Gaels Lay Ugly Loss On Zags

Women’s basketball

The Gonzaga University women’s basketball team saved its worst for its first West Coast Conference home game of the season.

Then again, the Bulldogs were up against defending conference champion Saint Mary’s Thursday night at Martin Centre. The taller, stronger and more athletic Gaels blew past the Zags 69-36. The game, in which the Bulldogs shots 12 of 60 for 20 percent, was about as suspenseful as the final score.

It was Gonzaga’s worst offensive output dating back to three seasons ago, when the Bulldogs scored 33 points against Oregon.

“We’ve been doing this to teams all year long,” said Saint Mary’s coach Kelly Graves, whose Gaels have been holding opponents to a league-best 54.9 points per game. “They had to work for everything they got.”

The loss evened Gonzaga’s record to 8-8, 1-2 in the WCC. The first-place Gaels improved to 11-5, 3-0 in conference games.

“The bottom line is they just beat us to death on the inside,” Gonzaga coach Kellee Barney said. “Their defense just had their way with us. They boarded hard, they played intense and we couldn’t stop (Tracy) Morris.”

Morris, last year’s WCC player of the year and the conference leader in scoring with 18.7 per game, singed the Zags for a game-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting. The silky-smooth shooter with the softest shot around was 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

She was only one of the weapons that helped the Gaels to 44.6 percent shooting. Sophomore forwards and identical twins Jerkisha and Jermisha Dosty took care of things inside. Jerkisha scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Jermisha chipped in with eight points and blocked two shots.

Former Lakeside High standout Brianne Jolley came off the Saint Mary’s bench to score seven points in 21 minutes.

The Gaels outrebounded Gonzaga 58-36 and blocked eight shots to the Zags’ two.

“They did a great job,” Barney said. “To be honest, I was quite disappointed in our effort. I didn’t think we played as a unit. We’re not going to beat anybody as a bunch of individuals out there.

“We had people go off on their own page from a defensive standpoint.”

From an offensive angle, Gonzaga’s starting five had none. They combined for just 17 points. The Bulldogs found themselves trailing at the half 38-17 and it only got worse in the second half.

Shooting has been a problem for the Bulldogs all season. They entered the game shooting 37.1 percent.

Jessica Malone, Gonzaga’s leading scorer at 15.4 points per game, was shut down by Hilary Parker and finished with four points on 2-of-9 shooting.

Holly Bruno, who came off the bench after starting in the first 15 games, was 0 for 5 from long range and 0 for 9 overall.

Heather Osberg provided a spark off the bench with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Saint Mary’s 69, Gonzaga 36

Saint Mary’s (11-5, 3-0) - Parker 3-5 1-3 7, Quintal 1-4 1-2 4, Jerm. Dosty 4-10 0-0 8, Morris 8-14 0-2 20, Jerk. Dotsy 6-13, 2-3 14, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Volmer 0-0 0-0 0, Prado 1-1 0-0 3, Morris 0-1 0-0 0, Miles-Threatt 0-3 0-0 0, Abraham 3-6 0-0 6, Kelly 0-1 0-2 0, Totals 29-65 4-12 69.

Gonzaga (8-8, 1-2) - Waltz 0-3 1-2 4, Quitiquit 1-1 2-3 4, Lampson 0-5 0-0 0, Osberg 4-9 0-2 11, Bergman 1-5 0-0 2, Chevally 0-1 2-2 2, Bruno 0-9 0-0 0, Jeffries 0-4 0-0 0, Malone 2-9 0-0 4, Clark 0-10-0 0, Deal 2-2 0-0 4, Tipps 1-4 1-4 3, Correa 0-0 2-4 2, Perno 1-7 1-1 2. Totals 12-60 9-18 36.

Halftime-Saint Mary’s 38, Gonzaga 17. 3-point goals- Saint Mary’s 7-13 (Morris 4-6, Prado 1-1, Jolley 1-2) Gonzaga 3-17 (Osberg 3-4, Jeffries 0-1, Lampson 0-2, Bergman 0-2, Malone 0-3, Bruno 0-5). Fouled out- None. Rebounds- Saint Mary’s 58 (Jolley 7, Morris 6), Gonzaga 36 (Deal8). Assists- Saint Mary’s 20 (Quintal 4, Morris 4,Volmer 4) Gonzaga 7 (Quitquit 2, Waltz 2). Total fouls-Saint Mary’s 15, Gonzaga 16. Technicals- None. A- 539.

Oregon St. 72, Washington St. 52

Reda Petraitis had a career-high 18 points, and Cherrith Wiersma made three 3-pointers in the first 4 minutes to set the tone for Oregon State’s 72-52 win over Washington State.

The Beavers (6-10, 2-2 Pac-10) won their second straight after losing 10 consecutive conference games.

Jennifer Kerns had 13 points to lead the Cougars (3-12, 0-5), who lost for the seventh time in a row and 10th time in their last 11 games.

Petraitis made 9 of her 12 shots and added six rebounds. Four other Oregon State players scored in double figures, including Sissel Pierce, who had 10 points and blocked five shots.

Washington State (3-12) - Harrod 2-8 0-0 4, Collins 1-3 0-0 2, Smith 2-4 0-0 6, Kerns 5-9 0-0 13, Dietel 4-14 2-4 10, Nyseth 1-6 0-0 3, Eldridge 0-0 0-0 0, McNeely 3-4 4-4 10, Volkman 2-5 0-0 4, Berglund 0-4 0-0 0, DeAnda 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-57 6-8 52.

Oregon State (6-10) - Ca. Wiersma 1-3 0-0 3, Ce. Wiersma 4-10 0-0 11, Pierce 5-7 0-2 10, Petr aitis 9-12 0-1 18, Ragland 4-8 2-2 10, Rukstelyte 1-2 1-2 3, Kinsman 0-0 0-0 0, Cook 0-4 2-2 2, Thomas 3-5 2-4 10, Funn 0-5 0-0 0, Estell 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 29-60 7-13 72.

Halftime-Oregon State 33, Washington State 22. 3-Point goals-Oregon State 7-14 (Ce. Wiersma 3-6, Thomas 2-3, Estell 1-1, Ca. Wiersma 1-1, Funn 0-1, Ragland 0-2), Washington State 6-16 (Kerns 3-5, Smith 2-3, Nyseth 1-4, Collins 0-1, Dietel 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Washington State 32 (Dietel 6), Oregon State 33 (Cook 9). Assists-Washington State 16 (Nyseth 8), Oregon State 23 (Ce. Wiersma 6). Total fouls-Washington State 16, Oregon State 9. A-606.

EWU 73, Sacramento State 54

Tracy Ford Phelps and Julie Moore led all scorers with 14 points and Allie Bailey added 12 as the Eagles opened a four-game homestand by defeating the Hornets in Cheney for their first Big Sky Conference win of the season.

Cal State Sacramento (3-11, 1-2) - Scoubes 3-11 3-7 11, Kenyan 1-2 0-0 2, Hardaway 3-6 0-2 6, Rodriguez 2-4 3-4 7, Dunn 3-8 2-4 9, Gatson 2-9 2-4 6, St. Clair 2-4 4-6 9, Mayes 0-0 0-0 0, Carter 1-1 0-0 2,Smurzynski 1-7, 0-0 2, Ranny 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-52, 16-27 54.

Eastern Washington (5-10, 1-4) - Demetruk 0-3 0-0 0, Bailey 5-9 2-2 12, Paluck 1-6 0-0 2, J. Granger 0-2 2-2 2, Ruen 2-5 1-2 6, Ford-Phelps 6-16 0-0 14, Chase 2-6 0-0 4, Moore 7-10 0-0 14, Gabel 2-6 0-0 4, Burgess 3-5 0-2 6, Carlson 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 31-80 8-12 73.

Halftime-Eastern Washington 43, Cal State Sacramento 24. 3-point goals- Cal State Sacramento 2-8 (St. Clair 1-2, Dunn 1-3, Scoubes 0-1, Rodriguez 0-1), Eastern Washington 3-17 (FordPhelps 2-6, Granger 1-1, Demetruk 0-1, Granger 0-3, Paluck 0-4). Fouled out- None. Rebounds- Cal State Sacramento 37 (Ranney 6, St. Clair 6) Eastern Washington (Bailey 9, Moore 9). Assists- Cal State Sacramento 7 (Dunn 4) Eastern Washington 19 (Granger 6). Total fouls-Cal State Sacramento 14, Eastern Washington 22. Technicals- None. A- 835.

Oregon 65, Washington 51

Washington (5-12) - Erickon 3-7 0-0 6, Sheets 3-8 0-0 7, Gray 0-3 4-4 4, Franza 6-15 1-2 15, Payne 4-16 2-3 10, Duncan 0-4 2-2 2, Autrey 2-3 0-0 4, O’Neill 1-5 0-0 3, Pimley 0-0 0-0 0, Reichmann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-61 9-11 51.

Oregon (12-4) - Wolvert 3-6 1-3 7, Mowe 2-3 0-0 4, Williams 5-17 7-7 20, Craighead 0-7 0-0 0, Strange 2-9 2-2 6, Piers 0-1 0-0 0, Shreve 0-1 0-0 0, Edwards 0-1 0-0 0, Dion 3-7 0-0 8, Fredrick 2-3 1-2 5, Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Unaka 0-0 2-2 2, Meharry 3-8 7-7 13. Totals 20-63 20-23 65.

Halftime-Oregon 29, Washington 16. 3-Point goals- Washington 4-18 (Franza 2-4, Sheets 1-1, O’Neill 1-3, Duncan 0-1, Gray 0-2, Payne 0-7), Oregon 5-23 (Williams 3-11, Dion 2-4, Shreve 0-1, Craighead 0-7). None. Rebounds-UW 39 (O’Neill 12), Oregon 43 (Strange 9). Assists-Washington 10 (Gray 5), Oregon 15 (Craighead 5). Total fouls-UW 22, Oregon 11. A-5,334.