SPOKANE, Wash. – The No. 21/19 Gonzaga women's basketball team put on an offensive show inside the McCarthey Athletic Center Thursday evening, downing visiting Pepperdine 95-49 to clinch the WCC Regular-Season Title for the fifth-straight season and 17th time in program history. The 46-point victory is the largest margin of victory in a West Coast Conference game under Head Coach Lisa Fortier.
 
Gonzaga (20-3, 15-1 WCC) secured its 20th win, marking the 19th 20-win season in program history and the fifth straight. The Bulldogs were led by senior Jill Townsend with 23 points, finishing 8-of-12 from the floor to shoot 66.7 percent from the floor. Townsend added a 4-of-5 performance from long range to go along with a game-high eight rebounds and six assists to complete her stat line. LeeAnne Wirth finished with a season-high 16 points off 8-of-9 from the floor with five rebounds. Jenn Wirth, who finished with seven points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds, reached another career milestone, scoring her 1,000-career point with her first bucket of the game.
 
"That was a lot of fun," Fortier said. "To see our whole team smiling, contributing and so excited for each other. I'm really proud of our seniors and starters; you have those four seniors who start the game and started it off right, and they also started the second half correctly so that we had an opportunity to sub freely and get everybody involved."
 
As a team, the Bulldogs 56.1 percent from the floor and recorded 27 assists on 37 made field goals. GU added 10 made treys to go along with an 11-of-13 performance from the charity stripe. The Zags dominated the glass, 40-23, and added a dominant performance inside, outscoring the Waves 42-8 in the paint. Defensively, GU forced 18 turnovers on Pepperdine (5-16, 2-15 WCC) that led to 33 points, while committing a season-low seven turnovers.
 
The Zags jumped out to a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the first period, setting the tone early. With 1:45 to go, GU had extended its lead to 19 (24-5) off a fast-break layup from Melody Kempton.  Full-court pressure tripped up the Waves as GU forced nine turnovers—seven of which were steals—in the opening stanza for 15 points. By the end of the period GU led 27-8, and midway through the second period the Zags had extended their lead to 32 points (44-12). By halftime, the Zags held a 34-point advantage (53-19).
 
The Zags kept rolling in the second half as they shot 54.5 percent for 42 second-half points. Gonzaga found its largest lead of the game with 7:39 remaining as Townsend finished a layup for what would be her final bucket of the night, putting GU in front by 52 (87-35). The Zags then cruised to the 95-46 win.
 
Pepperdine was led by Malia Bambrick with 12 points off four made threes while Jayda Ruffus-Milner added nine points.
 
Gonzaga returns to play Saturday, Feb. 27 against visiting Loyola Marymount at 1 p.m. inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. It marks the final regular-season home game for the Zags; as such, the game will serve as Senior Day for the Bulldogs' senior crew. Saturday's game will also be broadcast locally on SWX. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game time information