Gonzaga University
11-3
Wyoming
6-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| WYOMING COWGIRLS | 13 | 25 | 38 |
| GONZAGA BULLDOGS | 35 | 32 | 67 |
Women's Basketball Pounds Wyoming, 69-38
12/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2008
SPOKANE, Wash. - Junior Heather Bowman poured in a game-high 19 points to help the Gonzaga University women's basketball team defeat the University of Wyoming 67-38 at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.
The Bulldogs improved to 11-3 going into the Christmas break and the Cowgirls dropped to 6-5.
"I feel terrific about being 11-3 against the schedule we have played," stated head coach Kelly Graves.
Gonzaga held an impressive 35-13 halftime lead, holding Wyoming to just 5-for-22 shooting in the opening half and forcing the Cowgirls to turn the ball over 15 times.
"I was pleased with our defense," explained Graves after the contest. "We did a great job pressuring the ball tonight, forcing a lot of turnovers against a good team."
The Bulldogs quickly turned a six point game into a 16-point lead at 23-7 after holding the Cowgirls scoreless for 7:03. Wyoming was 0-for-6 during this span, including 0-for-2 at the charity stripe and turned the ball over four times.
Bowman finished the first half with 12 points and sophomore Janelle Bekkering added six. Sophomore Courtney Vandersloot was again the mastermind for the Zags, dishing out four assists in the opening half.
The Bulldogs, who had nine players score in the victory, were able to hold their lead above 20 points for the entire second half.
Gonzaga largest lead of the contest was 32 and came with 1:10 remaining in the contest when sophomore Claire Raap made a layup, off an assist by junior Vivian Frieson, to put the score at 66-34.
Bowman added seven rebounds, one assist and two steals to her 19 points and led three GU players in double-figures.
Bekkering and Frieson both came off the bench to score 11 and 10 points, respectively. Bekkering also had four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block, while Frieson grabbed six boards, dished out one assist and blocked one shot.
Vandersloot finished the game with nine assists and now has 275 career assists to rank eighth in the GU career record book. An impressive feat for Vandersloot, seeing she has only played a season and a half.
Gonzaga out-shot Wyoming 33.3 to 26.8, and held a slight 49-45 rebounding advantage. The Zags forced the Cowgirls to turn the ball over 24 times and scored 17 points off those turnovers. The Bulldogs were impressive at the free throw line, sinking 21-of-28.
Megan McGruffey led Wyoming with 17 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Gonzaga will be back in action on Dec. 30 when it welcomes No. 8 University of Tennessee to the McCarthey Athletic Center. Game time is set for 5 p.m.
