VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Gonzaga women's basketball team defeated Rutgers 57-40 Friday afternoon in the consolation semifinals of the inaugural Vancouver Showcase at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The Bulldogs claimed a 36-26 advantage on the glass and outscored the Scarlet Knights 36-19 in the second half secure the win.
 
"Overall, I'm really proud of our team," head women's basketball coach Lisa Fortier said. "I think we battled them on the glass; they are such a great rebounding team. I'm happy with the way we finished the game for sure."
 
Gonzaga (5-1) was led by Zykera Rice with 16 points off 6-of-10 from the floor including 4-of-6 from the line to go along with five rebounds. Both Chandler Smith and Katie Campbell added eight points each.
 
Both Gonzaga and Rutgers (4-2) started slow in the first period as the Zags shot 33.3 percent from the floor while the Scarlet Knights were 26.7 percent. Rice was solid for the Bulldogs in the first 10 minutes, finishing 3-for-5 from the floor for seven points. Jill Townsend chipped in three points to give the Zags a 10-8 lead at the end of the first.
 
The Scarlet Knights outscored the Bulldogs 13-11 in the second period and build their largest lead of the first half (20-13) with 3:17 remaining. Sparked by a fast-break layup from Smith, the Bulldogs scored six unanswered to cut the lead to one (20-19) with 28 seconds to go. Rutgers converted a late free throw, but a layup by Melody Kempton with seven seconds remaining tied the game 21-all heading into the break.
 
"We saw yesterday that Rutgers is capable of big quarters…and they are capable of having more inside scoring," Fortier said. "So are we. That first half was really a grinder, and we wanted to come out in the second half and have a big quarter and stay tight defensively. That third quarter really helped us propel toward the end."
 
Rutgers opened the scoring in the second half with a layup 37 second in, but the Zag put together an 11-3 run over the next 4:13 to take a 32-25 lead with 5:07 remaining. The Bulldogs shot 54.5 percent in the third led by six points from Rice and forced five Scarlet Knights turnovers to take an 11-point lead (42-31) with 10 minutes to go.
 
Gonzaga outscored Rutgers 15-9 in the final period and converted 11-of-12 at the line to cement the 57-40 win.
 
Rutgers was led by Victoria Harris with 12 points off 5-of-6 from the floor while Charise Wilson chipped in 10.
 
The Bulldogs will battle the winner of the Western Kentucky/ETSU game for fifth place Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Vancouver Convention Centre.