Box Score
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Gonzaga Bulldogs opened up a big lead in the second half before cruising to an 81-55 victory over the Portland Pilots in a West Coast Conference women’s basketball game at the Chiles Center on Saturday afternoon. Lauren Angel led the Pilots with 18 points.
It’s the fourth straight loss for Portland, which falls to 9-7 overall and opens play in the WCC at 0-1. Gonzaga improves to 13-4 (1-0 WCC).
The game started off well for the Pilots, who scored the afternoon’s first field goal courtesy a baseline jumper by senior Jessica Clemens. The Zags responded with a three-pointer by Kelly Bowen to give GU a lead it would enjoy the rest of the way.
The Gonzaga lead was only one moments later after Angel connected from the floor, and the Pilots trailed only 16-11 when Natalie Day hit a jumper from the foul line with 9:55 left in the first half. But that’s when the Gonzaga offense began to click, allowing the Bulldogs to end the half on a daunting 26-10 run. GU entered the locker room with a 42-21 lead.
It was more of the same after the break as the Gonzaga lead would swell to 39 points. The Pilots were able to close the gap down the stretch with a steady dose of free throws and an aggressive Alexis Byrd, who scored 12 points in the second half.
Angel mixed some inside moves with a mid-range jumper en route to her team high in points. The senior post shot nine of 15 overall.
Byrd had a solid day off of the bench, registering a career-high 13 points. She was 4-for-7 from the field and connected on five free throws.
Gonzaga’s Courtney Vandersloot hit all ten of her free throws and finished with a game-high 22 points. Kayla Standish tallied a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Katelan Redmon also reached double figures with 16 points.
The Pilots never seemed to find their rhythm on offense and shot a chilly 31 percent (18-for-58). UP went 19 of 25 at the foul line and finished without a three-pointer for the first time this season. One bright spot for UP was 16 assists on its 18 field goals. Junior ReZina TecleMariam handed out a team-high six assists.
Gonzaga finished 30 of 65 (56.2 percent) from the field, hit two three-pointers and went 19-for-24 from the line.
The Bulldogs held a 44-35 edge in rebounds, while UP claimed a 42-10 advantage in bench points. Clemens was Portland’s top rebounder with six. Both teams were hurt by turnovers, with Portland finishing with 23 and Gonzaga countering with 22.
The Pilots next travel to Southern California for a pair of WCC games next week. Portland is set to play LMU at 7:00 p.m. in Los Angeles on Thursday night before taking on Pepperdine in Malibu on Saturday. Tip-off between the Pilots and Waves is 2:00 p.m.
