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Gonzaga women's basketball reveals 2025-26 non-conference schedule

Originally posted on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI
By Andy Patton | Last updated Aug 15, 2025 6:17 PM ET

It's a new era for coach Lisa Fortier and the Gonzaga women's basketball team. After five prolific seasons in Spokane, superstar forward Yvonne Ejim departs Gonzaga as the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, leaving a cavernous hole to fill in the frontcourt.

Gone too is forward Maud Huijbens, as well as guards Esther Little, Tayla Dalton, Bree Salenbien, and Claire O'Connor, as coach Fortier's team looks to get back to the NCAA Tournament with a group led by sophomore Allie Turner and multiple incoming freshmen and transfers.

Despite the youthful, new-look roster, Gonzaga did not back down from scheduling a challenging non-conference slate, which was revealed on social media on Wednesday afternoon.

Gonzaga opens up the season with a pair of road matchups, first at North Dakota State on Nov. 7 and then two days later at Toledo on Nov. 9.

The first home game of the regular season comes on Nov. 13 against Colorado State, which will not only be the team's home opener but give fans a glimpse at a future conference opponent as both the Zags and Rams are set to join the new-look Pac-12 in 2026-27.

Speaking of the Pac-12, Gonzaga then gets to host longtime regional rival Stanford - now in the ACC - on Nov. 16. Last time the Zags faced Stanford in Spokane, they handed the Cardinal an astonishing 18-point beatdown, one of the worst defeats in legendary coach Tara Vanderveer's career.

Gonzaga then heads to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, SD, to take on the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State, a neutral-site matchup that requires quite a bit more travel on the Zags' side.

A home tilt with Cheney-based Eastern Washington is next on Nov. 23 before the Zags then head to Estero, FL, for the Gulf Coast Showcase, where they will play Indiana on Nov. 28 and either Iowa State or Marquette on Nov. 30.

December begins with three straight home games for the Bulldogs, first against new Mountain West member Grand Canyon on Dec. 4, followed by UC Davis on Dec. 6 and Arizona State ten days later on Dec. 16.

Gonzaga closes out the non-conference portion of the schedule on the road, first at Missouri State on Dec. 19 and then down in California against UC Riverside on Dec. 21.

Coach Fortier's team will face plenty of challenges in the early part of the season. Not only are four matchups against quality power conference opponents, three of them are away from the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Plus, South Dakota State has won 27 or more games each of the past four seasons under coach Aaron Johnston, while North Dakota State is a combined 24-8 in the Summit League the past two years.

While Grand Canyon likely won't go 32-3 again like they did last year, thanks to the departure of head coach Molly Miller, that doesn't do the Zags a whole lot of good since Miller is now at Arizona State, who Gonzaga will face as well.

All told, it will be a tough slate for Gonzaga, which will need to find out who is going to step up alongside Turner to lead this program in the post-Ejim era. Will it be redshirt forward Lauren Whittaker from New Zealand? Or Saint Mary's transfer guard Zee Aoukuso? Time will tell, but this schedule should give coach Fortier the information she needs to lead this team to another WCC championship and perhaps a spot back in the NCAA Tournament.