Lisa Fortier

Lisa Fortier
Sport(s) Women's basketball
Current position
Title Head coach
Team Gonzaga
Conference WCC
Record 98–35 (.737)
Biographical details
Born (1981-04-05) April 5, 1981
Grass Valley, California
Playing career
2000–2002 Butte CC
2002–2004 Cal State Monterey Bay
Position(s) Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2006–2007 Northern Colorado (asst.)
2007–2014 Gonzaga (asst.)
2014–present Gonzaga
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2004-2006 Gonzaga (dir of ops.)
Head coaching record
Tournaments

3-4

(.429)

Lisa Mispley Fortier (born April 5, 1981) is an American basketball coach, currently the head coach of the women's basketball team at Gonzaga University.[1]

Early life and education

Fortier, born Lisa Mipsley, played basketball at Placer High School before playing at both Butte Community College and California State University, Monterey Bay. At Cal State, she earned honorable mention All Cal-Pac Conference honors as a junior and was named to the NAIA Academic All-America list in 2003. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Cal State, Monterey Bay, in 2004 with a B.A. in human communication.[2] As a junior in 2002–03, Fortier averaged 12.1 points,. 4.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.[3] As a senior in 2003–04, Fortier averaged 9.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists [4]

Coaching career

After two years as director of operations at Gonzaga, where she earned her master's degree in Sport and Athletic Administration in 2006, [2] Fortier was an assistant coach at Northern Colorado in the 2006–07 season, then an assistant at Gonzaga from 2007 to 2014.[2]

On April 14, 2014, Fortier was hired as Gonzaga women's basketball head coach, succeeding Kelly Graves, who accepted the head coaching position for Oregon women's basketball the week before.[5][6] Prior to becoming head coach, she was director of basketball operations for the Lady Zags from 2004-2006 and assistant coach from 2007-2014, where she focused on the team's defense. [7]

2014-2015 Season

Fortier picked up her first win as a head coach with a 75-65 over the Dayton Flyers women's basketball team at the Kennel on November 16, 2014.[8] The biggest highlight in non-conference was the Eastern Washington game at Reese Court on December 3, 2014, where Elle Tinkle (daughter of current Oregon State Beavers men's basketball coach Wayne Tinkle) shot the game winning jumper as time expired, where the Zags escaped with a 61-60 win.[9] The Zags finished non-conference play with a 7-4 record.

Fortier picked up her first conference win as a head coach with a 78–62 over Jeff Judkins' BYU Cougars women's basketball team at the Kennel on December 27, 2014.[10] The biggest conference game came against the San Francisco Dons on February 7, 2015 at the Kennel, where the Zags won 91–84 in a 4-overtime thriller.[11] The Zags clinched their 11th consecutive WCC regular-season crown on February 19, 2015 with an 80–72 win over Paul Thomas' Saint Mary's Gaels.[12] It also marked the first regular-season crown under Mispley Fortier's head coaching tenure.[12] Gonzaga finished West Coast Conference regular-season play with a 16–2 record with losses against Pacific at home and San Diego on the road.

In the year-end conference tournament, the Zags defeated the Loyola Marymount Lions 70-50 before losing to the Brigham Young Cougars 61–55.[13][14] It was the Zags first non-appearance in the WCC Tournament Final game since the 2006 season.[14][15] However, Gonzaga still received an #11 seed in the Spokane region, the second at-large bid in school history and the third in West Coast Conference play.[16]

In the NCAA tournament, Fortier led the Zags to a 82–69 first round win over the George Washington Colonials and a 76-64 second round win over the Oregon State Beavers.[17][18] Both the first and second-round games were held at the Gill Coliseum in Corvallis. In the next game, the Lady Zags led the Tennessee Volunteers 57-40 before Tennessee went on a 23–6 run to end regulation and force the game into overtime. The Zags season came to an end with a 73–69 overtime defeat to the Volunteers, in front of mostly Zags fans at the Spokane Arena.[19]

On April 6, 2015, it was announced that she was named the Maggie Dixon Award Rookie Coach of the Year.[20]

2015-2016 Season

On June 18, 2015, the WBCA announced that Fortier would serve as part of the Board of Directors for the West region.[21]

Fortier's Zags finished non-conference play with a 8-4 record. Their most significant non-conference game was against Wyoming, where the Zags won 61–57 in overtime.[22] The Zags finished 10–8 in West Coast Conference play, finishing fifth place, ending Gonzaga's 11 consecutive West Coast Conference regular season titles, where the BYU Cougars women's basketball team won the outright title.[23] Gonzaga earned its biggest conference win against #22 BYU in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,000 at the McCarthey Athletic Center, where the Zags outscored BYU 33-13 in the fourth quarter to defeat the WCC regular season champs 73–55 on "Senior Day".[24] In the WCC tournament, the Zags lost to the Santa Clara Broncos 59-58, their earliest tournament exit since the 2005-06 season.[25]

The Zags received an at-large bid for the WNIT, their first since the 2007-08 season.[26] They hosted the UC-Riverside Highlanders; the Big West regular season champs at the McCarthey Athletic Center on March 17, with the Lady Zags defeating the Highlanders 88–54. The Zags next hosted the Utah Utes, losing to the Utes 92–77 to end their season at 19-14. The Zags finished one game shy of playing against their former coach, Kelly Graves and his Oregon Ducks, when his Ducks won 84–59 on the same night the Zags lost to the Utes.[27]

2016-2017 Season

The Zags finished non-conference play for the 2016-17 season with a 9-2 record, including upset victories over #11 ranked Stanford at their homecourt on November 18 and over Northwestern at the McCarthey Athletic Center on December 19. The Zags started the WCC conference schedule with losses to Pepperdine in Malibu and Pacific at home.[28]

After losing their first two conference games, the Zags finished conference play winning 14 of the last 16 games, and they were crowned with the WCC regular season title by defeating the San Diego Toreros 62-57 on "Senior Night" in front of a sellout crowd of 6,000 at McCarthey Athletic Center. This marked the Zags' 12th regular season title and the second title in the Fortier era.[29]

The Zags were rewarded with the #1 seed in the WCC tournament and they responded by defeating the 9th seeded Pacific Tigers 91-59 on March 3, the 4th seeded San Francisco Dons 77-46 on March 6, and the 3rd seeded Saint Mary's Gaels 86-75 to win their 7th WCC tournament title in program history and the first tournament title under Fortier. After winning the WCC tournament, the Zags were selected as an #11 seed to face Sherri Coale's Oklahoma Sooners at the Hec Edmundson Pavilion. This marked the ninth NCAA tournament appearance for the Zags and the second under Fortier.[30][31] The Zags season ended with a 75-62 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners to finish their season with a 26-7 record.[32]

2017-2018 Season

The Zags began their season with a 7-4 non-conference record.[33] They finished regular season conference play with a 17-1 record, with the lone loss against St. Mary's at home. [34] [35] The Zags clinched their 13th WCC regular season title and the third under Fortier in the process.[36]

The Zags won their 8th WCC tournament title and their second under Fortier with wins over Pepperdine, San Francisco, and San Diego.[37] They were selected as the 13th seed in the Lexington region, and slated to face the 4th seeded Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. This marked the tenth NCAA tournament appearance for the Zags and the third under Fortier.[38] The Zags' season ended with a 82-68 loss against Stanford to finish their season with a 27-6 record. [39]

Personal life

Fortier is married to Craig Fortier, whom she met when they both attended Cal State Monterey Bay. Craig was formerly the associate head coach for Jim Hayford's Eastern Washington men's basketball team before being hired as an assistant to his wife at Gonzaga.[40] They have two sons: Marcus and Calvin, and a daughter Quincy.[6][41]

Notable players under Fortier

  • Jill Barta- Gonzaga women's basketball player (2015-2018). Left program to pursue teaching or professional basketball career.[42]
  • Laura Stockton- Gonzaga women's basketball player (2015–present). Daughter of NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton.[43]
  • Elle Tinkle- Gonzaga women's basketball player (2014-2017) under Fortier. Daughter of Oregon State Beavers men's basketball coach Wayne Tinkle.[44]

Awards and honors

Head coaching record

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Gonzaga Bulldogs (WCC) (2014–present)
2014–15 Gonzaga 26–816–21stNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2015–16 Gonzaga 19–1410–85thWNIT 2nd Round
2016–17 Gonzaga 26–714–41stNCAA 1st Round
2017–18 Gonzaga 27–617–11stNCAA 1st Round
2018–19 Gonzaga
Gonzaga: 98–35 (.737)57–15 (.792)
Total:98–35 (.737)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ↑ Clouse, Thomas (April 14, 2014). "Lisa Mispley Fortier replaces Graves at Gonzaga". The Spokesman-Review. Cowles Publishing Company. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Lisa Fortier". Gonzaga University. April 14, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20040325000114/http://sports.csumb.edu/athletics/W_basketball/statistics/02-03wbb_statistics.HTM
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20040904170908/http://sports.csumb.edu/athletics/W_basketball/statistics/wbbstats_022104.HTM#TEAM.IND
  5. ↑ "Kelly Graves leaving Gonzaga for Oregon". Spokesman.com. 2014-04-08. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  6. 1 2 "Lisa Mispley Fortier replaces Graves at Gonzaga". Spokesman.com. 2014-04-14. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  7. ↑ "Lisa Mispley Fortier Biography". Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Gonzaga roars back to top No. 22 Dayton, 75-65". espn.go.com. 2014-11-16. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  9. ↑ "Gonzaga women sneak past EWU on Elle Tinkle's buzzer-beater". spokesman.com. 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
  10. ↑ "WBB Ease to Conference Season-Opening Win". gozags.com. 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2014-12-27.
  11. ↑ "Four Overtime goes to WBB". GoZags.com. 2015-02-07. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  12. 1 2 "Gonzaga women claim 11th consecutive WCC title". spokesman.com. 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  13. ↑ "College basketball roundup: Gonzaga women turn the heat up against Loyola Marymount". yakimaherald.com.com. 2015-03-07. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  14. 1 2 "BYU basketball: Cougar women stun top-seeded Gonzaga". sltrib.com. 2015-03-09. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  15. ↑ "Bulldogs Fall In WCC Tournament". gozags.com. 2006-03-02. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  16. ↑ "Gonzaga women land spot in NCAA tournament". KREM.com. 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  17. ↑ "Albanez leads Gonzaga to 82-69 upset of George Washington". thestate.com. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  18. ↑ "No. 11 seed Gonzaga upsets No. 3 seed Oregon State Beavers 76-64 in second round of NCAA Tournament: Game at a glance". oregonlive.com. 2015-03-22. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
  19. ↑ "Lady Vols rally to eliminate Gonzaga in Sweet 16". spokesman.com. 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
  20. 1 2 "Fortier Named National Rookie Coach of the Year". gozags.com. 2015-04-06. Archived from the original on 2015-04-13. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  21. ↑ "Fortier Named to WBCA Board of Directors". gozags.com. 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  22. ↑ "Women's Basketball Holds off Wyoming in Overtime". gozags.com. 2015-12-03. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  23. ↑ "BYU women's basketball wins first WCC regular-season championship". UniverseBYU.edu. 2016-02-19. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  24. ↑ "Zags women use fourth-quarter outburst to put away WCC champion BYU". Spokesman.com. 2016-02-27. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  25. ↑ "Gonzaga Women Drop Heartbreaker in Quarterfinals". GoZags.com. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  26. ↑ "Gonzaga hosts WNIT; EWU snubbed". Spokesman.com. 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  27. ↑ "Oregon Ducks women's basketball team tops Fresno State in WNIT second round". RegisterGuard.com. 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  28. ↑ "Offensive Boards Doom (RV) Zags In WCC Opener". GoZags.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Gonzaga women rally on Senior Night, secure WCC title". Spokesman.com. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Gonzaga Women Win WCC Tournament Title". GoZags.com. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  31. ↑ "No. 11 Zags Set To Play No. 6 Oklahoma Saturday in Seattle In NCAA First Round". GoZags.com. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  32. ↑ "No. 11 Gonzaga falls to No. 6 seed Oklahoma 75-62 in NCAA First Round". GoZags.com. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Zags Bounce Western Illinois 80-65 In Impressive Display". GoZags.com. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Gonzaga women clinch share of WCC title despite disheartening loss". Spokesman.com. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Bulldogs Go For Conference-Record 17th Win Against BYU On Senior Day". GoZags.com. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Gonzaga women claim another West Coast Conference basketball title". Spokesman.com. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Jill Barta scores 32 points, leading Gonzaga women to repeat WCC Tournament title". Spokesman.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  38. ↑ "Gonzaga will play Stanford in first round of NCAA women's tournament". Spokesman.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  39. ↑ "Stanford dominates on the glass to eliminate Gonzaga women from NCAA tournament, 82-68". Spokesman.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  40. ↑ "Craig Fortier Named Assistant Women's Basketball Coach". GoZags.com. 2014-05-05. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
  41. ↑ "Married Placer alums coaching Gonzaga women's college basketball team together". auburnjournal.com. 2014-09-08. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  42. ↑ "Jill Barta, Gonzaga's leading scorer and West Coast Conference MVP, to forgo final season of eligibility". Spokesman.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  43. ↑ "Lindsay Stockton to face sister at Gonzaga". BozemanDailyChronicle.com. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  44. ↑ "Living by the Tinkle standard". GonzagaBulletin.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  45. ↑ "BYU's Morgan Bailey named Player of the Year; Lisa Fortier (Gonzaga), Lynne Roberts (Pacific) & Paul Thomas (Saint Mary's) share Coach of the Year honors". wccsports.com. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
  46. ↑ "Gonzaga's Lisa Fortier named WCC Coach of the Year; Kudron, Barta make first team". Spokesman.com. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  47. ↑ "Gonzaga's Lisa Fortier named WCC Coach of the Year and Jill Barta is MVP". Spokesman.com. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
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