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Zag women prepare for foreign tour in August

SPOKANE — The Gonzaga women’s basketball team will spend nearly two weeks abroad this August as part of the first foreign tour in program history.

The Bulldogs will depart on Saturday, Aug. 10 and will return stateside on Thursday, Aug. 22 with stops in Spain and Italy along the way.

The Zags will enjoy multi-day stays in Barcelona, Spain, as well as Rome, Florence and Venice, Italy, along with exploration days in Vatican City and Lucca. The NCAA permits institutions to participate in a foreign tour once every four years.

“We are really looking forward to providing such a great life and team experience to this group of young women,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “We care deeply about them as players but also as people, and we cannot wait to spend this time together.”

Melody Kempton, a forward from Post Falls High, is a rising sophomore at Gonzaga.

The Bulldogs will also compete in three games against international competition during the course of the trip in Barcelona, Rome and Florence.

“We are extremely blessed to have this opportunity to travel overseas to play basketball and learn about the history and culture of the area,” senior guard Katie Campbell said. “I’m excited to share in this experience with my teammates; it will be a great opportunity for us to bond before we begin all of our preseason workouts.”

The trip will also feature various sightseeing opportunities and city tours including landmark visits to La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Colosseum in Rome and St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City for an in-depth learning experience of multiple European cultures.

“We are really looking forward to taking our team overseas,” Fortier said. “There are so many benefits to it. Team practices are going to come at a great time as we will have so many players in new roles next season.”

Fans, family and supporters can follow the Bulldogs throughout the 2019 Foreign Tour on the women’s basketball social media pages on Facebook at ZagWBB, on Twitter at @ZagWBB and on Instagram at zagwbb.