MTSU puts squeeze on Gonzaga

STANFORD, Calif. – Gonzaga women’s basketball team finally made it to the Big Dance – and forgot its shoes.

Hounded by relentless pressure and buried under an avalanche of turnovers, the 12th-seeded Bulldogs were steamrolled 85-46 by fifth-seeded and 17th-ranked Middle Tennessee Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.

“That’s a bad matchup for us,” GU coach Kelly Graves said. “We’ve always struggled against pressure. I’m surprised we didn’t have more teams this year pressure us. It’s been one of our deficiencies and it showed tonight.”

The Blue Raiders (30-3) tied up Gonzaga (24-10) on the first possession and proceeded to force 37 turnovers, which they turned into 43 points.

“It was good pressure,” starting point guard Rachel Kane said. “We just didn’t handle it very well. They’re very athletic, long and very intense and we backed down from it, I guess.”

“We practiced for it all week, going against seven players, but it’s a different in a game,” added backup point Sasha Polishchuck.

One stretch told it all.

MTSU, the Sun Belt champions who have won 24 straight, held the Zags without a field goal for 10 minutes, 55 seconds, stretching a 17-10 lead to 42-17. In that time, GU missed seven shots and had 14 turnovers.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” Graves said. “It’s hard to simulate in practice – there’s just no way, we just don’t have those kind of athletes to do it. I think we were kind of shocked.

“Even after we broke it and got it into the half court, we were unable to get any kind of offense, which is our strength. You take away that tempo and control, we just don’t have any playmakers. That’s the honest truth. We need to recruit those areas, but give them a lot of credit, they’re a good team.”

The inside-outside combination of Chrissy Givens and Amber Holt was as good as advertised, combining for 47 points.

Givens, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, had 24 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists.

“She’s a good player. She’s craft,” GU sophomore Jami Bjorklund said. “She’s got a nice touch and a good spin move. You can’t let her get in the key.”

The 6-foot Holt had 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and combined with 6-2 Krystie Horton, who had 14 points, for 13 rebounds. MTSU had a 34-32 edge in rebounding, but it was 17-8 in offensive rebound, good for 48-14 advantage for points in the paint.

“The biggest thing before the tournament we talked about was that it doesn’t matter what the other team does, we have an offense that pretty much can’t be stopped,” Givens said. “Our defense turns into our offense and that’s Middle Tennessee basketball.”

It was 44-20 at the half and the Blue Raiders got the margin to 28 before a brief surge let the Bulldogs cut it to 19. The momentum didn’t last.

“One thing we did a good job finally was pressuring them back,” Graves said. “Maybe we should have done that earlier, (but) it’s not our game. It seemed to work for a while and then that next wave came.”

Michelle Elliott led the Bulldogs with 17 points off the bench, 12 in the second half. Katy Ridenour added 10.

“I came to where I wanted to,” said Ridenour, a senior, about attending GU. “I don’t know what to think, (because) we lost. It’s bittersweet. We got beat by a good team so I don’t have any regrets.

“We knew what we were getting into, but it’s really hard to prepare for that style of game. They’re a good team.”

Middle Tennessee St. 85, Gonzaga 46

Percentages: FG .410, FT .800. 3-Point Goals: 2-6, .333 (Elliott 2-2, Hawk 0-1, Bjorklund 0-1, Ridenour 0-2). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 5 (Hawk 4, Ridenour). Turnovers: 37 (Polischuk 10, Kane 7, Elliott 5, Frieson 4, Bowman 3, Hawk 3, Ridenour 2, Bjorklund 2, TEAM). Steals: 7 (Ridenour 3, Bowman, Polishchuk, Elliott, Santos). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .479, FT .667. 3-Point Goals: 5-16, .313 (Orr 2-3, Barclay 2-4, Pickel 1-6, Holt 0-1, Abney 0-1, Boyd 0-1). Team Rebounds: 6. Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 13 (Givens 5, Horton 3, Orr 3, Barclay, TEAM). Steals: 17 (Givens 5, Holt 4, Horton 4, Orr 3, Abney). Technical Fouls: None.

Halftime–Middle Tennessee State 44, Gonzaga 20. A–NA.