Malone’S Hot Hand Sparks Zags

Jessica Malone scored a game-high 26 points to lead Gonzaga to a 71-61 non-conference victory over Weber State on Saturday at Martin Centre.

Gonzaga (3-5), led by Malone’s eight rebounds, dominated the boards 44-33. The Bulldogs’ 18 offensive rebounds, led to 18 second-chance points.

Weber State (1-6) was led by the 15 points of Andie Willer. Shelley Olson added 13 points and five assists.

Melanie Tipps totaled nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks for the Bulldogs.

Gonzaga jumped out to a 26-7 lead with 6:40 remaining in the first half. Malone hit a pair of 3-pointers and tallied 14 points in the run.

The Wildcats pulled to within 38-34 with 15:48 left to play but a 3-pointer by Holly Turner sparked a 12-3 Gonzaga run and 50-37 advantage.

Weber State closed to within 65-59 with 1:27 remaining but Gonzaga connected on 6 of 10 free throws down the stretch.

Gonzaga 71, Weber State 61

Weber State (1-6) - Olson 4-11 2-4 13, Hansen 1-5 0-0 2, Willer 5-14 0-0 15, Kanongata 1-2 1-4 3, Geddes 0-3 5-6 5, Langford 5-8 0-0 11, Paskins 1-3 1-2 3, West 0-0 1-2 2, Stanger 0-0 0-0 0, O’Brien 3-4 1-6 7. Totals 20-50 12-24 61.

Gonzaga (3-5) - Waltz 0-3 3-8 3, Carroll 2-2 2-4 6, Osberg 3-6 2-2 8, Bergman 0-0 0-0 0, McNairy 1-3 0-2 2, Turner 2-5 0-0 5, Jeffries 3-5 0-1 7, Malone 9-22 4-4 26, Deal 0-2 0-0 0, Tipps 2-6 5-6 9, Correa 0-0 0-0 0, Perno 2-3 1-2 5. Totals 24-57 17-29 71.

Halftime - Weber State 28, Gonzaga 36. 3-point goals - Weber State 9 (Olson 3-9, Hansen 0-1, Willer 5-11, Langford 1-4, Paskins 0-1), Gonzaga 6 (Turner 1-4, Malone 4-12, Jeffries 1-2, Osberg 0-1). Fouled out - none. Rebounds - Weber State 33 (Willer 6, Geddes 6), Gonzaga 44 (Malone 8). Assists - Weber State 14 (Olson 5) Gonzaga 9 (Turner 3). Total fouls - Weber State 22, Gonzaga 21. Technicals - none. A - 471.

Utah 72, Idaho 55

Erin Gibbons tossed in a game-high 23 points and the Utes held Idaho’s leading scorer Alli Nieman to eight points en route to a non-conference victory over the Vandals at Memorial Gym in Moscow.

Nieman connected on just 4 of 12 shots from the field and had no free-throw attempts in 33 minutes of play.

Kelly Bartleson finished with nine points to lead Idaho. The Vandals shot 40 percent from the floor (23-57), including 1 of 9 from 3-point range. Idaho (6-4) led 29-26 at the half before being outscored 46-26 over the final 20 minutes.

The Vandals tied it at 53 on a layup by Suzy Goss, but Utah went on a 19-2 run to close the game. Gibbons had seven points during that run.

“They pretty much buried us real quick,” first-year Idaho coach Hillary Recknor said. “We went to sleep defensively.”

Nieman was held to two points in the second half. Susan Woolf, the Vandals’ 3-point specialist, was held to six points and went 0 for 3 from 3-point range. Utah (6-3) shot 51 percent for the game, connecting on 28 of 55 shots. Lauren Becman grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for the Utes.

Utah (6-3) - Andersen 5-10 2-2 13, Red 1-7 2-2 4, Rose 4-5 0-0 8, Gibbons 9-14 3-4 23, Fuertes 4-5 2-4 11, McColl 2-3 2-3 6, Sodja 0-3 0-0 0, Ewert 0-2 0-0 0, Herbert 0-0 0-0 0, Beckman 3-6 1-4 7. Totals 28-55 12-19 72.

Idaho (6-4) - LeBlanc 0-0 0-0 0, Woolf 3-9 0-0 6, Goss 1-1 1-3 3, Bartleson 3-6 3-6 9, Jackson 2-6 2-2 6, Benad 1-2 0-0 3, Rico 0-1 0-0 0, Nieman 4-12 0-0 8, Stone 3-11 1-2 7, Wynstra 6-9 1-1 13, Totals 23-57 8-14 55.

Halftime - Utah 26, Idaho 29. 3-point goals - Utah 4 (Andersen 1-5, Red 0-4, Gibbons 2-5, Fuertes 1-1, Sodja 0-1), Idaho 1 (Bartleson 0-1, Nieman 0-1, Woolf 0-1, Jackson 0-1, Benad 1-1). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Utah 36 (Beckman 13), Idaho 33 (Stone 8). Assists - Utah 13 (Fuertes 5), Idaho 10 (Nieman 4). Total fouls - Utah 14, Idaho 16. Technicals - None. A - 1,042.

Pacific Lutheran 78, Whitworth 41

Sophomore guard Lucy Barker netted a career-high 21 points to spark the Lutes to a runaway Northwest Conference victory over the Pirates at Olson Auditorium in Tacoma.

PLU (6-2, 4-0), the defending conference champions, has won five straight games.

Barker connected on 8 of 13 shots from the floor, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Teammate Tara Millet added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Jamie Wakefield scored 16 points and snagged seven rebounds to pace Whitworth (4-3, 2-2).

The Lutes, who led 19-18 with 8 minutes to play in the first half, went on a 17-3 run to lead 36-22 at the break. PLU outscored the Pirates 42-19 in the second half.

Whitworth (4-3, 2-2) - Stuenkel 0-7 0-0 0, Albertson 0-0 0-0 0, Walter 0-4 4-4 4, Dreewes 0-1 0-0 0, Hamlin 0-0 0-0 0, Ratcliff 1-2 0-0 2, Wakefield 6-13 3-6 16, Turner 0-1 0-0 0, Werner 1-7 1-2 3, Slwooko 1-4 0-0 2, Olson 4-12 4-5 12, Totals 14-54 12-17 41.

Pacific Lutheran (6-2, 4-0) - Morgenthaler 4-7 2-2 12, Millet 3-8 6-6 13, Hahn 0-1 0-0 0, Franza 3-6 4-5 11, Barker 8-13 1-2 21, Johnson 3-5 0-0 6, Ruud 3-6 0-0 6, Rogers 0-5 0-1 0, Banks 0-3 0-0 0, Keatts 2-4 2-4 6, Iserman 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 27-60 16-22 78.

Halftime - Whitworth 22, Pacific Lutheran 36. 3-point goals - Whitworth 1 (Wakefield 1-1, Werner 0-1, Slwooko 0-1, Walter 0-2) Pacific Lutheran 8 (Morgenthaler 2-3, Millet 1-1, Franza 1-3, Barker 4-5, Ruud 0-1, Keatts 0-1). Fouled out - none. Rebounds - Whitworth 43 (Wakefield 7), Pacific Lutheran 38 (Millet 9). Assists - Whitworth 5 (Werner 2, Slwooko 2), Pacific Lutheran 20 (Hahn 4). Total fouls - Whitworth 17, Pacific Lutheran 15. Technicals - none. A - 50.

Bustin’ Broncs

At 6-0, Santa Clara not only has matched the best start in school history, it also has equaled the best start in the West Coast Conference.

Santa Clara also started 6-0 in the 1990-91 season and San Francisco did the same in 1980-81.