STOCKTON, Calif. – The #11/11 Gonzaga women's basketball team took control in the second half to claim the 83-65 victory at Pacific Thursday evening inside the Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, Calif.
 
Gonzaga (23-1, 12-0 WCC) finished with four players in double figures for the eighth time this season, led by 17 points and eight rebounds from Jill Townsend. LeeAnne Wirth added 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Jenn Wirth finished with her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Louise Forsyth rounded out the double-figure scoring with a career-high tying 11 points.
 
Four other players had at least eight points, as Kaylynne Truong netted nine points while Kayleigh Truong, Jessie Loera and Melody Kempton finished with eight.
 
"It's just really tough to defend, and tough to game plan for when you have Jenn, you have Lee, you have Jill, you have Jess, you have Kayleigh, you have Mel, you have Lou," head coach Lisa Fortier said. "People who can score make it so it's not an easy, 'Just stop insert player.' You have to do it collectively. And if we draw help in places you can't; you just can't take them all away."
 
Gonzaga dominated Pacific (13-10, 6-6 WCC) on the glass with a 37-24 edge while outscoring the Tigers 40-28 in the paint. GU also scored 19 turnovers off 13 Pacific turnovers' while committing just 10 turnovers.
 
The Bulldogs were red hot to start the game, shooting a combined 61.5 percent in the first half while a 40.0 percent shooting performance from long range. But a stellar performance by Pacific from beyond-the-arc (4-7, 57.1 percent) enabled the Tigers to nearly eliminate 16-point Bulldog lead in the second quarter, giving GU a four-point advantage (42-38) at the break.
 
Out of the break, GU quickly extended its lead to 11 behind two fast break layups from Loera and a jumper from Townsend. With 4:38 to go in the third, the Zags had extended their lead to 15 points behind another layup from Loera and finished the quarter up 62-48.
 
GU sealed the win in the fourth, outscoring Pacific 20-10 while limiting the Tigers to 28.6 percent shooting and forcing four turnovers. The Bulldogs led by as many as 23 points in the final quarter, cruising to the 83-65 victory.
 
"Our team played significantly better defense in the second half than we did in the first half," head women's basketball coach Lisa Fortier said. "Offensively, we scored plenty of points to have a more sizeable lead in the first half; we just didn't defend. I thought we did a really good job in the second half of knowing our matchups, not losing the shooters, not overcrowding drivers and just doing what we do defensively which is stick together and play team defense."
 
Valerie Higgins led Pacific with 16 points and six rebounds. Brooklyn McDavid added 14 points while Lianna Tillman chipped in 12.
 
Gonzaga returns to the floor Saturday, Feb. 8 at Saint Mary's. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside University Credit Union Pavilion.