MORAGA, Calif. – The #11/11 Gonzaga women's basketball team fell 70-60 at Saint Mary's Saturday afternoon inside the University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, Calif. It marks the first loss for the Zags since Nov. 17, snapping a 21-game win streak.
 
Gonzaga (23-2, 12-1 WCC) was led by a career-high 19 points from Jessie Loera, who added a career-high seven steals and seven assists in the loss. Jill Townsend added 18 points for the Zags. Gonzaga forced 21 turnovers on Saint Mary's which led to 24 points while committing a season-low seven turnovers on the afternoon.
 
Saint Mary's (11-13, 6-7 WCC) was red hot from the field as it finished 26-of-46 from the floor (56.5 percent) including a 14-of-21 (66.7 percent) performance from long range. The Gaels won the rebounding battle 28-20.
 
The Bulldogs struggled to get going as Saint Mary's took an early 18-4 lead after the first 10 minutes, but the Zags shot 53.3 percent in the second quarter and outscored the Gaels 19-14 to cut the lead to nine (32-23) heading into the break.
 
SMC outscored the Zags 23-14 in the third period to extend its lead to 18 (55-37) heading into the final period. GU put together a furious fourth-quarter comeback, outscoring the Gaels 18-6 in first five minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to eight (63-55). But that's the closest GU would come as the Gaels outscored the Bulldogs 7-5 to close the quarter, picking up the 70-60 victory.
 
"We did not do a very good job of following the defensive game plan today," head coach Lisa Fortier said. "Saint Mary's was ready to go from the tip, and we were playing catch up al game. We tried to get going inside, but we were not able to create enough offense. We could have overcome not being our best on one side of the ball or the other, but today, it was both."
 
Saint Mary's was led in scoring by Taycee Wedin who scored 24 points off a 9-of-14 performance from the floor including 6-of-9 from long range. Sam Simons added 22 points.
 
Gonzaga returns to Spokane for its final two home games of the season, beginning with San Francisco Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m., inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
 
As a reminder, the Lisa Fortier Show will resume this Monday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. at EPIC inside Northern Quest Resort & Casino. Monday is the final show of the season.