ESTERO, Fla. – The #22/21 Gonzaga women's basketball team claimed the title of the Gulf Coast Showcase with a 63-50 victory over Purdue on Sunday evening inside Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla. The title was the fourth nonconference tournament title in program history, and the first under Head Coash Lisa Fortier.
 
"It's really exciting; I'm really happy for these guys," Fortier said. "I thought they played really well the last two days and certainly today. [They] overcame really good shooters, really big players, the best shot-blocker in the country, really fast athletes and a bunch of different stuff. We had foul trouble intermittently, we had different players step up—we had a different high scorer every game. I'm really happy with their efforts. They played so hard and made big plays."
 
Gonzaga (6-1) was led in scoring by Melody Kempton with a career-high 18 points off 7-of-12 from the floor to go along with six rebounds, one block and one steal. Jessie Loera added 12 points, four assists and three steals, while LeeAnne Wirth finished with 12 points and six boards.
 
 
The Bulldogs opened the game shooting 45.5 percent for 14 points in the first 10 minutes while limiting Purdue (6-1) to nine points, the second-lowest quarter score for the Boilermakers this season. In the second quarter, the Zags turned up their defensive pressure, forcing 10 Purdue turnovers while forcing the Boilermakers to shoot just 25 percent from the floor. Gonzaga led the Boilermakers 31-20 heading into the break.
 
"We were really playing together," Fortier said. "We weren't letting them have any easy driving lanes initially, and so they started out really having to work for all their points. They didn't get any lobs on us because we had help side. The areas where they maybe had more of an advantage against us, we were able to limit dramatically."
 
Midway through the third quarter, Gonzaga extended its lead to 15 (42-27) off a layup from Kempton, but a quick 8-2 Purdue run over the next two minutes cut the lead to nine (44-35). Two free throws from LeeAnne Wirth gave the Zags a double-digit lead, and the Bulldogs kept Purdue at bay for the remainder of the quarter to boast a 10-point lead (50-40) at the end of the third.
 
A quick 5-2 run in favor of Purdue once more cut GU's lead to single digits, this time to five points (52-47) with just over 7:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. But the Bulldogs outscored the Boilermakers 11-3 over the final minutes to secure the 63-50 victory.
 
Purdue was led by Dominique Oden with nine points and eight rebounds, while Ae'Rianna Harris added 10 rebounds and six points.
 
Gonzaga continues play Thursday, Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. PT in Bozeman, Mont. For up to date game time information, check GoZags.com.