Gonzaga's Lisa Fortier ready to coach again with cancer treatment behind her

LAS VEGAS — Her breast cancer treatment concluded, Lisa Fortier walked into Gonzaga's basketball facility last week and was greeted by balloons, streamers and her players blowing horns.

Yvonne Ejim told her coach through tears how proud she was of Fortier, saying, “I never once doubted you.”

Fortier, who found out Feb. 6 that she had cancer and underwent surgery in April, is still recovering from radiation and chemotherapy treatments. She said it takes six months to a year to get back to full strength and will be careful to pace herself this season even if that sometimes means handing off duties to her staff.

But she will coach.

“For whatever reason, my body responded pretty well. I've had decent energy, and it's not just coffee and Red Bull," Fortier said, smiling.

She was with three of her players Wednesday representing the Bulldogs at West Coast Conference basketball media days.

Gonzaga was picked to win the conference, and Fortier looked as if she was ready for the season to begin. She had a seat waiting for her at a podium, but stood and spoke with the media.

“If you didn't see her losing her hair, you wouldn't know anything different,” senior guard Esther Little said. “The way she carries herself, the way she treats people around her, she puts everyone before herself still to this day. It's inspiring. I hope one day I carry myself in the way she carries herself.”

Fortier, 43, said having cancer prompted her take a closer look at how she divides her time in a competitive profession in which the long hours are often matched by the high stress level.

She has leaned on her faith during this experience, was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support of Gonzaga fans and fellow coaches, and spent even more time with her husband, Craig, and their three children. Craig Fortier also is a Zags assistant coach.

“I've thought a lot about our industry and how it works and how we get so bogged down in winning, that you have to win at all costs and you have to recruit at all costs,” Fortier said. “I'm not saying don't work hard, but I think that's been ingrained. I think we get pulled into this rat race, and I've had time to think through our business and how to do it better.”

She enters her 11th season in charge with a 265-63 record that includes eight WCC regular-season championships and four conference tournament titles. Fortier, the six-time WCC Coach of the Year, has taken the Zags to the NCAA Tournament eight times.

It was about a month out from the conference tournament earlier this year when Fortier got the news about her health. She needed to undergo tests to determine a treatment plan. Except for two weeks in which Fortier balanced running practice with making her radiation appointments, her treatment occurred after the season.

In the meantime, Fortier guided the Bulldogs into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed. They won their first two games to advance to the Sweet 16 before losing to Texas.

And then Fortier put her energy into beating cancer.

“I would call it nothing short of inspirational,” said Ejim, the reigning WCC Player of the Year and top defender. “I just think the way she showed up every single day for herself, for us, for her family, for the other people in her life, I think it's truly amazing to see someone so dedicated, passionate and strong and brave to do something like that.”

Fortier made it a point to not keep her team in the dark as she went through her treatments.

“She really includes us in her entire process," said graduate student Maud Huijbens, the conference's top sixth woman last season. “She's so open about everything that she's gone through. Whatever questions you have, she will never turn us down. She's so honest about everything.”

Fortier finished treatment on Oct. 7 and said she is cancer free, but still have to report back every three months to meet with her doctor and have her blood drawn.

“In theory, I'm good to go,” Fortier said. “I'm going to spend time letting my body recover and then, hopefully, not look back.”