SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Gonzaga women's basketball team secured its seventh West Coast Conference win with a 69-43 victory over the University of San Diego.
Senior Cierra Walker led the team with 21 points as she scored six three-pointers in the contest, marking a career-high in a Gonzaga uniform. Junior Kayleigh Truong was the next highest scorer with 14 points and junior Kaylynne Truong rounded out double-figure scoring efforts with 12.
Overall, the Zags shot at 48 percent and held USD to a cold 25 percent shooting performance. GU outrebounded San Diego, 46-24, and senior Melody Kempton grabbed a team-high seven boards.
In the first quarter, the Bulldogs came out strong to take an early 10-2 lead halfway through the opening minutes. Walker ended up leading the team with six points in just eight minutes of play as she shot 60 percent from beyond the arc.
After ten minutes of play, the Zags took a 19-7 lead and held the Toreros to a 21.4 shooting percentage. The Bulldogs also dominated the boards, 15-5, and scored 14 points inside the paint.
In the second quarter, GU's defense came out strong to hold USD to an 18.2 shooting percentage and only eight points. The team's rebounding continued being dominant with a 26-12 advantage and 11 of those being offensive.
The Zags came out on top 36-15 going into halftime with Kayleigh Truong scoring a team-high 12 points. Kempton led the team in rebounds with six as Cierra Walker had nine points and a lead the team with two steals.
Coming out of the locker room, the Zags held San Diego to only six points in the third quarter as the Toreros hadn't scored more than eight in a quarter at this point in the contest.
Defensively, the Bulldogs held USD to zero three-pointers as the Toreros went 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. Overall, San Diego shot at 14.3 percent while GU recorded a 55.6 shooting percentage.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs scored 22 points and shot 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. Walker scored three of those shots from the three-point line to secure the sixth double-digit WCC game of the year.
Records: Gonzaga moves to 16-4 overall and a perfect 7-0 in conference play. The Zags extend their winning streak to six games and 8-2 on the road.
San Diego falls to 10-10 overall and 2-6 in the WCC. The Bulldogs also record their 11th-straight win over USD.
Up Next: The Bulldogs return home on Thursday, Feb. 3, to play Pacific. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. Live stats and live video can be found at GoZags.com along with Instagram and Twitter, @ZagWBB.
