PULLMAN, Wash. – In the first conference game between Gonzaga and Washington State, GU came out on top in the Palouse, 69-61.

Allie Turner scored 20 points for the second time this season to lead the Bulldogs (10-8, 5-2 WCC). Other double figure scoring came from Yvonne Ejim with 17 points and Claire O'Connor with 10. Maud Huijbens also led the team with 13 rebounds for her third-straight game with double digit boards.

The Zags came out and outscored WSU (10-8, 5-2 WCC) in the first quarter, 16-12. Gonzaga also outrebounded the Cougs in the opening 10 minutes, 15-5. Both Huijbens and Ejim grabbed five boards for the Zags.

After back-to-back three-pointers from Ejim and O'Connor late in the second quarter, GU took a 33-22 lead. Gonzaga finished out the first half with forcing three turnovers from the Cougs as Gonzaga took the 33-25 lead into halftime.

The Zags absolutely dominated the board in the first half, 23-9. Huijbens grabbed a team-high seven as Ejim grabbed six. Ejim also led the scoring effort with nine points with O'Connor having seven herself after going 3-for-3 from the floor.

Gonzaga opened the third quarter with a three-pointer from Turner. She continued her scoring streak by scoring back-to-back buckets to give GU the 42-31 lead with over four minutes remaining in the third.

The Cougs went on a run to make it a closer game, but never took the lead in the third. GU had the 49-47 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

The Zags took a 10-point lead with just under eight minutes remaining after two more three-pointers from Turner. Gonzaga closed out the fourth quarter by outscoring WSU, 20-14.

Ejim made a clutch lay-up with less than a minute remaining, followed by two free throws from Turner to secure GU's win. Despite the Cougs trying to fight back, Gonzaga only allowed WSU to have the lead for the first 10 seconds of the game.

Overall, Gonzaga dominated the rebounding battle, 45-22. Huijbens led the team with 13 rebounds as Ejim also grabbed eight.

The Zags also shot an impressive 47.8% from the three and 47.3% overall. GU made 11 three-pointers on the day with Turner making four of them.
 
Notes:
- Ejim has scored double digits in 60-straight games. She has now scored 2,020 points in her career and has now moved into third all-time at GU in scoring, passing Tammy Tibbles' record of 2,011 from 1984-88. She needs 146 more points to become first all-time, ahead of Heather Bowman's 2,165 (2006-10).

- Turner matched her career-high with 20 points. She is the first freshman since Courtney Vandersloot to score 20 points for GU.

- Ejim is now second all-time in rebounds with 964. She needs 20 more to pass Kay Koppelman's 983 rebounds set from 1987-91.

Up Next:
Gonzaga returns home to play Portland on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 6 p.m. Live stats can be found at GoZags.com. The game will be televised locally on SWX along with ESPN+.