Jan. 29, 2006

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University senior Ashley Anderson collected her fifth double-double in seven West Coast Conference games this season as the Bulldogs (10-12, 5-2 WCC) ended the first half of the conference season with a 67-60 win over the University of Portland (4-16, 1-6 WCC). Anderson finished with a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Bulldogs held off a late Portland rally despite shooting a mere 55 percent from the free throw line.

The Pilots scored the first five points of the game with Whitney Grant hitting a jumper and Rose Sauer adding a 3-pointer. Gonzaga scored the next seven points on two Anderson lay-ups and a Katy Ridenour 3-pointer. Following a 10-10 tie at the 13:47 mark, Gonzaga scored 13 of the next 16 points to pull ahead to a comfortable lead. Anderson added a jumper at 5:32 to give the Bulldogs an 11 point cushion and another jumper with seven-seconds remaining to give Gonzaga a 35-23 halftime lead. Anderson had 13 first half points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Gonzaga continued to expand upon its lead in the second half as the Bulldogs pushed their margin out to 17 points on two different occasions. Both times it was Anderson converting at the free throw line for GU. The free throw line would become an Achilles heel for Gonzaga down the stretch as they hit only 14-of-26 from the charity stripe in the second half. Portland was able to take advantage of several GU misses in the last three minutes as a Grant 3-pointer trimmed the lead to 11 points with 2:44 left. Gonzaga would hit only 2-of-4 from the free throw line on their next three possessions as Grant hit another jumper to close the margin to 66-58 with 1:32 left. The Bulldogs were able to use the remaining clock and Grant hit a jumper with four-seconds remaining for the final score.

GU head coach Kelly Graves was pleased with were the Bulldogs stand following the first half of league play. "I'm really glad we are 5-2 in league. We have been playing really well at home this season and with the league tournament in Spokane, we might have a shot at post-season."

Anderson finished hitting 7-of-11 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free throw line for her 24 points. Jami Bjorklund added 12 points and Stephanie Hawk 11 for the Bulldogs. Grant led all players with 25 points shooting 8-for-19 from the floor including 4-for-9 from 3-point range. Meagan Bermingham added 13 and Rose Sauer 11 for the Pilots.

In conjuction with the women's game the Gonzaga Student-Athletic Advisory Committee teamed up with Page Ahead for a book drive for children in the Spokane area. Fans donated more than 1,350 books to cause as a season-high crowd of 2,582 watched the Bulldogs win.