assists in a single season in 2020. She also won a WNBA Championship with the Sky in 2021.

Vandersloot announced on Feb. 2 that she is signing with the New York Liberty.

"One thing about me is like I always want to play with great players," Vandersloot said. "I've been really fortunate my entire career, and starting here at Gonzaga, I played with really great players, and when I went into free agency, that was my main thing because I want to play with the best because I think they're going to elevate my game.

She joins the Liberty alongside fellow WNBA allstar Breanna Stewart, who announced her departure from the Seattle Storm shortly before Vandersloot's signing was reported.

Following Vandersloot's jersey retirement ceremony, No. 23 Gonzaga (23-3, 13-1 WCC) defeated Portland (18-7, 12-2) 63-53 to gain sole possession of first place in the conference. 

The Zags host Pacific on Thursday.