SPOKANE, Wash. – In their second matchup of the year, the Gonzaga women's basketball team defeated Saint Mary's, 85-49, in the Kennel on Thursday night.
 
Senior Melody Kempton recorded her second double-double of the year with 17 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Junior Kaylynne Truong led the team overall with 18 points and four assists.
 
It was a true team win as five Zags had a double-digit performance. Senior Cierra Walker and junior Kayleigh Truong both had 12 points and sophomore Yvonne Ejim had 15. This was the second time this season that Gonzaga had five players score in double figures as they also reached that feat against Pacific on Jan. 13.
 
In the opening quarter, Kayleigh Truong paced the Zags with five points and Kempton grabbed a team-high three rebounds. The Zags shot at 60 percent from beyond the arc and went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to gain a 17-13 lead after ten minutes.
 
The Bulldogs continued their offensive performance in the second by scoring 22 points. Kempton led the team with six points after going 3-for-3 from the field and grabbing four more boards.
 
Defensively in the first half, the Zags forced 16 turnovers and scored 22 points off those miscues. Kayleigh Truong scored a team-high 10 points in just 14 minutes of action as Kempton recorded seven rebounds and eight points. Kaylynne Truong also scored eight points for the Zag, which included a pair of three-pointers.
 
With a 39-26 lead at the half, Gonzaga came out on fire in the third quarter and went on a 12-0 run in the opening minutes. Overall, the team shot at 60 percent from the field and held SMC to only eight points in the frame.
 
Ejim led the team with eight points and Kempton grabbed five more rebounds. Twenty points came from inside the paint and the Bulldogs outrebounded the Gaels 16-4 in the third.
 
The Zags secured their 36-point victory in the fourth quarter with Kempton and Ejim both tallying five points. Thirteen more points came from the bench in the final quarter as the Zags held the Gaels to no three-pointer in the fourth quarter.
 
Overall, Gonzaga scored 44 points in the paint and 40 from off the bench. Defensively, GU forced 24 turnovers and scored 35 points off those miscues. The Bulldogs also dominated the boards by outrebounding SMC, 46-30, which included 22 offensive rebounds.
 
Records: GU moves to 21-5 overall and 12-1 in the West Coast Conference. Saint Mary's falls to 12-13 and 6-8 in the WCC. The Zags now lead the series 48-29 as head coach Lisa Fortier is 14-4 against SMC.
 
Up Next: The Gonzaga Bulldogs travel to No. 20/16 Brigham Young University on Saturday, Feb. 19, for a 1 p.m. tipoff. Live stats and live video can be found on GoZags.com along with Instagram and Twitter, @ZagWBB.