SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga women's basketball team fell late to Washington State University, 51-49, in McCarthey Athletic Center on Wednesday night.
The game saw a total of nine lead changes between the two teams as the Zags outrebounded the Cougs, 40-29.
Junior
Kaylynne Truong led the team in points with 13 and her sister junior
Kayleigh Truong was right behind her with 11. Overall GU shot at a 34 percent and went 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
In the first half, the Zags went on a 12-0 run to secure a 23-16 halftime lead over WSU. At the half, Gonzaga was recording a 62.5 shooting percentage from beyond the arc and had seven points come off the bench.
Senior
Cierra Walker led the team in rebounds with five as senior
Anamaria Virjoghe and sophomore
McKayla Williams was right behind with four each in the first twenty minutes.
In the second half of the game, sophomore
Yvonne Ejim led the team with eight points and three steals in just 11 minutes of play. Gonzaga had 12 points from the bench and six from inside the paint. Defensively, GU forced eight turnovers and scored 11 points off those in the second half.
With 41 seconds left in the game, senior
Melody Kempton notched two free throws to tie the game at 49-49.
WSU drew a foul with 23 seconds left to put Bella Murekatete on the line for the Cougs. She missed the first one, but made the second to give Washington State a 50-49 lead. When GU got the ball back,
Kaylynne Truong took a three-pointer, but WSU rebounded the missed shot.
With two seconds left, Charlisse Leger-Walk made a free throw after the Zags used a foul to stop the clock. Walker shot a last second three-pointer on GU's last possession of the game.
Overall, the Zags scored 19 points from the bench and 12 points from inside the paint. Gonzaga recorded 20 turnovers and the Cougs scored 18 points from those miscues. Walker led the team in boards with seven rebounds. which ties her career-high.
Records: The Bulldogs move to 7-2 on the season as WSU moves to 7-1 overall.
Up Next: Gonzaga hosts Stephen F. Austin on Sunday, Dec. 12. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. Live stats and video can be found at GoZags.com along with Instagram and Twitter, @ZagWBB.