Feb. 7, 2008

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Gonzaga University women's basketball squad had its eight-game winning streak snapped Thursday evening when Loyola Marymount University upset the first-place Bulldogs 75-60 in a West Coast Conference match-up at the Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles.

The Zags (16-7, 7-1 WCC) lost their first WCC game of the season and first regular-season conference match in 14 games. The loss is also only the fifth WCC loss in nearly three and a half seasons for the Bulldogs and the first to the Lions in six games. The last time Loyola Marymount (13-10, 5-3 WCC) earned a victory over Gonzaga was on Jan. 14, 2006 when it earned a 75-46 decision.

The Bulldogs were unable to hold on to their 10-point halftime lead as the Lions came out of the locker room on fire using a 15-5 run to knot the game at 45-45 with 14:35 left. Amanda DeCoud then sank her second of two free throws to give Loyola Marymount its first lead of the contest at 46-45.

The Lions continued to steamroll past the Bulldogs and built a 62-51 lead at the 6:50 mark. Gonzaga cut Loyola Marymount's lead to eight twice in the final 4:30 of the contest but the Lions used free throws down the stretch, sinking 7-of-10, to secure the double-digit victory.

The game was a tale of two halves for Gonzaga. The Bulldogs went into the halftime with a 40-30 advantage by hitting 43.9% (18-41) from the field and all four of their free throw opportunities. The Zags held the demanding 28-18 rebounding advantage, including the 11-6 edge in offensive boards. Sophomore Heather Bowman nearly had a double-double at the end of the first stanza scoring 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds; five of which were offensive.

The Zags were then limited to just 20 points in the second half by hitting only 8-of-24 (33.3%) from the floor and only 4-of-10 (40.0%) from the charity stripe. Loyola Marymount won the battle of the boards in the second half 22-14 and 7-4 on the offensive end. Bowman was shut down in the final half, only getting two shots off and converting on one of them.

Bowman finished the contest with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, along with four assists, two blocks and two steals. Freshman Courtney Vandersloot added 10 points, but only dished out two assists.

Gonzaga, who came into the game hitting about six three-pointers a game, did not hit a three-pointer in the contest. Senior Michelle Elliott, who is leading the squad in three-point attempts at 4.4 per game, did not get a single three-pointer off in the setback.

Loyola Marymount was paced to victory by Jenna Sybesma and DeCoud who scored 20 and 19 points, respectively.

The Bulldogs will look to get back on the winning track Saturday, Feb. 9 when they play at Pepperdine University. Game time is set for 2 p.m.