SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The No. 25 Gonzaga University women's basketball team overcame a slow start to earn a 54-44 victory over the University of San Diego Saturday afternoon at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Bulldogs improved to 17-3 on the year with the 10-point victory and are now 6-1 in West Coast Conference play. The Toreros fell to 13-5 on the year and 4-2 in league.

It was a really slow start to say the least for the Bulldogs as they scored just eight points in the first 12 minutes of the game and with 5:36 left in the opening 20 minutes was down 22-11. At that point Gonzaga was shooting just 20.8 percent from the floor, hitting 5-of-19 and turned the ball over 12 times.

"Credit San Diego's defense," stated head coach Kelly Graves moments after the victory. "They played hard, physical team defense. They swarmed our players and had us rattled."

Gonzaga started putting together its three-quarters court press, and with the aggressive play of sophomore Jazmine Redmon and freshman Keani Albanez forced San Diego to turn the ball over seven times in the final five minutes.

With the Toreros rattled, the Bulldogs put together a 12-1 run to knot the game at 23-23 going into halftime. San Diego put up just four shots down the stretch and missed all four. USD's only point came at the free throw line when Dominique Conners hit one-of-two free throws.

Five different players scored for Gonzaga during the run, with Albanez tying the game on a fast break layup.

"Our press started rolling," explained Graves of the key to his team coming back and tying the game. "I knew when we tied it at half we were going to win it."

The Zags shot just 27.0 percent (10-of-37) from the floor, including 14.3 percent (1-of-7) at the charity. After turning the ball over 12 times early, Gonzaga ended the half with only 13.

The second half was a whole different story for the Bulldogs. They shot 43.3 percent from the field, sinking 13-of-30 and took care of the ball, losing it only five times.

The Zags took their first lead of the game 2:40 into the final half on a layup by redshirt Haiden Palmer and took the lead for good on a lay-in by junior Taelor Karr at 10:24; which put the score at 36-35.

A 10-3 run by Gonzaga over the next three minutes had its advantage at eight - 46-38 - with 7:11 remaining. Palmer was crucial for the Zags scoring a layup and draining a 3-pointer.

The Bulldogs only allowed the Toreros to get the lead to six - at the 5:37 mark and the 4:59 mark, but each time they had an answer. After USD' cut it to 48-42 with 4:59 Karr answered with a pretty layup off an assist by Palmer at 4:48.

San Diego would then not score again until Conner's made a layup with time expiring and the game was out of reach. The Toreros were held to 0-of-5 shooting until Conner scored two points and turned the ball over twice.

A jumper by senior Katelan Redmon and two free throws by senior Kayla Standish ended the scoring for the Bulldogs and helped them earn the double-digit victory.

Gonzaga was led by Katelan Redmon and Palmer with 12 and 11 points, respectively. In total, eight players scored for Gonzaga.

Jazmine Redmon held Conners, USD's leading scorer to 10 points and 4-of-17 shooting. Jazmine Redmon scored six points herself, grabbed three rebounds, made three steals and had just one turnover in 25 minutes of play.

Morgan Woodrow led the Toreros with 12 points.

Gonzaga returns home to the McCarthey Athletic Center to host Loyola Marymount University Thursday, Jan. 26. Game time is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcasted on CBS College Sports.