WBB: Zags Earn 80-45 Victory over Texas Southern

Saturday, December 14

Spokane, Wash.

2 P.M.

Gonzaga University

9-1,0-0WCC

Texas Southern University

3-5,0-0SWAC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Texas Southern	9	8	14	14	45
Gonzaga	22	20	25	13	80

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Photo by: Nick Tomoyasu

WBB: Zags Earn 80-45 Victory over Texas Southern

12/14/2019 4:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Bulldogs improve to 9-1 on the season

SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga women's basketball team cruised to an 80-45 victory over visiting Texas Southern Saturday afternoon inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Zags improve to 9-1 on the season with the win.

As a squad, the Zags controlled the glass with a 43-32 rebounding edge and scored 27 points off 21 forced turnovers on Texas Southern (3-5). The Bulldogs limited the Tigers to 32.8 percent shooting overall--including 16.7 percent from long range--while claiming a 46-30 scoring edge inside the paint.

Three players in double-figures for the Bulldogs as LeeAnne Wirth, Jenn Wirth and Katie Campbell all finished with 14 points. LeeAnne Wirth added a game-high eight rebounds while Campbell drained four treys. Jenn Wirth finished 6-of-12 from the floor and added six boards.

"I think the key to them scoring was our ability to handle pressure," head coach Lisa Fortier said. "[Texas Southern] is really pressure-oriented. They love to turn people over; they average 13 or 14 steals a game…We played really strong; they really read the defense very well."

The Bulldogs opened up their scoring barrage off a trey from Campbell 25 seconds into the first quarter, and Jill Townsend followed it up with a layup less than a minute later. A second trey from Campbell extended the lead to eight, and by the end of the first quarter the Zags boasted a 22-9 advantage. Gonzaga limited Texas Southern to just 17 points combined in the first half--the lowest halftime scoring output by an opponent this season—and entered halftime with a 42-17 lead.

"We started off right off the bat, which is really good for us," LeeAnne Wirth said. "We knew that they were a high-intensity, high-pressure team, so we had to come out and just be strong with the ball…Just some really good team basketball was what did it for us today."

Gonzaga continued to roll in the second half, shooting a combined 57.7 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from long range. The Bulldogs limited the Tigers to 28 second-half points to pull away for the 80-45 win.

"It felt great," Campbell said. "We haven't been home in a while, and we were all playing really great together."

Texas Southern was led by Destiny Arvinger with 16 points off 7-of-16 from the floor while Britnee Gabriel added 11. Niya Mitchell led the Tigers on the glass with five rebounds.

Gonzaga returns to play Tuesday, Dec. 17 at Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. PT. For up-to-date game time information, visit GoZags.com.