Nov. 20, 2005

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga University women's basketball team pushed its record to 15-0 in the McCarthey Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon but it was not a pretty victory as the Bulldogs (1-1) escaped with a 54-51 over Eastern Washington University (1-2) win as both teams shot less than 40 percent for the game.

After watching the lead change hands three times in the final 1:21, senior Ashley Anderson hit a jumper from the right baseline to give the Bulldogs their final lead of the contest. Anderson drained her jumper with 32 seconds remaining to give her 19 points for the game including a 7-for-8 effort from the floor. Gonzaga forced a turnover on the next Eastern Washington possession and Katy Ridenour iced the game with two free throws with 14 seconds left. Julie Page missed a 3-pointer off with time running out for the Eagles.

Ridenour's two made free throws were a highlight for the Bulldogs as they shot only 62 percent from the line for night including 19-for-27 in the second half. Ridenour hit 7-for-9 from the line to finish with 7 points while Stephanie Hawk was 8-for-11 to finish with 10 points. EWU only went to the line 15 times hitting 11 for a 73 percent clip. Joanna Chadd connected on 7-for-9 including four straight around the five minute mark which gave the Eagles a late three point cushion.

"Eastern came out to play today and I was really impressed with them," said Bulldogs head coach Kelly Graves. "They played well but I'm proud of our team for showing some composure and making plays down the stretch. Ashley (Anderson) was amazing for us in the low post and made a great game winning shot near the end."

The battle down low was even as both teams finished with 16 points in the paint. Eastern Washington did receive a huge boost from its bench as the Eagles out scored Gonzaga 44-8 in bench points. Chadd came off the bench to lead all players with 21 while Page added 16 for EWU off the bench. Katie Prichard and Dominique Harris were the Bulldogs top bench producers with each player picking up 3 points.

"Typically we have an advantage inside and can pick up more points than our opponent," Graves added on the battle inside. "Tonight that was not the case. They played us very physical and it showed as our post players did not score like they normally do."

Both teams struggled to find any offense in the early going as the Eagles took a 20-18 lead into the half. Gonzaga missed five of seven free throws over the final two minutes of the opening half while Chadd was able to score five points of her own on a lay-up and 3-pointer.

Gonzaga fell behind by as many as 10 points in second half before making a late charge. Page hit one of two free throws at 9:22 to give EWU a 39-29 lead. Sasha Polishchuck nailed a 3-pointer at 8:49 as Gonzaga chipped away at the lead for the next two minutes. Anderson scored a three-point play with 6:13 left to tie the game at 41-41.

Page pushed the Eagles advantage back to five with a lay-up at the 2:51 mark before Gonzaga scored 10 of the remaining 12 points to defeat EWU for the second straight year.

Gonzaga will now travel to the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands for three games against the top teams in the country. Gonzaga opens play on Thursday against No. 14 Maryland before facing No. 1 Tennessee and No. 11 Michigan State to close out the tournament. Thursday's game against Maryland will be broadcast on FSN Northwest at 3 p.m. PST.