SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga women's basketball team officially opened the regular season with a 72-47 win over Montana State University.
Senior Melody Kempton recorded the first double-double game of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds. It marks her second double-double performance in her career.
Junior Kaylynne Truong led the team with a career-high 16 points and four steals. Sophomore Yvonne Ejim was right behind her with a career-best of 14 points and eight rebounds. Junior Kayleigh Truong was the other Zag scoring in double-digits, recording 12.
The Zags (1-0) jumped out to an 8-0 run to take an early 10-2 lead over the Bobcats (1-1) in the first quarter. After one period of play, GU lead 24-11 with Kayleigh Truong and Ejim both scoring six points apiece.
MSU didn't back away in the second quarter as the team went on their own 6-0 run to cut their deficit to 28-17. With 4:52 left in the half, Kaylynne Truong got the Zags back on the board with a three, bringing GU's lead to 31-17.
The Zags found their groove midway through the second, going on a 9-0 run. Defensively, GU forced four turnovers from Montana State and held the Bobcats without a bucket for over six minutes.
At the half, Gonzaga led 37-19 as Ejim led the team with 12 points and five rebounds. Senior Abby O'Connor grabbed seven rebounds for the Bulldogs as Kempton recorded seven points and six rebounds in the half.
In the third quarter, the Zags continued to take over as Kaylynne Truong tallied five points, going 2-for-3 from the floor, and logged one steal. GU increased its overall lead to 27 points in the third and recorded 11 rebounds and seven steals in the frame.
The Bulldogs kept their momentum in the fourth quarter and Kayleigh Truong opened the scoring for the Zags with a lay-up. The Bulldogs scored 16 overall in the final quarter and recorded a 63.6 shooting percentage.
Overall, Gonzaga outrebounded MSU 43-27 and shot a 50.9 percentage from the floor. Gonzaga had 36 points come from the bench with another 44 in the paint. GU forced 19 turnovers, scoring 24 points from those.
NEXT UP
The Bulldogs travel to the University of Montana on Sunday, Nov. 14, for the first road game of the season.
Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. Pacific Time and the game will be televised on SWX. The game will also be on 790 AM KJRB and live stats can be found at GoZags.com.
