SAN MARCOS, Texas – Fifth-seeded Gonzaga was upset by 12th-seeded Belmont 64-59 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament Monday afternoon on the campus of Texas State inside Strahan Arena at the UEC in San Marcos, Texas. It marked the first NCAA tournament win for the Bruins.
 
Gonzaga (23-4) was led by senior guard Jill Townsend with 17 points off 7-of-11 from the floor to go along with six rebounds. LeeAnne Wirth added 10 points off a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and a game-high eight rebounds. Jenn Wirth added nine points, six rebounds and six assists.
 
The Bulldogs dominated the glass 37-18 and controlled the paint with a 28-26 point differential inside, while shooting 54.8 percent from the floor for the game. But the difference in the game was turnovers: GU committed 20 turnovers to Belmont's six, while the Bruins converted those turnovers to 25 points.
 
A strong opening quarter saw the Zags extend their lead to as many as 11, and after the first 10 minutes Gonzaga held a nine-point advantage, 22-13. Belmont (21-5) came alive in the second, hitting 8-of-13 attempts including four threes to shoot 61.5 percent for the quarter. The Bruins put together a quick 10-0 run to open the second and claim their first lead of the game. Two minutes later, GU faced a five-point deficit (29-24) with just under four minutes remaining in the half. The Bulldogs finished the half on a 4-0 run to cut Belmont's lead to one (33-32) heading into the break.
 
Turnovers plagued the Zags in the second half as 12 of their 20 came in the final two quarters. Belmont outscored the Bulldogs 19-12 in the third, scoring five points off the Zags' six turnovers, but GU also locked down defensively, forcing three turnovers with two steals in the third, accounting for three of the Zags' 12 total points. Yet by the end of the stanza, Belmont held an eight-point advantage, 52-44.
 
Undeterred by turnovers, Gonzaga continued to chip away at the deficit. Townsend helped the Zags put together an 11-3 run midway through the final period to cut the lead to two (57-55) with 3:58 remaining. Two minutes later, the deficit was still two points after LeeAnne Wirth connected on a jumper from the elbow with 46 seconds remaining. Belmont's Madison Bartley hit a jumper in the paint and was fouled on the play; she completed the three-point play with 19 seconds remaining to make it a two-possession game (62-57).
 
GU turned the ball over on the next possession and was forced to foul. Belmont's Tuti Jones hit both to extend the lead to seven (64-57) with five seconds remaining. On the final possession, Gonzaga's LeeAnne Wirth sunk the put-back as time expired, giving Belmont the 64-59 first round victory.