PROVO, Utah – The #17/16 Gonzaga women's basketball team collected a 55-43 victory at BYU on Thursday inside the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The Zags' defensive intensity limited the Cougars to their second-lowest offensive output and forced 17 turnovers on BYU.
 
"Defensively I think the first half we were really dialed in," head coach Lisa Fortier said. "Second half, we were a little tired maybe—I don't know exactly what changed to start that half—but we rallied and got a little more of that first-half defense."
 
Gonzaga (13-1, 2-0 WCC) limited both of BYU's leading scorers, Brenna Drollinger and Paisley Johnson, to just eight and seven points, respectively, well below their season averages of 12.1 and 14.7 points per game. The Bulldogs held the Cougars to 32.7 percent shooting from the floor including 31.6 percent from long range while forcing 17 turnovers.
 
The Bulldogs were led by 11 points from Katie Campbell as the senior finished 4-of-7 from the floor including 3-of-4 from long range. Kayleigh Truong added 10 points while Campbell and Melody Kempton led the Bulldogs on the glass with six boards each. As a squad, GU shot 40.0 percent from the floor and 61.5 percent from long range.
 
The Zags started hot, shooting 57.1 percent in the opening quarter to take an early 18-12 lead, and with 57 seconds to go in the second GU held an 11-point advantage (29-18). BYU missed a jumper on the ensuing possession as Campbell secured the rebound with nine seconds to go. Kaylynne Truong took the go-ahead trey with three seconds to go, sinking the long-range shot to put GU up by 14 at the half.
 
A quick 15-2 run in favor of the Cougars to open the third quarter cut the Zags' lead to one (34-33), but a clutch trey from Campbell ended BYU's scoring run and ignited a 10-0 Bulldog run to put GU up by 11 (44-33) by the end of the period.
 
"The one-mores in this game were critical," Campbell said. "We had a lot of assists, a lot of great passes, a lot of one-mores that led to open threes, open shots. My team found me for that big shot; I was ready."
 
In the final period, the Zags held BYU to 28.6 percent shooting while forcing six turnovers on the Cougars. The Bulldogs outscored BYU 11-10 in the fourth to collect the 55-43 win, extending their win streak to 11 games in the process.
 
BYU (7-6, 2-1 WCC) was led by Bablu Ogwu with 10 points and 11 boards. Drollinger and Johnson each added eight points each.
 
Gonzaga returns to the floor Saturday, Jan. 4 at San Diego. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside Jenny Craig Pavilion. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game information.