Gonzaga University
19-4, 7-0WCC
San Diego
12-9, 3-4WCC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | 57 | 52 | 109 |
| San Diego | 32 | 41 | 73 |
Bulldogs Stay Perfect In WCC; Defeat San Diego 109-73
1/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2009
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Junior Vivian Frieson poured in a career-high 23 points and classmate Heather Bowman added a game-high 28 to lead the Gonzaga University women's basketball team to a 109-73 victory over the University of San Diego at Jenny Craig Pavilion Saturday afternoon. The 109 points scored by the Bulldogs was just the 16th 100-plus point game in school history and the most points scored by the Zags since the 1985 campaign when GU defeated Seattle Pacific 111-84.
Gonzaga, who has won eight-straight, improved its overall record to 19-4 and their West Coast Conference leading slate to a perfect 7-0. San Diego fell to 12-9 overall, 3-4 in conference.
Frieson, whose career-high coming into the game against the Toreros was 21, hit 11-of-16 from the floor, including 1-of-1 from behind the three-point arc. The Seattle native also grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists, blocked three shots and had two steals in 33 minutes of action.
In the first half, Gonzaga jumped out to a 7-1 lead over the first 2:34 of the contest. Sophomore Janelle Bekkering, who added 19 points during the game, hit the first two baskets for the Zags; a jumper and a three-pointer, while sophomore Courtney Vandersloot hit two of her seven free throws in the game to give GU the early ladvantage.
Gonzaga, then leading 21-14 with 11:28 to go in the half, strung together a 17-0 run to take complete control of the contest and a 38-24 lead with 6:41 remaining before half. The Zags eventually built their lead to as many as 28, at 54-26 at the 2:06 mark, and settled for a 25-point half time lead at 57-32.
The Bulldogs never let the Toreros back into the game, maintaining a lead above 20 for the remainder of the game. GU's largest lead of the contest was 39 at 108-69 after Bowman drained the Zags final field goal of the game at 2:29.
Bowman paced Gonzaga with 14 points in each half. The forward was identical to Frieson from the field, hitting 11 of her 16 shot attempts. She was also a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe to secure her eighth 20-plus point contest of the season.
For the game, Gonzaga shot above 50-percent for the second-straight contest, finishing at 55.4 percent (41-of-74). San Diego hit 41.4 percent (29-of-70), after hitting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) in the second half.
The Zags dished out 19 assists for the fourth-straight contest, while the Toreros only accounted for seven. Vandersloot led the charge with a game-high 11 assists; her fifth double-figure assist contest of the year.
Sophomore Claire Rapp was the final Bulldog to score in double-figures; finishing with a career-high 13 points in 11 minutes of action.
The Toreros were led Kiva Herman and Amber Sprague, who scored 22 and 18 points, respectively.
Gonzaga returns to the friendly confines of the McCarthey Athletic Center on Sunday, Feb. 8 for a contest against the University of Portland, who is currently in sole possession of second place in the WCC with a 4-2 mark. Game time for the Zag-Pilots showdown is 1 p.m.
