By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops Columnist | ARCHIVES
2020 WCC HALL OF HONOR PROFILES
 
The juggernaut that Gonzaga women’s basketball has become did not exist back in 2006 when former Bulldogs coach Kelly Graves was trying to keep a local high school star from leaving town.
 
Now, as the Zags streak toward a likely 12th NCAA tournament bid in 14 years and Graves is coaching one of the nation’s truly elite teams at Oregon, he still remembers clearly what changed everything in Spokane.
 
Heather Bowman, MVP of the state tournament her senior season at Lewis & Clark High School, was being recruited by Washington and Oregon. And Notre Dame was making a late push. 
 
“There had been some great talent in the Spokane area and a lot of it had gone elsewhere,” Graves recalled. “She was one of the very first who decided to stay and play for the Zags.
 
“She changed the trajectory of the whole program. It’s no coincidence that whole run started with her.”
 
As a freshman in 2006-07, Bowman led Gonzaga to its first-ever NCAA tournament berth. As a senior, she helped power the Zags to a sixth straight West Coast Conference title and a trip to the NCAA’s Sweet 16 while becoming the WCC’s career scoring leader.
 
Bowman chuckles while recalling a conversation she had with Graves during her freshman season. “He made a joke that we’re on the foundation of a dynasty,” she said. “It turned out it kind of came true.”
 
A decade after graduating, Bowman is being recognized this year as Gonzaga’s inductee into the WCC Hall of Honor. “I was excited,” she said, when asked her reaction to being given the news. “It’s real a great honor. It felt cool.”
 
Bowman made it cool to play for the Gonzaga women’s team. Another big-item recruit, Courtney Vandersloot, arrived a year later from the Seattle suburbs and the Zags began to distance themselves from the competition in the WCC.
 
But it was not a sure thing Bowman would even choose her hometown school. “I thought sure I was going to get out of town,” Bowman said. She said Oregon was the frontrunner and the attention she received from Notre Dame was tempting, although she ultimately canceled her campus visit.
 
Graves had arrived at Gonzaga for the 2000-01 season, inheriting a program that had suffered through seven straight losing campaigns. They were 28-4 by 2004-05, although still relegated to the WNIT.
 
“We had really emerged as a program that was successful,” he said. “We had something to sell.”
 
It turns out Spokane itself was a selling point. Her family was there, of course, but so was the opportunity to do something meaningful in her hometown.
 
“He just thought the sky was the limit. He said, `We’re looking at making the tournament and we’re on the cusp of doing it,’” Bowman recalls Graves telling her. “He sold me on that and the idea that I could make a difference.”
 
“Notre Dame could have been a real incredible experience, I’m sure,” Bowman said. “I just had this feeling at Gonzaga. It felt right.”
 
Graves’ vision did not include a gradual build-up. The timeline was aggressive. He believed big things could happen quickly, and they did.
 
Bowman averaged 13.0 points and earned the first of four straight All-WCC selections as a freshman, and Gonzaga was 24-10 and nabbed its first NCAA bid. “We expected it,” Bowman said. “Our goal was to make it to the tournament and we didn’t know any different.”
 
As a sophomore, Bowman averaged 20.1 points and won WCC Player of the Year, but the Zags missed the NCAA tournament despite a 25-9 final record. “Nobody likes the NIT,” she said. “It didn't feel very good.”
 
She never had to endure that feeling again. The Zags went 27-7 and 29-5 her final two seasons for a four-year record of 105-31. Bowman set the WCC career record with 2,165 points, which was eclipsed three years later by Alex Cowling of Loyola Marymount but remains the standard at Gonzaga.
 
Most importantly, the Zags reached the second weekend of the 2010 NCAA tournament, beating North Carolina and Texas A&M before losing to Xavier in the Sweet 16.
 
Graves now coaches All-American point guard Sabrina Ionescu, a leading candidate for national player of the year honors. But Bowman holds a special place in his basketball heart because she had the strength to try to create something significant in front of family and friends.
 
“She wanted that kind of burden and challenge,” Graves said. “That's sometimes tough for a young player. She handled it well.”
 
A 6-foot-2 forward, Bowman had skills that allowed her to be effective all over the floor. She also had the perfect temperament, Graves said.
 
“I loved her personality. She never got too high, she never got too low,” he said. “She was workman-like. She played through pain, played through injury, played bloodied. She was consistent and consistently great.”
 
And she remains “the prototype” Graves looks for while recruiting. “I’ve always tried to recruit players like Heather, versatile inside players who can step out. Even now, it’s a Heather Bowman blueprint.”
 
Graves has won more than 500 games in 20 seasons as a head coach and says Bowman has a spot on his “Mt. Rushmore of great players” who have played for him.
 
Bowman did some coaching after college, including at Gonzaga, and still lives in Spokane, where she works in the banking industry. She remains a huge fan of the program she helped establish.
 
“We have a ton of pride in it. It’s gotten better and better,” she said. 
 
And she remains close to her former teammates. “It was pretty special, especially when we went to the Sweet 16. Those are memories you share with your sisters,” Bowman said. “We were all goofy. Nobody thought they were cool.”
 
Even though they were.