Nov. 6, 2004
Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga University women's basketball team opened with a 15-4 run over the first four minutes of action on Saturday night as the Bulldogs polished off Lewis-Clark State College, 96-36, in exhibition basketball at the new McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs dominated every facet of the game shooting 56 percent from the floor while holding the Warriors to a meager 26 percent shooting clip.
Senior Ashley Burke and sophomore Stephanie Hawk each poured in 16 points as all 13 Gonzaga players scored in the win. Burke opened the contest with 10 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting. Burke would only play nine minutes in the second half as head coach Kelly Graves spread out the playing time in the blowout.
"It was great to see everyone get into the game tonight" stated Graves after his team's 60-point victory. "Everyone was able to break into the scoring column and it really showed our coaching staff what type of depth this team is going to have this season."
Depth was the something the Bulldogs definitely showed as only freshman Sarah Schramm played fewer than ten minutes in the game. Schramm played eight minutes with four points and one of Gonzaga's six blocks on the night. Hawk's 16-point performance came on 6-of-8 shooting including one 3-pointer and a 3-for-3 effort from the charity stripe. Fellow sophomore Katy Ridenour rounded out the Bulldogs double-digit performers with 11 points.
Gonzaga's played an up tempo defense that forced 22 L-C State turnovers and limited the Warriors to only 18 points in each half. Ashley Baker, the Warriors top scorer coming into the night, was limited to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting while Nikki Haerling also contributed eight points to lead L-C State. The Warriors closed the Bulldogs margin to 23-10 with just under 12-minutes remaining in the first-half before GU ran off 19-0 run put the game away for good.
The Bulldogs finished the game with a 46-26 rebound margin with Burke leading all players with eight. Shannon Mathews passed out six assists as the Bulldogs finished with 29 assists.
The game marked the opening of the new 6,000 seat McCarthey Athletic Center for the women's team as 874 people watched the win. Gonzaga will play its regular-season opener at home in two weeks when the Bulldogs host Utah Valley State College on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
"I think we had a great crowd for tonight's game," added Graves. "This was a good way for our team to start in this new facility and I hope the crowd was pleased with our performance on the court. Hopefully as we continue to play this season support from the fans will continue to grow."
