Even minus ‘A’ game, GU still head of class

When a basketball team wins 21 games, the last 17 in a row, not every one of them is going to be picture perfect.

But there is something to be said about pulling out a win under duress.

That’s what the Gonzaga women’s team did at the McCarthey Athletic Center Thursday night, upending Pepperdine 61-51 despite their “A” game taking the night off.

“I think we needed a game like that, they pushed us,” GU coach Kelly Graves said. “I don’t think we were bad, but I don’t think we were at our best. I think it’s important to know if we’re off on any given night that we can still win. I thought down the stretch we got back to playing great defense.”

That put Gonzaga (21-2, 10-0) in position to clinch the West Coast Conference title Saturday afternoon at 2 against Loyola Marymount while tying the school record of 18 straight wins.

“I feel like as long as we can play a “B” game we can win in our conference,” senior point guard Shannon Mathews said. “This was a B-minus. Defensively it was an “A,” offensively we didn’t look so good.”

The grade was less than perfect, but the crowd of 1,383 didn’t mind as the home team extended its nation-best winning streak.

The Bulldogs committed 22 turnovers, shot 37 percent in the second half and failed to put away the Waves.

However, the grade didn’t apply to Ashley Burke, who definitely had her “A” game. She hit 9 of 10 shots for a game-high 21 points, snagged eight rebounds and was even better on defense.

Burke, a 6-foot-1 senior, had the lead role in limiting league-leading scorer Jennifer Lacy to five points – more than 12 less than her average – on 2-of-12 shooting. Lacy, a 6-3 post player, had only three rebounds, more than five below her average.

“We had a really great team effort on defending their best player,” Burke said. “She was maybe trying to do too much and getting a little frustrated at times. I was trying to get her off the blocks and out of her comfort zone and trying to make her do things out of character. … I love playing good defense. It just pumps me up and gets me going on offense.”

Pepperdine (9-14, 5-5) shot 35 percent, had 21 turnovers and, with Lacy handcuffed, had too many players standing around.

After a dismal start when they hit just 1 of 7 shots, the Bulldogs took control. An 11-0 run late in the first half, when they held the Waves scoreless for 6:26, pushed the lead to 14 before it ended at 32-22 at intermission.

“That first half defensively is as good as we can play,” Graves said. “We got a little tentative (late) and they picked up the pressure.”

That was after another offensive surge had pushed the lead to 17 early in the second half. The Waves got it down to three with less than 7 minutes to play.

Then Graves got a technical with 3:39 left that gave the Waves their last chance. Lauren Wenski nailed the free throws to make it 53-49, but the ensuing possession was a turnover. Ashley Burke cashed that in with a shot from the foul line. Pepperdine proceeded to miss its next four shots, going scoreless for 3:19 as the Zags pulled away.

Mathews had 11 of her 15 points in the first half and had 12 assists. Anne Bailey had her usual stellar game off the bench, adding 13 points.

“The best thing about this team this year is we know we can win,” Mathews said. “It’s never been like that in the past. We hoped we could win. Now we know we can win, all we have to do is execute the game plan.”

Gonzaga 61, Pepperdine 51

Pepperdine (9-14, 5-5)–Ball 4-5 1-2 9, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Lacy 2-12 1-4 5, Stafford 5-14 2-3 12, Kennedy 4-15 2-4 11, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Wenski 1-4 2-2 5, Clarendon 3-6 1-2 7, George 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 20-58 9-17 51.

Gonzaga (21-2, 10-0)–Burke 9-10 3-3 21, Hawk 3-6 0-0 6, Mathews 4-13 4-4 15, Laney 0-2 0-0 0, Jewell 1-4 0-0 2, Harris 0-3 0-0 0, Kane 0-1 0-0 0, Ridenour 1-4 0-0 2, Bailey 5-9 3-4 13, Lecoultre 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-55 10-11 61.

Halftime–Gonzaga 32, Pepperdine 22. 3-point goals–Pepperdine 2-16 (Kennedy 1-4, Wenski 1-4, Johnson 0-1, Lacy 0-2, Stafford 0-5), Gonzaga 3-15 (Mathews 3-8, Burke 0-1, Hawk 0-1, Kane 0-1, Ridenour 0-1, Jewell 0-3). Fouled out–Ball. Rebounds–Pepperdine 33 (Stafford, Clarendon 6), Gonzaga 41 (Burke 8). Assists–Pepperdine 8 (Stafford 4), Gonzaga 20 (Mathews 12). Total fouls–Pepperdine 14, Gonzaga 15. Technicals–Gonzaga bench. A–1,383.