SPOKANE, Wash. — Kaylynne Truong scored a career-high 24 points, Brynna Maxwell added 13 points, as No. 23 Gonzaga defeated BYU 67-58 in Gonzaga's West Coast Conference opener on Saturday.
 
The Bulldogs' starters scored all but nine of their points, but they got clutch baskets from Destiny Burton (5 points) and Calli Stokes (4 points) off the bench. The Zags also dominated the glass overall, outrebounding BYU 32-27. Yvonne Ejim led the way with seven of those as she also scored nine points.
 
In the first quarter, the Zags (10-2) outscored the Cougars 18-14 with Eliza Hollingsworth leading the way with five points. The Bulldogs shot 61.5 percent and held BYU to a 45.5 shooting performance.
 
BYU (4-7) responded in the second by outscoring the Zags, 18-11, to take a slim 32-29 lead into the half.
 
The Bulldogs took back control in the third quarter as they tied the game at 34 on a three-point play by Truong with 8:41 remaining. A three-pointer by Truong tied it again at 37 before a jumper from Stokes and a three-point play by Burton put the Bulldogs ahead for good.
 
Gonzaga took a 50-47 lead into the fourth quarter and BYU was within one point — 55-54 — with 6:20 to go. Burton hit a layup and Truong a three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 60-54 lead and their defense held BYU to only two points over the final three and a half minutes.
 
Overall, the Zags forced 12 turnovers, seven of those steals, and scored 19 points off those miscues. Gonzaga also scored 20 points inside the paint and 18 on second chance opportunities.
 
Records: The Zags improve to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the WCC. BYU drops to 4-7 and 0-1 in the conference. Gonzaga now holds a 21-15 record over the Cougars.
 
Brynna Maxwell has made a three-pointer in every game so far this year as she went 2-for-5 from beyond the arc. She also went 100 percent from the charity stripe as she currently sits third in the nation in free throw percentage.
 
Up Next: Gonzaga continues WCC play on Monday by hosting the University of San Diego at 6 p.m. Live stats and video can be found at GoZags.com.