MORAGA, Calif. - The No. 20/22 Gonzaga University women's basketball team toughed out a 75-70 victory over Saint Mary's College Saturday in Moraga Calif. The Bulldogs, who had lost to the Gaels 66-63 on Jan. 14 in Spokane, now hold a 19-3 overall mark and an 8-1 record in the West Coast Conference. Saint Mary's fell to 16-7 on the year with the 5-point loss and are now 7-3 in league.

The game came down to the end and it could have gone either way.

Saint Mary's battled and overcame a 15-point halftime advantage by Gonzaga to hold the lead and momentum down the stretch.

The Gaels took its first lead of the second half at 61-59 on a jumper by Alex Carbonel with 5:44 remaining. An offensive board and put back by Danielle Mauldin then gave the Gaels a four-point edge with less than five minutes left and got the crowd on their feet.

Senior Kayla Standish got to the line on the next play for Gonzaga and sank both to put SMC's lead at just two. Junior Taelor Karr then got into the action with a steal that turned into a nothing-but-net 3-pointer by the transfer from Kansas State to give Gonzaga back the lead at 64-63 at 4:01.

SMC's Jasmine Smith, not to be out done, hit a 3-pointer of her on the next play down the floor to again give the Gaels back the lead; this time a 66-64 edge with 3:44 remaining.

Gonzaga then executed masterfully in the final 2:11. Karr drained another important 3-pointer, followed by a clutch jumper in the lane by sophomore Jazmine Redmon to give the Bulldogs a 3-point advantage, 69-66, with 1:27 left.

Carbonel did make a layup at 1:04 to put the Zags edge at one but redshirt sophomore Haiden Palmer hit her third 3-pointer of the game with 42 ticks remaining to put the dagger in the Gaels with a four-point lead.

Karr sealed the victory sinking 3-of-4 at the charity stripe.

Four of the five starters finished in double-figures, with Standish leading the team with 18 points. Palmer added 16 points, six rebounds, three steals and three assists. Katelan Redmon added a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards, five of which were offensive. Karr added 13 points.

The Gaels were led by Mauldin with a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds. Smith added a game-high 20.

The first half saw 10 lead changes and two ties before Gonzaga was able to break away from Saint Mary's.

The hot shooting of Gael Smith had the home team leading 11-6 with 13:55 remaining in the first half. Smith drained back-to-back 3-pointers to give Saint Mary's its largest lead of the half. For their part, the Bulldogs were just shooting 3-of-12 at that moment, well under their average.

A quick 12-0 run by the Zags helped them overtake the lead at 18-11 with 7:40 left before half. Palmer started the spurt off hitting a 3-pointer of her own and freshman Keani Albanez came off the bench to close out the run with four-straight points.

Saint Mary's again used some long distance shooting to get back into the game. It hit 3 3-pointers over the next three minutes, which helped spark a 15-6 run and the lead, 26-24, at 4:10.

It was all Gonzaga to end the half as it strung together 17-straight points to grab a stunning 41-26 advantage. Katelan Redmon was a huge catalyst in the important moments, scoring eight points. The Gaels only got up three shots and missed all three. The Bulldogs also forced three turnovers during the final stretch.

Gonzaga returns home to the McCarthey Athletic Center to host two games this week. The Bulldogs welcomes the University of Portland on Thursday at 6 p.m. and the University of San Diego on Saturday at 2 p.m.