Vandersloot closes in on milestone

SPOKANE (AP) - Gonzaga guard Courtney Vandersloot is already part of an exclusive club with at least 1,000 assists in her career.

She can add "only" and "ever" to her accolades on tonight.

Vandersloot needs just 10 points to reach 2,000 for her career, becoming the only Division I player - men or women - with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 assists. She has 1,085 assists heading into tonight's second-round NCAA tournament game against UCLA. The game is one of three scheduled for ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m.

"I'm not sure how many people know about that," Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves said Sunday. "I'm sure Courtney isn't counting it down in her head. She wants one thing and those that know Courtney know there is only one goal for her tomorrow and that's to win the game."

Former Penn State star Suzie McConnell previously had the most points for any player with 1,000 assists after scoring 1,897 in her career. The most of any men's player with 1,000 assists was Bobby Hurley, who scored 1,731 points in his Duke career to go along with 1,076 assists.

The others with at least 1,000 assists: Andrea Nagy of Florida International (1,812 points, 1,291 assists); Tine Freil of Pacific (1,291 points, 1,088 assists); Chris Corchiani of North Carolina State (1,425 points, 1,038 assists); and Ed Cota of North Carolina (1,261 points, 1,030 assists).

STELLAR SHOOTING: Marquette coach Terri Mitchell doesn't plan on letting her players give Tennessee senior sharpshooter Angie Bjorklund too much room.

Bjorklund has made 20 of her last 23 3-point shots, including a 4-for-5 performance from the perimeter in the Lady Vols' 99-34 opening-round win against Stetson.

"You just can't give her any space, she's that good. She doesn't need room, it's catch and shoot," Mitchell said. "I prefer the option of not letting her touch. Now, we're not a denial team, but I told our players, 'If she's anywhere in your area you get tighter to her. You can't give her two steps, you're one step away from her.'"

Bjorklund's shooting is even more impressive given the fact that the Spokane Valley native's right foot was in a boot for nearly a month late in the regular season. Bjorklund missed six SEC games with a sprain and had to ease back into a practice routine.

"When the boot came off, I couldn't be in the gym too much just because I had to ease into it, so the first couple of games were just to kind of get back," Bjorklund said. "The past couple of weeks my foot has been great, so I've been in the gym a lot."

SLEEPING AT HOME: Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves briefly considered taking up the NCAA on its offer of a hotel for his team while the first and second rounds of the tournament were being played on the Bulldogs home floor.

That thought didn't last long. Graves sees too much benefit in his players staying at home and keeping with their routine, which also includes classes.

"It's a benefit to stay in your bed anytime. Stay in your comfort zone, do what you normally do," Graves said. "There are some advantages to doing that. Staying in a hotel you kind of get them sequestered, but that gets a little old after a little while. And our players are smart. I trust them to do the right thing and prepare themselves the way they need to."

With a win on Monday night against third-seeded UCLA, the Bulldogs will get to play in the regional semifinals for a second straight year and again won't have to leave campus. It's being played about a 20-minute walk from Gonzaga's home at the Spokane Arena.

The good is the comfort of home. The bad: not being able to skip out on classes.

"I will be going to my morning classes tomorrow," Gonzaga's Katelan Redmon said.