Dec. 21, 2010

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga University women's basketball team turned a seven point halftime lead over Brigham Young University into a 27-point victory, outscoring the Cougars 47-27 in the second half for the 91-64 win Tuesday evening at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs improved to 9-3 overall and have now won seven-straight, while the Cougars, who had a five-game winning streak snapped, dropped to 8-4 on the year.

"I was really, really excited about how well we executed offensively all night long but in particularly the first 6-8 minutes of that second half," stated head coach Kelly Graves." I thought when we made a call, they ran it and they executed it well. We took advantage on some mismatched opportunities. It warmed my heart as a coach."

Gonzaga, who held the lead for all but 16 seconds of the contest, used an astounding 25-5 run over the first 8:38 of the second half to break open what was a close game throughout the first half.

The Cougars scored the first bucket of the final half, a jumper by Coriann Fraughton, who hails from Basin City, Wash., but would only hit one of their next eight shot attempts and turned the ball over seven times. The Bulldogs themselves hit 11-of-20 from the field during the crucial run, with four players scoring, including junior Kayla Standish and junior Katelan Redmon who both had six a piece.

"I think where the difference in the second half was made was on the defensive end," explained Graves. "We turned BYU over a few times in the second half and we got out and ran. It seemed we played with a little bit more energy in the first 6-7 minutes defensively than we did any time in the first half."

Gonzaga's largest lead of the game was 30 points at 87-57 with 4:57 remaining in the game.

In the close first half - that saw four ties and Gonzaga's largest lead being the seven-point halftime edge after Redmon sank a 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining - it was Standish who shined for GU. The forward from Ellensburg, Wash., scored 16 of her game-high 22 points in the first half, hitting 6-of-9 from the floor and sinking all four free throw attempts. Standish didn't miss a shot until the 3:36 mark, having nailed her first five field goals and four free throws before her 3-pointer was off the mark.

Besides Standish, who also had a game-high seven rebounds, along with three assists, three steals and two blocks, three other Bulldogs scored in double-figures. Redmon added 20 points and senior Janelle Bekkering and junior Kelly Bowen each tallied 14 points.

The Bulldogs forced the Cougars to turn the ball over 21 times in the game, a season-high for them and nearly seven more turnovers than they were averaging coming in. GU capitalized, scoring 22 points off of the miscues. On the flip side, Gonzaga only turned the ball over a season-low six times against Brigham Young's defense, which was forcing opponents to turn it over 21 times a contest.

BYU, who will join the West Coast Conference next season, was led by Fraughton with 16 points. Mindy Bonham added 15 points, six assists, five rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

Gonzaga focuses its attention on Cal State Fullerton, who it hosts Thursday. The Bulldogs versus Titans matchup is set for a Noon tip.