BROOKINGS, SD – The No. 18/18 Gonzaga women's basketball team fell 75-72 in overtime at (RV) South Dakota State Sunday afternoon inside Frost Arena in Brookings, SD. It was a battle from start to finish with 12 ties and 13 lead changes with neither team leading by more than eight points.
 
Gonzaga (1-2) finished with two players in double-figures, led by a career-high 29 points from Jill Townsend. Townsend finished 12-of-19 from the floor and added six rebounds and one assist. LeeAnne Wirth finished with 10 points for her first double-figure scoring effort of the season. The senior added four steals, three assists and two rebounds.
 
The Bulldogs dominated inside with a 44-26 advantage inside the paint, but South Dakota State (3-0) was superb from long range, hitting 11-of-25 attempts to shoot 44.0 percent from beyond-the-arc. Gonzaga registered another 20-assist game—its second of the young season—while turning the ball over just nine times. The Zags forced 17 turnovers on the Jackrabbits, scoring 16 points off those turnovers.
 
Townsend started things off for the Zags, draining her first jumper 24 seconds into regulation, but a trey from Myah Selland—the first of 11 for the Jackrabbits—offered the first lead change of the game. Gonzaga played stellar defense in the first stanza, forcing six turnovers on the Jackrabbits which led to eight first-quarter points. Yet 54.5 percent shooting from South Dakota State helped keep things close, as the Jackrabbits held a two-point advantage (16-14) at the end of the quarter.
 
Gonzaga trailed SDSU for the majority of the second as the Jackrabbits built an eight-point advantage (26-18) just over five minutes remaining. Back-to-back jumpers from LeeAnne Wirth and a layup from Townsend sparked a 10-0 Gonzaga run over the final five minutes as the Zags help SDSU without a field goal for the remainder of the half to hold a 28-26 lead at the break.
 
A jumper from Townsend opened up the scoring for the Zags in the second half, and LeeAnne Wirth followed up with a jumper to extend GU's lead to six (34-28), the largest of the afternoon. GU held the advantage with 3:42 to go in the quarter until an 8-2 SDSU run tied things up at 43-all with 1:32 remaining. The Jackrabbits outscored GU 3-2 to take a 46-45 lead with 10 minutes to go in regulation.
 
The Bulldogs scored 19 points in the fourth period, shooting 43.8 percent from the floor, and held a three-point lead with 19 seconds remaining. South Dakota State's Selland converted the three-point play with 16 seconds remaining, and Townsend's jumper on the ensuing possession was just shy, ending regulation gridlocked at 64-all.
 
The Zags opened overtime with a quick 4-0 run, but South Dakota State battled back to tie the game at 68-all with 2:25 remaining. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the extra period—Gonzaga at 57.1 percent and SDSU at 50.0 percent—but the Jackrabbits hit a few key treys in the final 30 seconds to earn the win. With two seconds to go and the game tied 72-all, SDSU's Lindsey Theuninck hit a corner three to seal the 75-72 overtime win.
 
South Dakota State finished with four players in double figures, led by Selland with 18 points, five rebounds and two assists. Tylee Irwin added 16 points while Paiton Burckhard and Theuninck added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
 
"Our team gave a great effort today, but SDSU made some huge plays when they needed them most," Head Coach Lisa Fortier said. "We needed to defend better during the key points of the game. They are really hard to guard because of how well they can shoot the ball, and we battled, but it wasn't quite enough."
 
Gonzaga continues play on the road as it travels to Laramie, Wyo., to play Wyoming on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 5:30 p.m. PT.