GU women romp

Senior Taelor Karr finished with game highs of 15 points and seven assists Thursday as Gonzaga held on to first place in the West Coast Conference with an 80-46 win over Pepperdine at Malibu, Calif.

The Bulldogs (16-5, 6-1) ended the first half with a burst for a 36-25 lead. Senior Meghan Winters came off the bench to score a season-high eight points, including two 3-pointers, all during a 13-3 run.

GU opened the second half with a 13-0 run, highlighted by Jazmine Redmon’s five consecutive points, to bury the Waves (4-13, 1-5). Haiden Palmer added 12 points and Shelby Cheslek 10 points and a team-high six rebounds for the Bulldogs, who won their fourth consecutive game.

GU is battling for first place with Saint Mary’s (5-1), which defeated the Bulldogs on Jan. 10, and BYU (4-1), which lost at GU last week.

GU will host Loyola Marymount (8-12, 2-5) on Thursday.

Idaho 72, Texas State 60: Alyssa Charlston had a season-high 17 rebounds and led five players in double figures with 14 points as the Vandals (8-11, 5-3 Western Athletic Conference) turned back the Bobcats (7-11, 1-7) at San Marcos, Texas.

Idaho used a 27-4 run, capped by Charlston’s offensive rebound and layup, to take a 36-23 lead late in the first half. UI led by as many as 21 in the second half.

UI’s Christina Salvatore (13 points) and Connie Ballestero (11) hit three 3-pointers apiece. Ali Forde added 10 points and five blocked shots and Krissy Karr had 10 points and seven assists.

UI is tied for third place with Louisiana Tech and Texas San Antonio, which will host the Vandals on Saturday.

North Idaho 81, Snow 50: The NJCAA Division I second-ranked Cardinals (22-1, 7-1) won their fifth consecutive game and held on to first place in the Scenic West Athletic Conference by stopping the visiting Badgers (8-13, 2-5).

The Cardinals, 8-0 at home, will host third-place Salt Lake on Saturday. Salt Lake (13-7, 4-3), which ended NIC’s undefeated season on Jan. 3, dropped a 69-68 game at second-place Southern Idaho (12-10, 6-2) on Thursday.

Men

NIC 82, Snow 77 (OT): Jalil Abdul-Bassit hit 13 of 13 free throws and scored 28 points as the Cardinals (20-3, 7-1 SWAC) rallied at the end of regulation and overtime to edge the Badgers (15-6, 3-4) in Coeur d’Alene.

Snow scored the first five points of OT, but the Cardinals took the lead for good at 79-77 with 24 seconds left.

James Webb made a steal and a basket in the final seconds of regulation to give NIC a tie with Snow at 71.

NIC remained a game behind first-place Salt Lake CC (19-2, 7-0), which won at Southern Idaho 76-67 Thursday. NIC is host to Salt Lake on Saturday. The Bruins beat NIC 75-74 on Jan. 3.