SPOKANE, Wash. – No. 23/23 Gonzaga women's basketball used a strong defensive performance and a dominating effort on the glass to run past visiting Saint Mary's 69-37 Saturday afternoon inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs extended their win streak to six and remain unbeaten in West Coast Conference play.
 
Gonzaga (8-2, 3-0 WCC) was led by Jenn Wirth who posted her fourth-straight double-double and sixth of the season with a game-high 11 points to go along with 14 rebounds, tying her season high. LeeAnne Wirth added 10 points and six rebounds while Jill Townsend finished with eight points and a game-high six assists.
 
The Bulldogs nearly doubled Saint Mary's on the glass, out-rebounding the Gaels 41-23 while outscoring SMC 28-20 inside. The Zags forced 15 turnovers on Saint Mary's, which led to 18 points, while limiting the Gaels to 31.1 percent shooting, including 15.4 percent from long range, for the game.
 
"We've had a couple of quarters where we've held [teams] to single digits, and that's really phenomenal," Head Coach Lisa Fortier said. "We've really been trying to focus on the scout, and defending the scout correctly. A lot of players we've played recently have significant tendencies that are easy to pick up on. When we've had trouble over the last couple of games, it when we've let them get to those…today we just did a really good job of following the scout."
 
Gonzaga's defensive effort was suffocating from the start, as the Zags limited Saint Mary's (2-6, 0-2 WCC) to just four points in the opening quarter behind 22.2 percent shooting. Gonzaga forced six turnovers in the opening stanza on its way to the early 10-0 lead, closing the quarter with a pair of free throws from Townsend to claim the early 12-4 lead.
 
Midway through the second, a trey from freshman Lily Scanlon put the Zags up by 17 (25-8), but Saint Mary's outscored the Zags 8-5 to close the period, shrinking GU's lead to 14 (30-16).
 
The Bulldogs' offense shined in the second half as Gonzaga shot 57.1 percent—including a 50.0 percent effort from three—while converting 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. The Zags defensive strength continued in the second half as the Zags forced SMC to 29.2 percent shooting from the floor including a 22.2 percent performance from long range. GU's lead grew to as many as 32 in the fourth period, and the Zags cruised to the 69-37 victory.
 
Taycee Wedin led the Gaels with nine points while Finau Tonga added eight rebounds and six points.
 
Gonzaga returns to the floor Monday, Jan. 4 as it hosts Pacific inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game time information.