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SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga women's basketball forced Southern Utah into 23 turnovers in a 70-51 victory inside the Kennel Saturday. It was the final non-conference game of the season for the Zags.
The Thunderbirds' 23 turnovers matched a season-high for a Gonzaga opponent this season. The Bulldogs (7-4) finished with 11 steals, and had a 20-11 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Entering Saturday's game, Sunny Greinacher needed 19 points to become the 20th member of the 1,000-point club in Gonzaga career scoring. The senior finished with a game-high 17. She made seven of her 11 attempts from the field. Keani Albanez, Elle Tinkle and Shaniqua Nilles all added 12 for the Zags. Albanez made two three-pointers and moved to ninth in GU history with 118 made three-pointers in her career. She also made a game-high five steals Saturday.
It was the first time this season Gonzaga defeated an opponent that finished with a better field goal percentage. Before Saturday, the Zags were 0-3 when having the lower field goal percentage. SUU shot 38 percent from the field, while the Bulldogs were 35 percent. Gonzaga made four more baskets from the field, and finished 17-of-21 from the free-throw line. The Thunderbirds were 7-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Southern Utah (6-2) opened the game with an early 9-3 lead, its largest advantage of the contest. GU responded with a 7-0 run and later finished the first half on a 13-2 run. Gonzaga led 32-22 at halftime. The Bulldogs led by as many 23 points in the second half.
The Zags outrebounded Southern Utah, 44-37. It marked the ninth game, out of the first 11, that Gonzaga led it's opponent in rebounds. Tinkle led Gonzaga with eight rebounds.
Hailey Mandelko led three Southern Utah double-digit scorers with 15 points. Brenna Gates and Desiree Jackson both had 12. Gates and Jessica Richardson both grabbed eight rebounds.
Gonzaga opens West Coast Conference play when it welcomes Brigham Young next Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Pacific Time. The game will be broadcast on SWX and live video will be available on TheW.tv. Live radio will be available on The Key 1050 AM.
