BOULDER, Colo. – The Gonzaga women's basketball team defeated No. 1 seed Colorado, 64-55, in the second round of the WBIT. The win marked GU's first victory over Colorado and advances them to the quarterfinals round in Minnesota.
Yvonne Ejim and
Allie Turner led the Bulldogs with 15 points each. Ejim posted her 14th double double of the season by grabbing 10 rebounds. The Zags also shut down the Buffs by forcing 16 turnovers and grabbing 11 steals.
After a slow start,
Tayla Dalton tied the game at 14-14 with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter. At the end of the first, the Bulldogs trailed by just one, 16-15. GU shot an impressive 60% from the floor and 50% from the three-point line.
The Zags went on a 7-0 run in the second to take the lead, 21-16. GU went on to maintain the lead at halftime, 26-25. Ejim was the leading scorer with seven and six rebounds. The Buffs had the edge in the rebounding margin by just one, 18-17.
Gonzaga made back-to-back threes to take the largest lead of the game halfway through the third quarter, 44-36. Overall, GU outscored Colorado in the third frame, 25-17. Turner scored 11 points in the third to extend the lead to 51-42 going into the final 10 minutes.
The Bulldogs never let Colorado close in the fourth quarter to close out the win.
Bree Salenbien and
Maud Huijbens combined for nine points in the final 10 minutes to keep GU on top.
Overall, Gonzaga shot 43.9% from the floor and 42.9% from beyond the arc. The Zags held Colorado to 39.1% and GU scored 15 points off Colorado's 16 turnovers.
Notes:
With three threes today,
Allie Turner became the first Bulldog in women's basketball history to reach over 100 threes in a single season.
Yvonne Ejim recorded her 14th double double of the season and her 39th overall.
This is Gonzaga's first win over Colorado in program history.
Up Next:
Gonzaga heads to No. 2 seed Minnesota on Thursday, March 27. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. Pacific Time. The game will be live streamed on ESPN+ and live stats can be found at GoZags.com.
