Dec. 3, 1999

Box Score

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Gonzaga University?s women?s basketball team lost a heartbreaker to American University 65-64 in overtime during the first round of the Southwest Airlines Lobo Classic on Friday night.

With the score tied at 62-62 Gonzaga?s Melanie Tipps nailed two free throws with 15 seconds left in overtime to give the Bulldogs a 64-62 lead. American University launched a shot from the baseline that trickled off the front of the rim and was pulled down by the Eagles Jamie Dowd who was tied up by Tipps. American had control of the possession arrow and in-bounded the ball with 3-seconds left to guard Kate Miller who launched a three-pointer from the right-hand side of the court that banked off the glass and went down as time expired. The Bulldogs took a commanding 28-18 lead into the locker-room at half-time but the Eagles slowly mounted a comeback in the second half behind Miller?s 18 points and eventually tied the game at 41-41 with 6:36 left in the half. The score see-sawed back and forth until Jessica Waltz was fouled driving to the bucket and stepped to the foul line to calmly sink a pair of free throws and give the Zags a 57-56 lead with 46 seconds left on the clock. After an American turnover the Zags brought the ball down the floor and forward Jessica Malone was fouled. Malone, who led the Bulldogs with 17 points, converted two free throws to give Gonzaga a 59-56 lead with just 20 seconds remaining. As time ticked away America?s Maria Werries hit a fade away three-pointer to send the game into overtime. The Bulldogs did get up two last second shot attempts but each fell short as time expired.

Malone led the Bulldogs with a game-high eight rebounds and teammate Sydney Perno was the only other Zag to score in double figures with 13 points before fouling out with 3:45 left in the second half.

Miller, the Eagles high-scoring junior guard, was held to just two points in the first half but finished the night with a game-high 22 points including the game winner.

As a team the Bulldogs shot just 26 percent from the field while American connected on 36 percent of its shots.

The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Eagles 53-49.

Gonzaga (2-3) will return to action on Saturday at 4 p.m. when they face Texas Southern University (0-5) in the consolation final. The University of New Mexico (3-2) and American (4-1) will play at 6 p.m. for the championship.

GONZAGA (64)
Jessica Waltz 1-3 3-4 5, Holly Bruno 3-15 0-0 8, Jessica Malone 5-19 5-7 17, Kristen Deal 3-6 2-4 8, Sydney Perno 5-8 3-7 13, Celeste Quitiquit 0-0 0-2 0, Casey Correa 0-1 0-0 0, Erin Bergman 0-4 4-4 4, Nathalie Chevally 0-0 1-2 1, Tennille Jeffries 1-7 0-0 2, Melanie Tipps 0-7 6-7 6.

AMERICAN (65)
Irwin 2-5, 0-0, 4, Steinman 1-4 0-1 2, Lewis 2-5 4-5 8, Miller 7-23 7-8 22, Morris 4-9 0-0 9, Brady 2-3 3-3 7, Brooks 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Marolla 2-8 0-0 6, Werries 2-3 2-3 7, Stine 0-0 0-0 0, Widman 0-0 0-0 0, Dowd 0-0 0-0 0.
Halftime ? Gonzaga 28, AU 18. 3-point field goals ? Gonzaga 4-22 (Malone 2-10, Waltz 0-1, Bruno 2-9, Jeffries 0-2), AU 5-15 (Miller 1-3, Morris 1-4, Marolla 2-7, Werries 1-1). Rebounds ? Gonzaga 53 (Malone 8), AU 49 (Irwin 8). Fouls ? Gonzaga 24, AU 28. Fouled out ? Gonzaga ( Perno, Deal), AU (Irwin, Lewis). Assists ? Gonzaga 12 (Malone 4), AU 13 (Miller 6). Turnovers ? Gonzaga 19 (Bruno 5), AU 26 (Lewis 8). Blocked shots ? Gonzaga 2 (Malone, Jeffries), AU 4 (Irwin, Steinman, Werries, Stine). Steals ? Gonzaga 9 (Malone 3), AU 9 (Lewis, Werries 2 each).