March 6, 2004

Box Score

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Gonzaga University women's basketball team earned its birth into the championship game of the West Coast Conference Tournament after an overtime 66-64 victory over Pepperdine University on Saturday afternoon. The win broke a nine-year losing streak for the Bulldogs in WCC tournament play, with the last win during the 1994 season. Gonzaga will take on Loyola Marymount University in the championships game on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

Gonzaga (18-10, 10-4 WCC) featured three players with double-doubles including Ashley Burke with 22 points, 12 rebounds, Raeanna Jewell with 15-13 and Ashley Anderson with 10-10. Anne Bailey scored in double figures for the Bulldogs with 12.

"I'll give these two (Burke and Jewell) a lot of credit. These are two emotional leaders, especially on the defensive end. I can say that Rae and Ashley are as good of team defenders as I have ever coached. That's the kind of stuff that people don't really notice and these two did a heck of a job," said head coach Kelly Graves.

Pepperdine (17-12, 10-4 WCC) was led by Nicole Funn with 22 points, 12 rebounds, followed by Shanelle Law with 18 points.

Both teams started strong, pacing each other through the first six minutes, but Burke put in a layup with 13:25 on the clock to start a 10-0 run for the Bulldogs to go up by seven, 22-15. Law had a layin for Pepperdine before a drought over three minutes without any points scored in the game. Funn ended the drought with a jump shot for the Waves, but the Bulldogs took over with an 13-2 run for a 12-point lead to end the half, 37-25.

Gonzaga ended the first half shooting 39.3 percent (11-for-28) from the field and went a perfect 12-for-12 from the line with 20 rebounds. Pepperdine went 37.9 percent from the field (11-for-29) with 15 rebounds. Burke led the offense for Gonzaga, scoring 10 points within the first 10:00 of the game and ended the first half leading the game with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Jewell had eight points and Bailey had seven.

Bailey came out in the second half with a 3-pointer in the first minute of play for the Bulldogs. Gonzaga built as much as a 15-point lead with 17:00 on the clock, but Pepperdine was able to cut the lead to eight points at 47-39 before another 3:00 lapse in scoring by either team. Burke ended the lapse with 1-of-2 free throws, but the Waves fought back with an 11-4 run to bring the game within two points at 52-50.

Pepperdine continued to keep pace, and took its first lead of the second half at 61-60 with a 3-pointer by Law with 1:00 on the clock. Mathews missed her 3-point attempt for the lead, but Bailey grabbed a steal on the next Pepperdine possession. Jennifer Lacy chased after Bailey, drawing her fifth personal foul. Bailey missed her first free throw and drew her fifth personal foul on a rebound attempt. Kelly Greathouse made her first free throw attempt, but missed her second for a 62-60 score. Gonzaga took a timeout with 0:06 left, then sent Burke inside for the game-tying layin at the buzzer.

"I just tried to get it up there," said Burke.

The Waves started with a quick jumper, but Burke sank her next three free throws to take the one-point lead, 65-64. Both teams missed a combined nine shots, bringing the clock to 12.9 seconds. Shandrika Lee couldn't hold onto the ball for the Waves, and brought Katy Ridenour to the line with 4.4 seconds on the clock. Ridenour missed her first free throw, but made the second for a two-point lead. Gonzaga held on as Lee threw up a 3-pointer and missed for the Bulldog victory.

"I thought he (Head Coach Mark Trakh) did a nice job of changing the tempo. They started picking us up. We had open looks but we were taking those quick shots that we may not have wanted, and it's okay if you're making those, but when you're struggling a bit, those aren't the ones you want to take," said Graves.

Gonzaga went 34.9 percent (22-for-63) from the field with 48 rebounds. Pepperdine shot 37.9 percent (23-for-68) from the field, going 85.7 percent (12-for-14) from the line.

"We're really excited to be in the championship tomorrow and it's going to be a battle with Loyola, there's no question," said Graves.

The Bulldogs will take on Loyola Marymount on Sunday, March 7 at 1 p.m. The game will be televised on FOX Sports Northwest at 7 p.m.