Karlie Burris

SPOKANE, Wash. --- The Gonzaga Bulldogs outscored the Portland Pilots by 17 in the second half en route to a 76-50 victory in a West Coast Conference women’s basketball game on a snowy Saturday afternoon at the McCarthey Center. Junior Karlie Burris scored a team-high 10 points for the Pilots.

The 50-points are a season-low for Portland, which drops to 12-8 overall on the season and to 2-3 in the WCC. The first-place Bulldogs improve to 14-6 and a perfect 5-0 in the conference.

After leading by just 29-20 at the half, the Bulldogs came out in the second half on fire from the field. GU outscored Portland 24-13 during the first 12 minutes of the stanza to take a commanding 53-33 lead with 8:54 showing on the clock.

Moments earlier, Portland pulled within 11 after a big three-pointer by Burris. But the Bulldogs responded by scored nine unanswered points to claim the 20-point advantage. UP freshman Tara Cronin ended the UP drought with a three from the top of the key.

The lead would grow from there as Gonzaga eased to the victory.

Portland shot a frigid 32 percent from the floor. Burris and junior Jennifer Wassom combined to shoot eight of 11 on the day, but the rest of the team was just 13-for-55. The Pilots did hit six three pointers.

Wassom scored a season-high nine points, while Spokane, Wash., native and freshman guard Tara Cronin chipped in eight off the bench. Junior forward Allyson Sievers was Portland’s top rebounder with seven boards.

Gonzaga went to the free throw line 15 more time than the Pilots, finishing 14-for-22. The Pilots, who entered the game as the 13th-best free throw shooting team in the country, hit just two of seven from the line.

All five Bulldog starters scored in double figures, led by sophomore Heather Bowman with 18. Bowman also had a game-high eight rebounds, as the Bulldogs outrebounded the Pilots 45-37.

GU owned the lane, posting a 34-20 advantage in points in the paint. Gonzaga shot 48 percent (29-for-60) overall. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 18 times, which led to 12 UP points. GU turned 17 Portland turnovers into 18 points and had 22 second chance points to the Pilots’ 12.

Gonzaga scored the game’s first nine points before the Pilots got on the scoreboard. Sophomore Kendra Morris hit a three-pointer from the left corner to end the scoring drought. But the Bulldogs responded by scoring six unanswered to take a 15-3 lead five minutes in.

Moments later, back-to-back jumpers by Bjorklund gave GU its biggest lead of the half at 25-9. Portland then peeled off ten straight points to make it a six-point game. Burris and Wassom each hit a three during the spurt to pull Portland within 25-19 with about five minutes left in the half. Gonzaga would settle with the nine-point lead at the break.