MALIBU, Calif. – The No. 23/23 Gonzaga women's basketball team defeated Pepperdine 58-42 Wednesday evening inside the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif., to extend its win streak to six games and remain undefeated in WCC Play.
 
Gonzaga (7-2, 2-0 WCC) finished with three players in double figures and two players with double-doubles. For the second straight game, Jill Townsend led the Zags in scoring and added a double-double with 13 points and season-high 11 rebounds. Jenn Wirth registered her fifth double-double in the last six games with 12 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, while LeeAnne Wirth added 12 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Bulldogs shot 41.4 percent for the game—highlighted by a 71.4 percent shooting effort in the third period—and out-rebounded the Waves 49-21. Gonzaga finished with a 26-22 edge in the paint and scored 14 points off 18 offensive rebounds.
 
"When you are on the road, I think it's really important to control things you can, and I always think rebounding is one of the great equalizers," Head Coach Lisa Fortier said. "I am really proud of the team for the way we rebounded the ball today. It made a huge difference in the game."
 
The Bulldogs opened the first quarter with an 8-0 scoring run behind baskets from Townsend and LeeAnne Wirth, and nine minutes into play GU had extended it's lead to 12 (19-7). Pepperdine (3-3, 0-2) responded with six unanswered points to close the first period to cut the lead to six, 19-13.
 
The Zags maintained the lead, and a jumper from Jenn Wirth at the 7:20 mark of the second period pushed the advantage to 11 (26-15). But the Zags went ice cold the remainder of the period without making a field goal until Townsend sunk a jumper with 17 seconds remaining. Pepperdine completed an 11-0 run to tie things at 26-all, but the jumper from Townsend along with a pair of free throws from Jenn Wirth gave the Zags a four-point cushion heading into the break, 30-26.
 
Pepperdine hit one-of-two free throws to open the third period, cutting GU's lead to three, but a layup from Jenn Wirth at the 9:13 mark ignited a 9-0 Zag run to put GU up by 12 with 6:12 to go. The Bulldogs limited the Waves to seven points and 25.0 percent shooting in the third stanza. The Zags maintained a comfortable lead the entire quarter, and a pair of free throws from Townsend to close the quarter gave GU an 11-point lead, 44-33.
 
The Bulldogs extended their lead to as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 36.8 percent from the floor and dominating the glass, 15 to 6, to cruise to the 58-42 victory.
 
Pepperdine was led in scoring by Malia Bambrick with 10 points.
 
Gonzaga returns home to host Saint Mary's in WCC play Saturday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m. inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.