LAS VEGAS (AP) — Yvonne Ejim had 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for her ninth career double-double, Brynna Maxwell made four 3-pointers and scored 18 and No. 16 Gonzaga beat BYU 79-64 on Monday to advance to the championship game of the West Coast Conference Tournament.
Gonzaga (28-3) was coming off a 58-51 win over BYU on Feb. 25 — led by Ejim's 19 points and 10 rebounds — to win its 18th WCC regular-season title. The Bulldogs have now won four straight in the series.
Gonzaga started the second half on a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 40-25 and closed the quarter on a 12-2 run for a 23-point advantage. Ejim scored 12 points in the third quarter as GU scored 27 in the frame. BYU was held to just 10 on 3-of-10 shooting. Maxwell kept Gonzaga in control with three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Kaylynne Truong added 13 points and seven assists with just one turnover for Gonzaga. Kayleigh Truong, Kaylynne's twin sister, played in just her seventh game this season because of injuries and finished with six points in 21 minutes.
Gonzaga scored 19 second-chance points and added 25 points off 23 BYU turnovers.
Nani Falatea, averaging 15.1 points, scored 13 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter to lead BYU (16-16). Falatea didn't make her first field goal of the game until a steal and fast-break layup with 3:51 left in the fourth quarter. Emma Calvert added 13 points and Lauren Gustin, coming off a 27-rebound performance against San Francisco, had nine points and a season low nine rebounds.
The Zag outrebounded the Cougars, 29-25 and held Gustin to her only single digit rebounding game of the season. Overall, GU shot 50.9% and held BYU to 35.7%.
Records: Yvonne Ejim recorded her ninth career double double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. With it being her third-straight double double performance, she has also scored in double figures 27 times this season.
The Zags won its 18th WCC Regular Season Title and head coach Lisa Fortier's seventh. It is the third time under Fortier that the Zags have only lost a single regular season conference game.
With 13 points today, Kaylynne Truong has now scored in double figures in 27 games so far this year. Brynna Maxwell has also made a three-pointer in 30 of 31 games this season as she made four today,
Up Next: Gonzaga takes on the winner of Pacific and Portland tomorrow, Tuesday March 7, at 1 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU. Live stats can be found at GoZags.com.
