SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The No. 16/16 Gonzaga women's basketball team picked up its 19th win of the season with a 69-47 rout of San Diego Saturday afternoon inside Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, Calif.
 
Gonzaga (19-1, 14-1 WCC) finished with three players in double figures, led by senior Jill Townsend with 16 points off 7-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-3 from long range. The Okanogan, Wash., native added three steals, two assists and three rebounds in the win. Kayleigh Truong added 13 points and three assists, while Melody Kempton chipped in 10 points off 4-of-5 from the floor. Jenn Wirth dominated the glass, grabbing 12 rebounds in 25 minutes of play to go along with six points. Wirth is now just two points shy of 1,000 career points, sitting at 998 total points.
 
The Bulldogs put together another solid defensive effort as they forced San Diego (12-6, 9-4 WCC) to shoot 27.5 percent from the floor for the game (14-of-51) while forcing 18 turnovers on the Toreros, leading to 19 points for the Zags. Gonzaga edged USD on the glass with a 39-35 advantage and dominated the paint with a 26-8 advantage inside.
 
A quick start from the Zags with help from five straight points from Townsend put GU in front 9-3 just over four minutes into the period. Over the next 4:30, Gonzaga outscored USD 11-7 to take a 20-10 lead with just over a minute to go in the first. Kayleigh Truong extended the lead with a trey with six seconds remaining, giving the Zags a 23-10 edge after the first 10 minutes.
 
The Zags held San Diego to just two points until the four-minute mark of the second period, forcing seven turnovers on the Toreros while extending their lead to as many as 19 points. With just under three minutes to play, Gonzaga held a 34-16 lead; USD closed the period on a 6-2 run to cut into Gonzaga's lead at the half, 36-22.
 
Gonzaga held San Diego to 18.8 percent shooting in the third, but the Toreros drew eight fouls on GU, offsetting the dismal shooting performance with five points at the charity stripe. A bucket from Kempton at the 5:07 mark gave GU a 14-points advantage (42-28), but a 6-0 USD run over the next 90 seconds cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the first period. Jenn Wirth ended the cold spell for the Zags, sinking a jumper that sparked a 7-1 Bulldog run to put the Zags in front 49-35 heading into the fourth.
 
The Zags shot 47.1 percent in the fourth, hitting 8-of-17 attempts for 20 fourth-quarter points while holding San Diego to 12 points off 30.8 percent shooting. Lily Scanlon forced a turnover with 41 seconds to go, finding Yvonne Ejim in transition for the go-ahead layup to extend the lead to 21 points. On the next possession, Scanlon drew a foul to head to the line, making one-of-two to seal the 69-47 victory.
 
"Our team did a really good job handling pressure against a problematic defensive team today," Head Coach Lisa Fortier said. "I'm proud of the way we rallied and adjusted throughout the game. There were stretches where we were struggling, but we consistently made a team play to turn it around."
San Diego was led by Steph Gorman with 13 points off a 4-of-10 performance from the floor while Myah Pace added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Gonzaga returns home for its final two regular-season contests of the season, starting with Pepperdine Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. The game is set to be broadcast locally on SWX. For up-to-date game time information, visit GoZags.com.