LAS VEGAS – With less than four seconds remaining, Zykera Rice found herself just above the left elbow with the ball. Rice drove right, and as time expired scooped an underhand shot that just kissed off the backboard and into the basket. Game over.
 
Rice's last second shot, the self-proclaimed only buzzer beater of her career, gave the Zags a 78-77 double-overtime win over Saint Mary's in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
 
"I think our coaches drew up a great play and put us all in the right position for anyone to make the shot," Rice said. "I've never made a game-winner before, so I'm still kind of numb and not exactly sure how to feel. But I'm glad we won."
 
Gonzaga (28-3) was led in scoring by Rice with a game-high 21 points to go along with eight rebounds. Jill Townsend added a career-high 19 points off 6-of-11 shooting to go along with six rebounds and a steal, while Jenn Wirth completed the double-figure scoring with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.
 
The Zags forced 22 turnovers on the Gaels which they converted for 28 points, and GU's bench came up big once again as it outscored Saint Mary's bench 37-18. Despite a dismal shooting start, the Bulldogs finished the game shooting 42.6 percent from the floor.
 
Gonzaga struggled to get started against Saint Mary's (20-11) physical style of play. The Bulldogs' first points came from a pair of free throws from Townsend with 6:21 to go in the opening quarter, and back-to-back baskets from Rice cut SMC's lead to one (7-6) with 5:09 to go. With eight seconds remaining, the Bulldogs trailed the Gaels by six (18-12). Rice secured the rebound off a SMC missed jumper and Laura Stockton went the length of the court to sink a last-second running jumper to bring GU within four, 18-14.
 
Jenn Wirth opened the scoring in the second with a jumper to cut the lead to two, 18-16, but a 7-0 SMCC run over the next three minutes put the Gaels in front 25-16. The Gaels shot 42.8 percent in the second quarter and led by as many as 11 points with 5:52 remaining. Gonzaga closed the period on 12-5 run to trim the Gaels lead to four (32-28) heading into the break.
 
GU opened the second half shooting 50 percent in the third quarter and outscored the Gaels 20-16 to close the four-point deficit it faced at halftime to tie the game at 48-all. In the fourth period, the two teams scored an identical 13 points, but over half of Saint Mary's fourth-quarter scores came off seven Zag turnovers. With less than 45 seconds to go, Jessie Loera found Townsend for a layup to tie the game 61-all. The Bulldogs locked down defensively to prevent two final Saint Mary's attempts to force overtime.
 
In the first overtime, Saint Mary's twice extended its lead to three, first off a trey from Madeline Holland 16 seconds in, and again off a trey, this time from Carly Turner, with 1:56 to go. Twice Gonzaga responded. With 1:10 remaining, Townsend converted the old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 69-all. Saint Mary's missed its final two attempts while the Bulldogs were unable to convert, sending the game into its second overtime.
 
The final five minutes featured six lead changes and one tie, the 14^th of the game, and it all came down to the final 4.6 seconds. Rice converted a tough layup as time expired to give the Bulldogs the 78-77 win.
 
"This was a rollercoaster," head coach Lisa Fortier said. "You've heard our team talk about the word grit this year, and commitment…Right now we are talking about commitment, which means 'I have to'. Some of those defensive stops and those rebounds were 'I have to…We have to get the ball right now.' I'm really happy for them and excited for tomorrow."
 
Saint Mary's finished with five players in double figures, led by Holland with 20 points. Turner added 16, Sydney Raggio 12, Sam Simmons 11 and Megan McKay finished with 10 points and a game-high 16 boards.
 
Gonzaga advances to the WCC Tournament championship game for the third-straight season. The Bulldogs are set to face the winner of the No. 2 BYU vs. No. 3 Pepperdine game Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.