Gonzaga University
12-4
Southern Utah
9-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS | 36 | 25 | 61 |
| GONZAGA BULLDOGS | 63 | 39 | 102 |
Women's Basketball Defeats Southern Utah 102-61
1/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2011
SPOKANE, Wash. - Five players scored in double-figures for the Gonzaga University women's basketball team to lead the Bulldogs to a 102-61 victory over visiting Southern Utah University Monday evening at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Senior Courtney Vandersloot and junior Katelan Redmon were the top performers, each registering a double-double. Vandersloot had a game-high 20 points, along with 12 assists, while Redmon added 16 points and a game-high 10 boards.
Gonzaga, playing in its last regular season non-conference game of the season, improved to 12-4 with the win, while Southern Utah fell to 9-6 and had its seven-game winning streak snapped.
"I thought we played really well offensively," stated Zag head coach Kelly Graves after the contest. "Southern Utah had won seven in a row coming into this game. They're playing with a lot of confidence and had a nice home sweep against the top two teams in the conference. I just think we had a better game. This game gave us a little confidence and got everybody a chance to play."
The Bulldogs broke the 100-point plateau for a school record fourth time this season with the 102 point performance. They also defeated Whitman College 114-40, Eastern Washington University 101-74 and Cal State Fullerton 101-52. The previous 100-plus point game record in a single-season was three hit during the 2008-09 campaign.
The game also featured the return of JR Payne, in her second year at the helm of Southern Utah and former assistant coach of the Bulldogs. Payne, who was a player under Graves at Saint Mary's College and went to the NCAA Tournament as a senior in 1999 in the Gaels' first appearance, was on Coach Graves' staff for his first five seasons at Gonzaga.
"I'm really proud of JR," explained Graves. "She's got a good team. We played well tonight but she's got a really good team and is having a great season. I couldn't be happier for her success."
The game was never in doubt for Gonzaga as it built a double-digit lead five minutes into the contest. The Thunderbirds played tough; keeping the Bulldogs lead in the low teens but in the final 8:37 of the first half Gonzaga outscored Southern Utah 28-14 and went into the locker room up 63-36.
The 63 points scored in the first half by the Zags ties a season-high scoring output in a half. Gonzaga also scored 63 points in the first half of its 74-point victory over Whitman College, Nov. 14.
GU hit 80 points six minutes into the second half on a layup by Redmon; broke 90 points at the 8:14 mark on a jumper by freshman Stephanie Golden and finally pushed above the 100 point mark on a 3-pointer by senior Carter Schick with 24 seconds left in the contest.
Gonzaga's largest lead of the game was 45 points at 90-45.
The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 55.7 percent (44-of-79) from the floor, including 44.4 percent (8-of-18) on 3-pointers, and was 66.7 percent (6-of-9) at the charity stripe. They outrebounded the Thunderbirds 53-29, scored 32 points on second chance opportunities and had 17 points off of SUU's 15 turnovers.
Besides Vandersloot and Redmon, who combined to hit 15-of-21 from the field, the Zags were led by senior Janelle Bekkering, junior Kayla Standish and sophomore Meghan Winters. Bekkering finished with 18 points, Standish, the reigning WCC Co-Player of the Week, chipped in 13 and had eight rebounds, while Winters finished with 10 points.
Southern Utah was led by Challis Pascucci and Desiree Jackson who had 18 and 14 points, respectively.
Gonzaga now focuses its attention on West Coast Conference play. The Bulldogs, who are looking to capture its seventh-straight WCC title, open league action at the University of Portland Saturday. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
"We'll take tomorrow off and then really kind of have to change our mindset and get ready for conference," said Graves. "Obviously we're the team that everybody wants to beat. They get up to play us and Portland is a good basketball team so I expect them to come out and really play hard and challenge us. They play us very well down there each and every year."
