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Gonzaga University Athletics

Gonzaga falls short against Southern Cal

Gonzaga’s Shelby Cheslek is hounded by USC’s Jordan Adams, left, and Temi Fagbenle  in a physical first half of action at the McCarthey Athletic Center on Tuesday. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
Steve Christilaw Correspondent

Gonzaga opened strong and had a gritty finish against the University of Southern California in its Naismith Hall of Fame Challenge finale Tuesday in the Kennel.

But it was what came between the start and finish that led to the Bulldogs’ 60-56 loss to the Women of Troy.

Gonzaga (4-2) started its third game in as many nights in typically strong fashion, taking a 21-15 lead after one quarter.

But then there was the second quarter.

“I expected us to have some tired legs,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “I told them before the game that all they had to do was tell us and I’d find them some rest.”

It wasn’t the Bulldogs’ legs that were tired in the period. Instead, the edge that had helped the team get off to its fast start disappeared for a long stretch and the lanky, aggressive USC defense turned it into a 15-0 run that pushed the Trojans into a 36-28 lead at intermission and ballooned it to 43-28 midway through the third quarter.

“They play one of the most aggressive defenses in the country,” Fortier said. “I’m really disappointed that we allowed it to affect us the way it did.”

“They (USC) are very athletic and very physical and they really get after it,” senior Ellie Tinkle said. “They gave us some real problems.”

One of those problems was a serious lack of depth caused by the absence of 6-foot senior Shaniqua Nilles and 6-5 sophomore Emma Wolfram.

“It would have been nice to have had them both – having Emma’s long arms in the middle would have really helped,” Tinkle said. “We’re going to get them back. It’s more important that we have them in January, when league play starts.”

As suddenly as the slide started for the Bulldogs, it ended as the team got mad and decided to fight back.

The Zags trailed by 13 after three quarters, 51-38, and a 9-0 run in the fourth pulled the Bulldogs within one, 55-54.

“I wish we could have played with that fire the whole 40 minutes,” Tinkle said. “I think if we’d played like that from the beginning it would have been a different game.”

Jill Barta pulled Gonzaga within a point, 57-56 with a pair of free throws with 39.2 seconds left, but the Trojans hit 5 of 7 from the free throw line to maintain their advantage.

“I think we learned some things after the Stanford game and we’ve built on it,” Fortier said. “It would have been nice to win all three games. But please – no more injuries and let’s get over being sick.”

Tinkle finished with 12 points to lead Gonzaga, with Kiara Kudron and Jill Barta each adding 11 points and Shelby Cheslek grabbing 11 boards.

But Gonzaga also finished with an uncharacteristic 22 turnovers.

“Most of those turnovers wound up being given to Kiara and Laura (Stockton), so I’m not mad about that,” Fortier said. “Those two played hard the whole game and I’m not going to fault them.”

Temi Fagbenle, a 6-4 post from Nigeria, finished with 21 points for the Women of Troy.

USC is 5-0, its best start since the 1993-94 season and its best start under third-year head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke – who led the Trojans to a pair of national championships as a player.