SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The No. 20/19 Gonzaga women's basketball team picked up a 71-52 victory against Santa Clara Thursday evening inside the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, Calif. The Zags extended their win streak to 10 games and remain undefeated in WCC play at 6-0.
 
Gonzaga (11-2, 6-0 WCC) was led in scoring by Jill Townsend with 20 points off 9-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-3 from long range while adding two rebounds and three assists. Jenn Wirth finished with 15 points off 7-of-10 from the floor with four rebounds and four assists. Kayleigh Truong added a game-high six assists in the win.
 
As a squad, Gonzaga shot 58.8 percent from the floor—the best shooting performance from the Zags this season—while outrebounding the Broncos 31-17. Santa Clara's 17 rebounds are the fewest by a Zag opponent this season. Of the Zags 31 total rebounds, 11 were offensive, which led to 15 second-chance points. The Bulldogs dished out 23 assists on 30 made field goals and narrowly claimed the advantage inside with a 32-28 differential inside the paint.
 
The Zags were tough to stop in the first quarter as GU connected on 12-of-14 from the floor for 27 first quarter points. Jenn With and Jill Townsend combined for 18 first quarter points as the duo finished a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor. The Bulldogs performed defensively in the opening stanza as well, forcing six turnovers on the Broncos while limiting them to 10 points in the opening stanza. Gonzaga opened the game with a 15-4 run over the first five minutes, and a trey from Cierra Walker with eight seconds to go gave GU a 17-point lead (27-10) by the end of the first.
 
Gonzaga cooled off offensively in the second period, shooting 35.7 percent from the floor, but its suffocating defense continued to disrupt Santa Clara, forcing seven turnovers on the Broncos. At the 5:23 mark of the second, GU had allowed just two points to the Broncos and stretched their lead to 22 points (34-12), yet SCU outscored GU 13-4 over the final five minutes, cutting the lead to 15 points by halftime (40-25).
 
Santa Clara outscored the Zags 8-5 to open the second half, cutting GU's lead to 12 with 6:25 remaining in the third period. Seven of GU's 16 total turnovers came in the third stanza, but the Bulldogs were able to offset the turnovers with 50 percent shooting from the floor. Yet the Broncos outscored GU 14-12 in the period to bring GU's lead to 13 (52-39) by the end of the period.
 
The Broncos' opened the fourth with a trey from Ashlyn Herlihy to cut into GU's lead once again—trimming the advantage to 10 points—yet that's as close as Santa Clara would come. Gonzaga responded with a trey from Kaylynne Truong, sparking a 14-0 run over the next 2:30 minutes to give GU a 24-point cushion (66-42) with 5:20 to go. A rebound and put-back by LeeAnne Wirth almost two minutes later extended the lead to 27—the largest of the night—with 3:17 remaining. The Zags wouldn't make another field goal for the final minutes and held on for the 71-52 win.
 
"Our team did a really good job scoring the ball tonight when we were poised and on the same page," Head Coach Lisa Fortier said. "There were times where our defense was really tested, but more often than not, we responded. The way we started and finished the game obviously made a huge impact on the outcome."
 
Santa Clara was led by senior forward Merle Wiehl who finished 9-of-10 from the floor for 20 points.
 
Gonzaga continues play on the road as it travels to San Francisco to take on the Dons Saturday, Jan. 16 at 12 p.m. inside War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game time information.