Gonzaga is already gearing up for its back-to-back home games against Pac-10 opponents USC (Nov. 19) and Washington (Nov. 22), but first is an exhibition opener against Warner Pacific tonight.

Tip-off is 6 p.m. at McCarthey Athletic Center.

The Zags, which advanced to the second-round of the NCAA tournament last year, feature two players on the preseason Women's Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy watch-list. Senior F Heather Bowman and junior PG Courtney Vandersloot make Gonzaga one of just four schools with two preseason candidates. The others are Connecticut (junior F Maya Moore and senior C Tina Charles), Ohio State (junior C Jantel Lavender and sophomore G Samantha Prahalis) and Stanford (senior C Jayne Appel and junior G Jeanette Pohlen).

Vandersloot, who starred at Kentwood, was also named to the "Wade Watch" list for Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year. She's the first Bulldog to be named to that list.

Gonzaga is selected to win the West Coast Conference, again. The Zags won their fifth consecutive WCC regular-season title last year.

HUSKIES WIN: Well, UW better get used to seeing a barrage of three-pointers because several teams, including Monday's exhibition opponent Corban College, use the shot to keep close in games. SPU attempted 20 and had their aim been better, the Dawgs would have been in trouble. Instead, McLellan bullied inside the paint for a team-high 18 points in a 69-61 win. Only freshman Jeneva Anderson and walk-on Amanda Johnson did not play in the game. Jackson liked the effort, especially the turnaround in defense in the second half. Standouts were Kingma, who had nine boards, and Mosiman, who shot 7-for-12 from the field for 14 points. Whitcomb even displayed her newfound versatility, dishing out five assists. Now that the jitters are gone, the hope is Rogers plays better and the Huskies' offense clicks faster. "[SPU] is good," Jackson said. "It was a collective effort [for us.] I look at the things that kept happening on defense and we had some good things. SPU kept coming after us, but we continued to depend on that and then go with our initial plan -- get the ball inside to our bigs. Credit to them for coming out and working. That's what we want, exciting exhibition games that are great preparation to get ready for the official games coming up."

TREY BIEN: If SPU were a little taller or stronger inside, they probably could have pulled an upset with their three-point shooting. Washington is giving up the shot and SPU is 6-for-17 from beyond the arch. The Falcons also remain in the rebounding game, trailing that category 34-33. But the difference maker is McLellan, who has 18 points and six boards to keep UW ahead 64-52 with 3:13 remaining.

UNINSPIRED: Washington is ahead 51-45 with 10:22 remaining in the game, but aren't acting like it. The team walked out of the locker room at the break and players are lifeless on the bench. Meanwhile SPU is energized and its fans are lively. Not a good sign.

HALFTIME: With three consecutive layins by McLellan, the Huskies re-built a 10-point lead in the final minutes of the opening half. Defense is still suspect for UW, but SPU missed the second-chance shot opportunities. McLellan leads the Huskies at the break with 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field. Whitcomb is shooting 50 percent from the field for nine points. Henderson has 10 for the Falcons. UW is 1-for-5 from three-point range compared to SPU's 4-for-9 showing. The Falcons are outrebounding the Huskies 18-17.

MISSING CONSISTENCY: Both teams seem to still be settling into the matchup. Washington is having trouble rebounding and focusing on the defensive end. Meanwhile SPU is making some mental errors, but hitting three-pointers to pull back within 23-19 with 7:28 remaining in the opening half. Both teams are rotating a lot of players, experimenting with different looks.

QUICK FOULS: Rogers couldn't stay on the court, picking up back-to-back fouls when re-inserted in the game. A lineup of Mosiman, McLellan, Whitcomb, Morton and Mackenzie Argens helped the Huskies build a 12-9 lead with 13:30 remaining. Whitcomb had the highlight with her pass through the paint to McLellan for a layin.

QUICK SUB: With Henderson driving easily baseline against Rogers, Jackson made a quick sub to put last year's starter, Laura McLellan, in the game. Henderson is 3-for-3 from the field to give the Falcons a 9-8 lead with 16:00 remaining in the first half.

AH, HELLO?: Washington tried to continue its tradition of greeting officials along with its opponent during pregame warmups, but refs Szeremeta and Sundheim weren't having it. They stood with folded arms and refused to shake the student-athletes' hands. Washington continued to try, one-by-one, creating an awkward moment. Finally teammates called off Rogers' attempt, the final UW player introduced.

SPOTTED: WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes and her partner are in the house. Swoopes is scheduled to play in an exhibition game at the University of Montana on Sunday. She plays locally on what Seattle University assistant Joy Hollingsworth called the WNBA rec team. "They always win," Hollingsworth said. Storm coach Brian Agler, who cut Swoopes, said he's helping her land an overseas job.

Exorcizing a rocky 2008-09 campaign isn't going to be easy for Washington. But the team starts the shedding tonight with an exhibition matchup against Seattle Pacific, which is ranked No. 16 in the USA Today/ESPN Division II coaches' poll.

The Falcons last faced the Huskies in preseason play in 2007, defeating their cross-town foes 75-67. SPU is a solid test for UW, again, with a balanced roster of experienced players who finished 23-5 last year. They advanced to the D-II tournament regional finals and No. 7 ranking in the polls.

But Washington returns 12 players, including center Regina Rogers (transfer) and Charmaine Barlow (suspension). The Huskies are without forwards Liz Lay and Lydia Young due to knee injuries, but coach Tia Jackson has plenty to select from.

Players worked hard during the offseason to improve conditioning and various skill-sets for the season. Senior F Sami Whitcomb, who Jackson pegged to be a WNBA prospect, said she worked on her court vision, hoping to be a better passer. She was the team's leading scorer last year (12.8), notorious for her dribble-drive.

UW also simply healed from numerous injuries, which will help their play this season. Still, it's all talk. The only true proof is in the performance on the court.

So, let's get to it with your starting lineups:

FALCONS
F Megan Hoisington
F Daesha Henderson
C Melissa Reich
G Jordan Harazin
G Maddie Maloney

HUSKIES
F Kristi Kingma
F Sami Whitcomb
C Regina Rogers
G Sarah Morton
G Sara Mosiman

Tonight's officials are Wanda Szeremeta, Jay Schumaker, and Laura Sundheim.

A few have asked, so here's a look at Washington coach Tia Jackson's verbal commitments from ESPN's HoopGurlz site. Jackson has six scholarships to offer for the Class of 2010, but has three so far in Snohomish F Marjie Heard, G Ashley Moore of Vallejo, Calif., and Auburn Riverside PG Mercedes Wetmore.

"I honestly feel like it was always one of my top choices," Wetmore told ESPN. She also mentioned looking forward to playing with UW starters Kristi Kingma and Regina Rogers, who are also from the Seattle area. "I feel like Tia is building up a program and I want to be part of it."

The Huskies open their exhibition season tonight against Seattle Pacific, which is ranked No. 16 in the USA Today/ESPN Division II coaches' poll. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at Edmundson Pavilion.

Although minutes from each other, SPU and UW haven't played each other since 2007 in an exhibition matchup and 1979 in a regular-season game.

OK, so this is really coming from the Twitter file, but I'm not alone in pondering the question: Is Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman taking too many hits?

It seems since former Detroit Shock coach Bill Laimbeer left the WNBA to ultimately accept an assistant coaching position with the Minnesota Timberwolves that Lieberman (pictured right by ESPN) has moved into the women's league's easy target slot. Or maybe she simply took over the space since she was bashed before for showing too much love to three-time MVP Lisa Leslie as a broadcaster and the bad start as Shock coach.

But, while I'm a fan of Lieberman, her latest move got me wondering. She was named coach of the new Dallas D-League team, an affiliate for the Mavericks. It'll make Lieberman the first female head coach in the league and second overall, following Stephanie Ready, who assistant coached for the now-defunct Greenville Groove in South Carolina from 2001-03.

Ready is currently a sideline reporter for the Charlotte Bobcats, commentating about the WNBA Finals with various guests for NBA-TV, too.

Lieberman is widely respected -- and should be -- for her basketball knowledge. It hasn't happened, but when broadcaster Kevin Calabro accepted his on-air position with ESPN Seattle (710 AM), he said Lieberman could join him in-studio because he loved talking hoops with her.

Still, that's as a broadcaster. And I was wondering -- via Twitter -- if a return to coaching was a gimmick. After all, her return to playing in 2008 at age 50 set the league back. It was later stated that the move was made to promote health and fitness or something, but plenty of current players were available for Detroit to sign to its seven-day contract.

Lieberman responded to my tweet regarding her coaching by stating, "ive never been about gimmicks, i do what i love, its called passion..dont hate in this year of change and opportunity my friend!"

So, is this progress? I'm an advocate for women being viewed equally in the coaching realm. Men who've "crossed over" to the women's game have certainly proved basketball is basketball. Women have coached men on lower levels or overseas and if Lieberman is successful, maybe NBA owners will look at other women in a different light and give them a chance.

My only issue is why it didn't start there. Lieberman has dabbled in everything under the basketball sphere, most recently challenging President Obama to a pick up game to bring some true equality to the White House basketball court. So, even though she hadn't really piped up about coaching again, it's not a surprise for her to return to the bench. And somebody has to make the first move - heaven knows we all owe Lieberman for all the barriers she's already crashed through for women.

I just know there are others who truly wanted a gig like this and wonder if an opportunity for advancement in the game passed. What do you think?

Former Arizona coach Joan Bonvicini's return to college hoops was a success as her Seattle University easily toppled Northwest University 75-54 in an exhibition opener at Connolly Center on Tuesday.

Bonvicini (pictured right by Arizona) was vibrant on the sideline, stating afterward that she was excited to return to coaching after being fired at Arizona in March 2008 following a 10-20 season. She was 287-233 as coach for the Wildcats, becoming just the 18th NCAA coach to collect 600 wins in February 2007.

Molding her third overall program, Bonvicini had butterflies prior to the matchup with the Eagles, who are based in Kirkland, yet those quickly dissipated as the Redhawks took a 40-25 lead at halftime.

Among the highlights were senior guard Cassidy Murillo's between the legs dribble-drive to the hoop for a layin to make the score 31-19 and SU's trapping defense where senior forward Ashley Brown collected four opening-half steals.

Brown missed the entire 2008-09 season due to injury. She had 14 of her final 15 points in the first half. Teammate Maggie McCarthy, a 5-foot-10 sophomore forward, was the leading scorer with 18 points, nine rebounds, and three steals.

McCarthy's layup off a Murillo assist in the paint pushed the score to 68-48 with 5:42 in the second half, moving Bonvicini to lighten the team's pressure defense.

Freshman guard Emily Drivstuen led NU, a NAIA school, with 15 points in 25 minutes of play off the bench.

But, in typical coach's form, Bonvicini found plenty for her team to work on in practice in preparation for a tough regular-season schedule. One is free throw shooting.

SU was aggressive, drawing the fouls to get to the line to Eagles coach Lori Napier's chagrin. But the Redhawks missed 18 of its 40 attempts.

NU was limited to just 13 FT attempts.

"We definitely need work on our free throws," Bonvicini said, adding rebounding and offensive fluidity to the mix.

Seeing level talent on her roster, especially with star Breanna Salley suspended for the at least the fall quarter, Bonvicini rotated players "like a hockey team." She also used a different offense that she hadn't run in the past and tweaked her defense to fit her new team.

Bonvicini started transfer Kourtney Parks, a 5-5 sophomore guard, and 6-1 junior center Tatiana Heck alongside Brown (5-11), Murillo (5-7), and McCarty. The coach hopes to keep the same starters through the season, hosting Saint Martin's in an exhibition finale on Saturday at 4 p.m.

"I'm really pleased we won," Bonvicini said. "I thought it was going to be a closer game because I was really impressed when I watched them on tape."

Washington F Liz Lay will not play in the Huskies' exhibition opener against Seattle Pacific on Thursday due to soreness in her left knee. Lay only appeared in 20 games last season after rehabilitating from right knee surgery.

The soreness stems from compensating for the original injury. At the team's media day today, coach Tia Jackson described the soreness as returning to lift weights after not using the knee much.

"I feel like they're improving and I'm looking forward to really being 100 percent finally," said Lay, who lost 25 pounds in preparation for the season and betterment of her knees. "I'm being really positive because it's better [for this to happen] now than in February. I feel like I worked really hard to where when I do come back, it won't be such a negative."

Teammate Lydia Young, a senior, also did not practice today due to soreness in both of her knees. She's listed as day-to-day. Jackson is hopeful for her to play against SPU.

Sophomore's Mackenzie Argens and Mollie Williams are vying for the starting position in place of Lay. Returning starter Sami Whitcomb, a senior, will start alongside junior Sarah Morton at PG, Sara Mosiman on the wing and sophomore Regina Rogers, a transfer from UCLA, at center.

Storm PF Lauren Jackson's parents spoke with the Daily Telegraph regarding their daughter's feelings about the death of Russian tycoon Shabtai von Kalmanovic. A native Australian, the two-time MVP (pictured right) received the news at 4 a.m.

"She was crying," Jackson's father Gary said. "I think she's still in shock. Lauren was at the Australian Institute of Sport rehabilitating her back injury and was getting ready to head back to play for Shabtai's club, Spartak Moscow Region."

Instead, Jackson boarded a flight to Tel Aviv for Kalmanovic's funeral on Thursday. Storm teammate Sue Bird, who also played for Spartak the past three seasons, is also expected to attend. Bird has been contacted via telephone and unavailable for comment, however.

Spartak's Euroleague match against Hungarian side Szeviep Szeged scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed.

Although too soon to discuss, Gary Jackson did mention the future of Spartak in the article, wondering about their daughter's financial future. Kalmanovic was personally invested in the team and isn't believed to have a financial successor aside from family. The Russian league was so competitive because various owners lured top players with money, competing with each other for the best. Some of those clubs have already folded as the downturn in the economy hit Russia.
The other aspect of this is where the money actually came from. A few years back Bird joked that the Russian mob was involved in women's basketball and Jackson hinted the same. Articles about Kalmanovic's past even depict a dark side, but the reasoning for his death is still being investigated.

It was widely suspected that Kalmanovic smuggled diamonds from South Africa and Sierra Leone, but he denied those rumors. And in a Sports Illustrated article last year, he explained paying players huge sums without a fan base to support the lavish spending: "There still isn't enough of a middle class in Russia for sport to pay for itself. And you cannot deduct expenses on sport [from your taxes]. So you need to have a very big heart and very big balls, and need to be something between a fanatic and a patriot. And a little bit crazy."

If Spartak disbanded, Jackson and Bird would surely be picked up by another team. Storm teammate Camille Little recently signed with KV Imperial AEL in Cyprus (the same team as G Tanishha Wright), Katie Gearlds is playing for F.E.A. team of the A1 league in Greece, and F Swin Cash was just picked up by Guangdong Asia Aluminum of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association.

UMMC Ekaterinburg is the only remaining Russian team spending millions on American players, signing Los Angeles star Candace Parker to a reported $1.2 million contract. Parker is currently stateside, attending her brother and husband's NBA games, but said in September that she would play in Russia.

"That's the plan," said Parker, who couldn't play last season due to the birth of her first child. "I was going to play last year, but I had a little blessing. I'm going to go over there and play basketball. I'm a woman of my word as long as everything is cool. I think it's a great situation. I met the coach and talked with a bunch of players, so I'm excited about it."

Be sure to log on to seattletimes.com on Tuesday to chat with Storm coach Brian Agler and CEO Karen Bryant. The pair will answer questions from 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Agler is back in Seattle doing a lot of community outreach with Storm C Ashley Robinson. She will model for the Seattle Goodwill's Glitter Gala on Thursday at the Sheraton Hotel downtown. Tickets are $125. More information can be found here.