Area women: Hawk zeros in as GU overcomes Santa Clara

The Gonzaga Bulldogs were so busy looking outside they almost got beat inside.

The Zags took away Santa Clara’s outside game but gave up 36 inside, including a career-high 30 from Jen Gottschalk, to pull out a 78-73 overtime basketball win in a West Coast Conference showdown Thursday night at McCarthey Athletic Center.

But as good as Gottschalk was for the Broncos, Stephanie Hawk was better.

The GU senior scored 29 of her career-high 33 points after halftime – including the final four points of the game from the free-throw line to clinch it – and grabbed 11 rebounds.

“We had to be more aggressive, that was it,” said Hawk, whose first basket of the game gave her 1,000 points for her career. “We decided enough was enough.”

Gottschalk, a 6-foot junior who didn’t play the last two seasons, opened overtime with a layup, but she fouled out shortly after that. GU freshman Heather Bowman made two free throws to tie it, then hit two of her next four as the Zags (12-8, 3-0) took their first lead of the game. GU trailed from the time Hawk’s milestone basket tied the game at 4 until her layup with 2:19 left in regulation tied it at 67.

Santa Clara, which shot 52.2 percent in regulation, only made 3 of 8 shots in overtime.

This wasn’t how the game was expected to go between the teams that tied for the WCC title last year.

The Broncos (9-8, 1-1) came into the game as the best 3-point shooting team in the nation with 163, an average of more than 10 a game. They hit 4 of 8 in the first half but finished 6 of 15, two by Gottschalk.

Chandice Cronk, the leader of the long-range squad, was completely shut down by the defense of Jami Bjorklund and Katy Ridenour.

Cronk, who averages 17.8 points a game with a nation-best four 3-pointers a game (64 for the season), did not score from the field despite playing all 45 minutes. She got off just one shot in the first half and was 0 for 6 overall with five of them 3s, after hitting 8 of 12 Sunday.

“When you were on her you had no other responsibilities whatsoever,” said Ridenour, who contribute six points and 10 rebounds. “It’s really hard. You’re used to (helping). It takes a lot of discipline.”

Considering that was the game plan, Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves was pleased.

“We had a difficult time stopping them inside. Obviously they had a difficult time stopping us,” he said. “I think part of it is we focused on stopping their perimeter game, and for the most part we did a good job. That was our emphasis. … Jami is a stopper – she is a stick-to-you defender. She can really focus.”

Bjorklund had three points and four assists. Bowman finished with 20 points.

The only other Bronco in double figures was 6-3 forward Ashley Gonnerman, with 14.

By halftime, Gottschalk and Gonnerman had scored more than their average, combining for 23 points as the Broncos took a 36-28 lead.

But even without a contribution from Cronk – her lone point came when she made 1 of 2 free throws when Graves was given a technical foul – SCU shot 56 percent, while GU was at 41.4.

“(Cronk) didn’t get as many looks the first half and one reason was because we were having so much success inside,” Broncos coach Michelle Bento-Jackson said. “I just didn’t think we did the same things in the second half defensively we did in the first half. Gonzaga found something they could go to. It was like the Hawk-Gottschalk Show.”

“Maria Stotler scored a team-high 12 points, but it wasn’t enough as Washington State (5-11, 1-6) fell to No. 22 California 55-48 in Pac-10 play in Pullman, Wash.

Devanei Hampton scored 14 points and hauled in 13 rebounds for the Bears (12-4, 3-3), who snapped a 46-46 tie with a 9-0 run in the second half.

“Sydney Benson scored 17 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had four blocks for Eastern Washington, but Idaho State (5-8, 1-0) still managed to earn the 90-60 Big Sky Conference win in Pocatello, Idaho.

Freshman Nicole Scott scored a career-high 14 for the Eagles (6-10, 1-2).

“Utah State (6-9, 2-1) handed Idaho a 78-70 Western Athletic Conference loss in Logan, Utah, despite 25 points and 12 boards from Vandals (3-11, 0-3) freshman Katie Madison.

“Freshman Jayne Appel scored 19 points to lead No.10 Stanford (13-3, 6-0) past Washington (12-6, 5-2) 77-56 in Pac-10 play in Seattle.