Jan. 14, 2000

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Sophomore Jessica Malone?s career-high 27 points help lead Gonzaga University?s women?s basketball team to a 76-71 victory in its West Coast Conference opener against the University of San Francisco on Friday night.

The victory marks the first time that Gonzaga has beaten USF in San Francisco since the 1988-89 season and improves the Bulldogs record to 8-6, 1-0 while the Dons drop to 7-7, 0-1.

The Zags defensive pressure rattled the Lady Dons throughout the game and caused 18 first half turnovers but Gonzaga still trailed 41-33 at the break.

In the second half the Zags slowly chipped away at the Dons lead and with just under nine minutes remaining Carmel Lampson?s seven foot jumper of the glass started a 6-0 Bulldog run that tied the score 57-57. USF senior Sarah Wanless converted on a three-point play to give the Dons their final lead of the game at 60-57. Malone answered for the Zags and knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the score and then after exchanging turnovers Malone found freshman Nathalie Chevallay under the basket for a left handed lay-in that made the score 62-60 and the Zags never relinquished the lead again.

Malone, the Zags sharp-shooting forward, connected on 9-of-17 shots from the field including 5-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc and dished out a game-high six assists. Malone reached double figures in scoring for the tenth consecutive contest. Senior post Sydney Perno was the only other Bulldog to score in double figures with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting. The 6-1 post also collected a team-high seven rebounds. All 12 Bulldogs who made the trip to San Francisco saw playing time and each scored.

USF?s balanced attack saw five players reach double figures for scoring with Wanless? 13 points leading the way. Forward Carey Sauer finished the night with a game-high nine rebounds to go along with 10 points.

The Zags hit a scorching 55.2 percent of their shots in the second half and finished the game with a 44.6 percentage from the field while the Dons hit 46.9 percent of their shots on the night.

The Dons out-rebounded the Zags 26-14 in the first half and 39-31 in the game.

Gonzaga will continue its Bay Area road trip Saturday when they visit WCC foe Santa Clara University. Game time is set for 7 p.m.