Gonzaga women’s basketball team falls at Northwestern

Northwestern entered the week as one of the top defensive women’s basketball teams in the country

The Wildcats put that defense on display Monday in a 62-43 victory over Gonzaga in Evanston, Illinois.

The Wildcats (8-0), on the verge of cracking the AP Top 25, held the Bulldogs to 31 percent shooting and had four blocked shots and 10 steals in the first meeting of the schools.

Nia Coffey led NU with game highs of 16 points and seven rebounds.

The Wildcats forced 22 turnovers that they turned into 27 points and had a 32-18 advantage in the paint. But Gonzaga had a 37-34 rebound advantage with five players grabbing five each to share the team lead.

Gonzaga (6-4) was led by Keani Albanez’s 15 points. She was 5 of 12 from the field, including 2 of 6 on 3-pointers as the senior moved into 10th place all-time at GU with 116 3-pointers. She also had four steals

Shaniqua Nilles added 10 points and was one of the five with five rebounds. Elle Tinkle, another of the quintet, also had three blocked shots and three steals with six points.

Women’s basketball

Washington State senior guard Tia Presley from Gonzaga Prep has been named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the second time in her career.

Presley scored a game-high 21 points in WSU’s 59-58 come-from-behind road victory at Gonzaga, 18 in the second half after she sat much of the first half in foul trouble.

Men’s basketball

Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga’s junior forward, was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week for his efforts in back-to-back wins.

He averaged 22.5 points per game in wins over Pac-12 foes Washington State and UCLA. From the field, he was 18 of 27 (.667), including 5 of 7 (.714) on 3-pointers.

Boys basketball

Jordan Nilson scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Lakeside to a 72-37 victory in a North Star League boys opener for both teams.

Lakeside hit five 3-pointers, three by Takoda Abrahamson, in the first quarter and jumped out to a 19-10 lead, and the Knights led the rest of the way. Hunter Kolar finished with 16 points and Abrahamson chipped in 14 for the Knights.

Dillon Browning scored 14 points to lead Wallace.