Bulldogs earn share of conference title

Stephanie Hawk led four Bulldogs in double figures with 17 points as Gonzaga earned a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title Saturday by beating host San Francisco 71-53.

The Bulldogs (16-13, 11-3) are tied atop the conference with Santa Clara but will be the No. 2 seed in the WCC tournament – which begins Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center – because the Broncos have a better record against Pepperdine, the WCC’s fourth-place finisher.

Hawk also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds as the Bulldogs, who shot 51 percent from the field, got 15 points from Katy Ridenour, 14 from Anne Bailey and 12 from Ashley Anderson.

Gonzaga used its muscle inside to separate itself from the Dons (8-19, 4-10). The Bulldogs outscored the Dons in the paint 34-16 and held a 20-9 edge in free throws made.

GU also was strong on defense, holding San Francisco to 38.2 percent shooting and forcing the Dons into 18 turnovers. Nickie Warren led San Francisco with 11 points.

•Candice Wiggins scored 22 points to lead No. 15 Stanford to a 78-47 Pac-10 win over Washington State in Stanford, Calif.

Jillian Harmon added 19 points for the Cardinal (21-6, 15-3 Pac-10), who will enter the conference tournament as the top seed.

Amanda DuRocher had 12 points and Kate Benz 10 for Washington State (8-19, 2-16). Benz also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, which moved her into fourth place on WSU’s all-time list with 689.

With the win, the Cardinal won their conference-record sixth straight title and 15th overall. The Cougars have never beaten Stanford in 42 meetings.

•Felice Moore had game highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds as Eastern Washington beat Montana State 63-56 in Bozeman, Mont.

The loss eliminated MSU (3-21, 2-10) from the Big Sky Conference tournament.

Eastern (11-14, 5-7) held the Bobcats to 34 percent shooting and forced them into 18 turnovers. EWU outrebounded the Bobcats 46-32.

Leah Gonnella had nine points for Eastern, while Ashley Knight contributed eight points, five rebounds and four steals.

Alyssa Nelson led the way for Montana State with 15 points and five rebounds.

•Ashley Walker and Jene Morris each had 19 points as four Bears scored at least 16 points in California’s 81-58 win over Washington in Seattle in the Pac-10 finale for both teams.

UW had pulled to within five points of the Bears (18-10, 10-8) with 7:20 to play, but Cal went on a 19-2 run to open up a 24-point lead that secured the win.

Washington (19-9, 11-7) was led Cameo Hicks, Breanne Watson and Andrea Plouffe, all of whom finished with 13 points, and Kristen O’Neill, who added 12.

In addition to Morris and Walker, the Bears got 17 points from Alexis Gray-Lawson and 16 points and eight rebounds from Devanei Hampton.

•Emily Wittkopf scored a game-high 18 points as Community Colleges of Spokane cruised past Walla Walla 62-42 in Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges action in Walla Walla.

Brittany O’Neal added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Sasquatch (18-9, 9-4).

Mandy Troutt led the Warriors (19-7, 9-4) with 13 points.

•Lindsey Koppen had a game-high 17 points as No. 13 North Idaho secured the Scenic West Athletic Conference title outright with a 90-72 victory over Eastern Utah at Coeur d’Alene.

Five Cardinals scored in double figures as NIC (23-6, 16-2) forced Eastern Utah (16-12, 7-9) into 31 turnovers.

•Jenean Ford had a game-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and hit the game-winner with 7 seconds left as New Mexico State (8-18, 5-10) snapped a six-game losing streak by beating Idaho (8-17, 4-10) 56-55 in Western Athletic Conference play in Moscow.

Leilani Mitchell had a team-high 20 points for the Vandals, and Emily Faurholt added 18.