MALIBU, Calif. – The No. 17-ranked Gonzaga women's basketball team topped Pepperdine 79-54 Monday afternoon at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the floor and won the rebounding battle 37-34 to defeat the Waves and improve to 2-0 on the season.
 
"It's a tough place to play here at Pepperdine every year," head women's basketball coach Lisa Fortier said. "I'm really happy with our effort; we played very well offensively."
 
Gonzaga (13-1, 2-0 WCC) was led by Zykera Rice who had a career day, posting a career-high tying 23 points on 11-of-12 from the floor to go along with a career-high five assists, six rebounds and two steals. Rice's 11-of-12 equates to 91.7 percent shooting, a program record for field goal percentage in a single game. Jill Townsend added nine points and seven boards, while Jessie Loera finished with seven points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
The Zags were solid defensively, forcing Pepperdine (7-5, 1-1 WCC) to shoot just 26.5 percent through the first three quarters while limiting the Waves' leading scorer, Yasmine Robinison-Bacote, to just 14 total points, well below her season average and league-leading 19.0 points per game.
 
"We did a good job, for the most part, especially in the second half of forcing their players into their weaknesses," Fortier said. "Robinson-Bacote is a tough player, and holding her to 14 [points] is not an easy job."
 
The Bulldogs claimed the early 7-3 lead following a trey from Katie Campbell at the 7:42 mark, but Pepperdine put together a 10-0 run to take a 13-7 lead with 2:40 remaining in the first period. Rice converted an old-fashioned three-point play to spark a 10-0 Bulldog run over the final two minutes, including a last-second running three-point attempt from Loera, to give the Zags a 17-13 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
 
Gonzaga continued its run into the second period, scoring four unanswered in the first 90 seconds. The Zags shot 63.6 percent in the second quarter, outscoring the Waves 20-15 to take a 37-28 lead at halftime.
 
The Bulldogs continued rolling in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the floor while locking down defensively on the Waves. Gonzaga forced Pepperdine to shoot 40 percent from the floor in the second half and allowed just 10 attempts from the Waves in the final 10 minutes. The Bulldogs led by as many as 26 in the fourth quarter and cruised to the 79-54 win.
 
Pepperdine was led by Robinson-Bacote and Rose Pflug with 14 points each while Barbara Sitanggan finished with a game-high eight rebounds.
Gonzaga returns home to Spokane for a three-game swing, beginning with Saint Mary's Thursday, Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. at the McCarthey Athletic Center.