Nov. 20, 2004

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga University women's basketball turned a nine-point halftime lead into a 46 point victory during the Bulldogs Saturday night opener against Utah Valley State College. Gonzaga (1-0) held the Wolverines to 19 percent shooting in the second half as they cruised to an 87-41 victory in front of 1,644 fans at the new McCarthey Athletic Center.

Gonzaga led 33-24 at the half before outscoring Utah Valley State 87-41 in the second half. Gonzaga shot 51 percent from the field in the second 20-minutes after being held to a 32 percent clip in the first half. Anne Bailey and Delphine Lecoultre each scored eight points to lead the Bulldogs in the second half as they Bulldogs were able to take control of the pace of the game. Gonzaga's defense stepped it up in the second half limiting Utah Valley State to just 7-for-36 from the field. The Bulldogs used a determined style of play to wear down the Wolverines team as they played 12 players in the half with 11 of the players going at least seven minutes.

"I'm proud of the defensive effort our team produced tonight," said Bulldogs head coach Kelly Graves after the Bulldogs limited their opponent to under 20 percent shooting in the second half. "That was really the difference in the game. I think that is the style of play we would like to use all season, just wearing down your opponent on the defensive end of the floor."

In addition the Bulldogs strong defensive effort Gonzaga was also helped with its domination on the boards. GU held a 20 rebound advantage as the Bulldogs pulled down 56 rebounds including 25 on the offensive end. In the first half offensive boards kept Gonzaga in the lead as they pulled down 19 points to overcome a 32 percent shooting effort. Ashley Burke had five first half rebounds as she finished with a team-high nine boards. Raeanna Jewell and Ashley Anderson each pulled down four first half rebounds, Anderson finishing with eight.

Jewell was the Bulldogs offensive star in the first half as she scored 10 of her game high 14 points in the first half. Jewell led five Gonzaga players into double-figures as Shannon Mathews and Stephanie Hawk chipped in with 11 points. Burke and Bailey each added 10 as all but one Gonzaga player scored during the game.

"Their coach (Cathy Nixon) did a great job of shutting down our offense in the first half," added Graves. "She is a really good coach and had those kids playing with us in the first half. They were really able to shut down Burke and Bailey. We were finally able to break through in the second half and got some great consistency from all of our players that we ran into the game."

Utah Valley State falls to 0-2 on the season with the loss. Miriam Palkki led Utah Valley State with 11 points while Spokane native Courtney Lynn was held to two points.

Gonzaga returns to action on Friday night against Providence College in the opening round of the Airport University Inn Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico.