Georgia on Gonzaga's minds

During her two seasons playing at North Idaho College, Georgia Stirton was about as accomplished as a junior college point guard could be.

Then came her first days playing big-time Division I-A women’s basketball, to be the new starting point guard at Gonzaga. It was the first NIC player to play for the Zags during coach Chris Carlson’s then 10-year tenure. And so far, things are going relatively smooth — the senior is averaging 6.5 points, a team-high 2.9 assists and 33 steals, second on a Zags team (18-12, 10-8 West Coast Conference) that is the No. 5 seed going into tonight’s first-round game of the West Coast Conference tournament. The Zags tonight at 8:30 against No. 4 seed Santa Clara (22-7, 11-3) in Las Vegas. The WCC tournament winner receives an automatic bid to play in the NCAA tournament, with the Final Four to be played in Indianapolis. If Gonzaga does not win the WCC tournament, the team could be invited to the WNIT.

Stirton has started all 30 games this season, after starting all 34 games as a junior last season. But it wasn’t always that way for Stirton, especially during the first few games of her junior season.

“It was the hardest transition,” Stirton said. “The girls are so much bigger and stronger. It’s closer to being a pro.”

When Stirton came to NIC, she was a talented all-around player who needed a bit of tough love from Carlson. Coming fresh off the plane from Melbourne, Australia, the 5-foot-8 star was the Region 18/Scenic West Athletic Conference MVP as a freshman in 2013, helping the Cardinals reach the NJCAA tournament, losing in the first round, and a 28-5 overall record, with a 12-3 SWAC mark to boot. Stirton averaged nearly 9 points and 4 assists per game as a freshman, then during her sophomore year nearly every major statistic improved, as she averaged a team-high 11.6 points and 3.6 assists per game.

“I had to push Georgia and she didn’t like it,” Chris Carlson said. “But it’s exactly what she needed. They’ve got a whole new group of coaches (at Gonzaga) who are awesome. I think she’s much more disciplined now at Gonzaga. She wasn’t able to move up in the Australian (pro) leagues, so she was a little frustrated.”

Carlson recalled a game on Jan. 26, 2013, when Stirton lit up on the court as she knew Gonzaga was scouting her from the stands during a 68-54 home win over Salt Lake Community College at Christianson Gym. The Cardinals were ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA during a few weeks that season.

“When she first came here, she was surrounded by a great team. When Gonzaga came, she played amazing,” he said.

Her current coaches are just as happy as Carlson’s staff was. Second-year Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier, who was the main recruiter as a former assistant coach to Kelly Graves, has enjoyed having her as the floor general. When Stirton verbally committed, Graves, who led Gonzaga to each of the previous six NCAA tournaments, was the head coach at the time. But on April 7, 2014, Graves left to coach at the University of Oregon and Fortier was promoted to the top spot.

“As a point guard, coaches tell you what they want and they act as a liasion to the other players,” Fortier said. “It makes our job easier. She’s doing a great job and is a pleasure to have. When she got here, she didn’t know anything as far as what we like to do on offense and defense. She was new to that, she didn’t really have anyone to sort of guide her on how to do things. But she’s been playing at a high level.”

Stirton said her sights remained set on Gonzaga the entire time, even with the coaching change. She’s fit in quite well on Fortier’s teams.

“I was keen to staying,” Stirton said. “Lisa has done awesome. She reacts real well to what’s going on during our games. She takes time to get to know you. She’s very calm, she makes sure her message gets across. She won’t yell at you, but when we need to get kicked in the (rear), she will.”

Stirton has also served as a bit of a mentor to freshman backup point guard Laura Stockton, who is one of the daughters of Gonzaga and Basketball Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton.

“She’s going to be really good,” Stirton said. “She’s a great freshman, she’s one of the best freshmen here.”

Carlson said he noticed Stirton’s talents, especially her playmaking ability, early.

“The first thing I’ve noticed was her passing ability,” Carlson said. “She had great ballhandling skills, she made outstanding passes over and over again. We follow her on a regular basis. We took the whole team to watch her at Gonzaga, once last year and once this year against West Virginia (a 62-57 Zags win on Nov. 22 at home). They got to watch her play.”

Stirton definitely enjoyed her time at NIC, playing with fellow Melbourne-area Aussie and current University of Idaho junior backup forward Renae Mokrzycki.

“They were good for me,” Stirton said of NIC. “I started a lot of games there. I pretty much recruited myself, I sent 200 letters, emails, mix tapes to a lot of colleges. Being with Renae was great, we went through a lot of things together. She was one point away from being the MVP the year after I was named. We still keep in touch.”

Carrying a 3.6 overall grade-point average while majoring in special education, Stirton has been able to be in real-world situations at local schools.

“I’ve always wanted to help,” Stirton said. “I’ve wanted to do something through special needs, kids who need some help. Something in occupational health or something like that. I’ve visited classes in elementary school and work with them. It’s so much fun, they’re filled with so much joy. It’s a break from basketball and the stress that comes with it. Going to Gonzaga is awesome, the class sizes are a little smaller.”

Last season, Stirton and a loaded Gonzaga team featuring Elle Tinkle, who is the daughter of Oregon State men’s basketball head coach Wayne Tinkle, along with Sunny Greinacher, Shelby Cheslek and Keani Albanez. The Zags rumbled through the WCC, finishing 16-2 (26-8 overall) and as the No. 11 seed in the NCAA tournament, made a surprise run to the Sweet 16, beating No. 3 seed Oregon State 76-64 on its own court in Corvallis, Ore., as Wayne Tinkle watched in his home arena and cheered for his daughter and the Zags.

“That was super fun,” Stirton said. “It’s something I’ll cherish my whole life. Beating Oregon State, that was the best game. I remember hitting a couple of shots late in the game.”

The following weekend, in the regional semifinal at Spokane Arena, Gonzaga fell 73-69 in overtime to No. 6 seed Tennessee, after leading by 16 halfway during the second half.

“Tennessee, we had them, it was bittersweet, losing in the last minute,” Stirton said. “We were up by 16 and they came back. It was the longest last few minutes (in regulation) of our lives.”

Stirton also drilled 43.6 percent of her 3-point attempts in her WCC games, which was fifth in the conference.

Fortier was very pleased with Stirton’s first experiences in the postseason, with other teammates having played in at least one or two NCAA tourneys.

“She was very good,” Fortier said. “We peaked at the right time. Georgia shot the ball well. It was just the pressure in the NCAA tourney. Her first experience went well.”

Stirton is the kind of player who, whether she scores two points or 15, can affect the game either through her passing, facilitating and setting up teammates during half-court sets and fast breaks, sticking on opposing guards like glue.

“She’s not out to score points and put on a show,” Carlson said. “But she’ll hit big shots. That’s where she’s dangerous. She can step up at the right time. Her on-ball defense is really good. Her foot speed is really good.”

Stirton isn’t always concerned with putting up double digits in scoring in a regular basis, although she certainly has the ability to do so. She’s looking to make sure teammates like leading scorer Jill Barta is getting her touches and shots, so she can score 21 points or so. One stat she does look at is assists-to-turnover ratio, which she is at a solid 1.4.

“I’ve always tried to facilitate, get them the ball,” Stirton said. “I look after the ball, hopefully have no turnovers or hardly any. If the scoring comes, that’s fine. I like to organize, make sure my teammates are where they need to be. I used to be lazy defensively at NIC too, but here there are no bad players on any team we play.”

Back in Australia, Stirton played for the Waverly Falcons club team. She was also trained by former NBA guard Sedale Threatt, who played for the Seattle SuperSonics and Los Angeles Lakers, and whose son plays in a professional basketball league in Australia, where they live.

Daryl McDonald, who Stirton calls “D-Mac”, was her high school coach. Her parents are Paul and Julie Stirton, and she has two older brothers. One of them, Aaron, is currently in the United States visiting Georgia.

“They were the first people that told me I had the potential to be good (in college),” Stirton said. “Coming to America, I doubted myself. He (Threatt) keeps up with me, he texts me. He held private workouts.”

A fairly funny fact — except perhaps for Stirton — is she’s played hoops in the winter in the United States, then when she goes home during the summer, when it’s actually the winter Down Under, because of the country being in the southern hemisphere, it’s colder again.

Stirton is also carrying on the torch carried in the past by former Gonzaga forward Kelly Bowen, who graduated in 2012 and who currently plays in the pro leagues in Australia. Stirton said she wants to continue her basketball career in the CIBL, a lower professional league in her home country. Fortier said there is another Melbourne product in the Zags’ pipeline for next season, Grace Collett.

“It’s cool carrying on the tradition,” Stirton said of Bowen. “I know how good she was.”

Both in the present and the future, girls in the United States and Australia know how good Stirton is.