Zags pick Up 57-42 win at San Diego

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The #17/16 Gonzaga women’s basketball team defeated San Diego 57-42 inside Jenny Craig Pavilion Saturday afternoon in San Diego. Gonzaga extended its win streak to 12 games and improve to 14-1 on the season.

Gonzaga (14-1, 3-0 WCC) finished with three players in double-figures, led by Jessie Loera with 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Jill Townsend added 11 points and seven boards while Jenn Wirth chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Bulldogs shot 46.5 percent from the floor, hitting 20-of-43 attempts while limiting San Diego (8-7, 2-2 WCC) to 34.6 percent from the field. The Zags dominated the glass with a 40-17 advantage, and outscored the Toreros 26-18 in the paint. USD forced a season-high 23 turnovers on the Zags, scoring 15 points off turnovers while GU scored eight points off 12 forced turnovers on the Toreros.

Gonzaga opened the game with a 3-0 run and led by as many as six points in the first quarter, but USD ended the quarter on a 6-2 run to cut the lead to two (12-10) heading into the second period. The Bulldogs outscored the Toreros 15-6 in the second quarter, limiting USD to 23.1 percent shooting. The Zags held a 27-16 advantage at the half.

Gonzaga held a double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half, leading by as many as 18 points following a jumper from Townsend at the 7:52 mark of the fourth quarter. San Diego twice cut the lead to 12 points in the final four minutes, but a trey from Katie Campbell with 20 seconds remaining sealed the 57-42 victory.

“This was a great way to end a really tough road trip,” head coach Lisa Fortier said. “We were able to overcome a high turnover number with a huge effort on the glass. We stayed focused on our defensive assignments and for the most part did a good job executing the defensive game plan.”

San Diego was led in scoring by Madison Pollock with 11 points and four rebounds while Sydney Hunter added 10 points and two steals.

Gonzaga returns to Spokane for WCC games next week, hosting Saint Mary’s on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m., inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Lisa Fortier Show also returns this month, with shows every Monday at 7 p.m., at EPIC inside Northern Quest Resort & Casino.

Gonzaga Athletics