Gonzaga University
8-3
South Dakota St.
10-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS | 36 | 42 | 78 |
| GONZAGA BULLDOGS | 30 | 34 | 64 |
Bulldogs Stumble At Home Against South Dakota State
12/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2008
SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University women's basketball and South Dakota State University both came into the contest Friday as teams knocking on the Top-25 poll. The Jackrabbits (10-1) ultimately won the battle of the top tiers by the score of 78-64 in front of 2,118 at the McCarthey Athletic Center Friday evening. The loss for the Bulldogs is their second-straight and they now hold an 8-3 overall record on the season.
It was South Dakota State's accuracy from behind the three-point arc and its hustle on the boards that put the dagger into the coffin for Gonzaga. The Jackrabbits drained 14-of-28 three-pointers in the contest, seven in each half, for 50.0 percent and held a 12 rebound advantage at 50-38.
It seemed whenever Gonzaga looked to close the gap on South Dakota State, the Jackrabbits would find the open player to hit that crucial three-pointer. Jill Young hit a three-pointer at the 4:40 mark in the first half to give SDSU its largest lead of the half at 34-26 and hit another mid-way through the second half to squash a Bulldogs run and put the Jackrabbits lead at 10, 66-56.
The biggest blow came in the final minutes of the contest when Kristin Rotert hit a three-pointer with the shot clock running down to put the game seemingly out of reach at 72-62 with a little over a minute left.
Prior to Rotert's three-pointer, it seemed Gonzaga was destined to make a comeback.
After Young made it 66-56 with her sixth three-pointer of the night, Heather Bowman made a layup and hit two free throws, and Courtney Vandersloot drove the lane and hit a short jumper to pull the Bulldogs within four at 66-62 with 3:20 remaining. The Zags had two opportunities to make it a two point game, but Vandersloot and Janelle Bekkering both missed jumpers on consecutive times down the floor.
SDSU's Maria Boever finally converted an old fashion three-point play after Vivian Frieson fouled her down low and then Rotert hit her crucial three-pointer to seal the Jackrabbit victory.
Gonzaga had started the game out on fire, running out to a 12-3 advantage five minutes into the contest. The Bulldogs forced the Jackrabbits to turn the ball over six of their 26 times times in the early going and allowed them to get only four shots off.
South Dakota State, who came into the contest riding a five-game winning streak, settled down and slowly started to gain confidence though and used a 26-10 run to take the lead at 29-23 and then went into halftime up six, 36-30.
Bowman led all players in the contest, finishing with a double-double of 29 points and 13 rebounds. Bowman, who was three points off her career-high and registered her fourth double-double of the season, also had two steals in 36 minutes of play. Vandersloot, playing in only her second game back since spraining her ankle, added and all around game of nine points, eight assists, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Gonzaga finished the game shooting 33.8 percent (24-71) from the field, including just 28.6 percent (2-7) on three-pointers and hit 73.7 (14-19) percent at the charity stripe.
Young led the Jackrabbits with a career-high 25 points, hitting 7-of-12 from the field, 6-of-9 three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws. Rotert and Stacie Oistad both added 10. South Dakota State was 38.7 percent (24-62) from the field and 84.2 percent (13-19) from the free throw line.
