SPOKANE, Wash. – The No. 17/16 Gonzaga women's basketball team defeated visiting San Francisco 79-66 Thursday evening inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. With the win, Gonzaga extends its win streak to 16 games and remain a perfect 12-0 atop the West Coast Conference standings.
 
Gonzaga (17-2, 12-0) had three players finish in double-figures, led by 19 points from senior guard Jill Townsend. Townsend sunk a game-high four threes and finished 7-of-11 from the floor. Jenn Wirth added a near double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, tying for game-high honors with sister LeeAnne Wirth. Kayleigh Truong rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points and a team-high five assists.
 
The Bulldogs shot an even 50.0 percent from the floor for the game while dominating the glass 44-26. San Francisco (11-9, 7-7 WCC) narrowly claimed the edge inside, outscoring GU 28-26 in the paint, while Gonzaga's bench stepped up amid foul trouble with Jenn Wirth and Melody Kempton, outscoring the Dons' bench 24-18. Both Anamaria Virjoghe and Yvonne Ejim played significant minutes, combining for eight points, six rebounds, two steals and two assists.
 
"[San Francisco] is a really physical, super aggressive team, and they're the hottest team in the league right now, minus us," Head Coach Lisa Fortier said. "It was a good game. I think our team did a really nice job on the glass and staying composed…We just continued to grind offensively and did a really good job of focusing on the shots that we did get and finishing them. I think that was the difference in the game—rebounding and the way we shot the ball on offense."
 
Along with their 50.0 percent performance from the floor, GU finished 11-of-21 from long range to shoot 52.4 percent, its fourth 50.0-plus percent shooting effort from long range this season and second-straight game. GU opened the game with hot shooting from beyond-the-arc as it hit 4-of-8 attempts in the opening quarter. Despite hot shooting in the first from the Zags, San Francisco was able to keep the game close behind a solid shooting effort (41.2 percent) along with six points off three forced turnovers. With 1:25 remaining in the period, the game was tied 18-all, but GU would close the quarter on a 5-0 run, courtesy of a rebound put-back from Jenn Wirth and a trey from Abby O'Connor, to lead 23-18 heading into the second.
 
GU extended that unanswered run to 15-straight points for a 33-18 lead less than three minutes into the second and maintained a double-digit lead until a bucket from Lucie Hoskova with 39 seconds remaining in the half brought USF within nine, 42-33. Both squads missed the ensuing possessions, lining up a last-second attempt from Kaylynne Truong, which she sunk from 25 feet out to give the Zags a 12-point cushion, 45-33.
 
In the second half, Gonzaga shot 57.1 percent from long range and finished a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe to keep the Dons at bay, boasting a double-figure lead for most of the half. USF cut it single digits off a jumper from Amalie Langer at the 1:53 mark of the third period, but Gonzaga responded with a trey from Townsend 20 seconds later to regain the double-figure lead. GU led by as many as 18 in the fourth period and continued on for the 79-66 victory.
 
"We were definitely shooting [the three] well," Townsend said. "It was just one of those nights where everyone was feeling good; it wasn't just one player…You're going to have those nights where everyone is going to shoot well, and you're going to have those nights when it seems like you can't throw it into the ocean. [Tonight] was one of those nights that it was feeling good."
 
San Francisco was led by Hoskova with 19 points while Abby Rathbun chipped in 10.
 
Gonzaga returns to play Saturday, Feb. 13 against visiting Santa Clara at 2 p.m. inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. The game is set to be broadcast regionally on SWX. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game time information.