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SPOKANE, Wash. - It is safe to say Lisa Fortier will not forget her first victory as the head coach for Gonzaga University women's basketball. The Zags rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to beat No. 22 Dayton University, 75-65, to open the 2014-15 regular season Sunday.
In front of nearly a sellout crowd, the Bulldogs (1-0) made two of their 12 three-pointers in the first half, and trailed 33-22 at halftime. They responded with 6-of-9 shooting from behind-the-arc, and outscored the Flyers 53-32 in the second half for the win. Gonzaga remains unbeaten in home openers since moving into the McCarthey Athletic Center at 11-0.
"Dayton came out and they were ready to go," Fortier said. "I think our team got caught on our heels a bit. But, in the second half we really stopped them defensively. That's where we got started with our defense."
Gonzaga outrebounded the 22nd-ranked team in the country 23-14 in the second half. It finished with a 46-35 edge on the glass. The Zags shot 60 percent from the field in the second half, after making seven of their 32 attempts (21 percent) in the opening half. Dayton was held to 21 percent shooting from the field in the second half and finished 31 percent in the game.
Both teams shot very well from the free-throw line. GU finished 23-of-25 (92 percent), while the Flyers were 21-for-22 (95.5 percent). The Zags committed 21 turnovers to Dayton's 15.
Dayton (0-2) used an 11-0 run midway through the first half to take its largest lead of the game, 21-8. Gonzaga scored 19 of the first 23 points in the second half to regain the lead. The Flyers had their last lead, 46-44, with 12:06 remaining in regulation. The Zags then went on a 20-8 run over a seven-minute span to help pull away with the win.
The Bulldogs' Lindsay Sherbert scored 15 of her team-high 18 points in the second half. Keani Albanez made three of her four three-point attempts in the second half to finish with 14 points. Sunny Greinacher added 10 points. Shelby Cheslek matched her career-high with 14 rebounds. Georgia Stirton made all eight of her free throws in her Gonzaga debut.
"It was an amazing team win," Albanez said. "Everyone contributed. Everyone did great. We showed we could come back after being down. We showed character today."
Dayton's Andrea Hoover recorded a game-high 20 points, making 10 of her 11 free throws. Kelley Austria had 16 points.
Gonzaga welcomes Idaho State (0-1) Tuesday. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Live video and stats will be available on GoZags.com.
