Gonzaga women add former Saint Mary’s guard Tayla Dalton in transfer portal

The Gonzaga women’s basketball team didn’t look far for its second transfer.

Zags coach Lisa Fortier announced Saturday the addition of Tayla Dalton of Saint Mary’s.

Dalton is a 5-foot-9 guard and will join Gonzaga as a graduate student. She played four seasons at Saint Mary’s, starting in 83 games and appearing in 119.

She averaged 10.1 points, 2.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game last season, starting 27 of 28 games. She was tied as the Gaels’ second-leading scorer.

Dalton averaged 25.5 minutes per game in her career, scoring 965 points.

“We have gotten familiar with her game over the years and she really can do a bit of everything,” Fortier said in a news release. “She shoots the ball well from the perimeter and can play multiple guard positions. Tayla is a tough defender and a perfect culture fit. I love her confidence and leadership ability and cannot wait to coach her.”

In the two regular-season games against Gonzaga, Dalton scored 17 points with three rebounds and three assists in Gonzaga’s 89-60 win and had six points and five assists in the Zags’ 96-68 victory.

Dalton is the second transfer Gonzaga added in a week. On Tuesday, Gonzaga landed 5-9 guard Ines Bettencourt from powerhouse Connecticut. Bettencourt hails from Sao Miguel, Portugal. She played two seasons at UConn and will be a junior when she enrolls at Gonzaga.

The addition of the two guards fills the spots vacated by graduate twins Kaylynne and Kayleigh Truong.

Dalton is from Auckland, New Zealand. Among her season highlights, she scored a season-high 27 points against Loyola Marymount and had six assists against Pacific.

The Zags lost three players to the transfer portal – Calli Stokes, Payton Muma and Naya Ojukwu.

Gonzaga has at least two more scholarships it can fill.