The country of New Zealand is over 7,200 miles from Washington, typically taking someone 18 to 20 hours to fly to Spokane because of the difficulties of a direct flight.
The path that redshirt freshman Lauren Whittaker has taken from her home country to the Gonzaga University women's basketball team has been a long time coming, including the unexpected introduction to the program at a young age and spending her first year in Spokane on the sidelines. Now fully healthy, the 6-foot-3 forward has been at the forefront of a completely new GU team that lost four starters from last year, including the program’s all-time leading scorer and two-time defending WCC Player of the Year in Yvonne Ejim.