Vandersloot leads GU to easy victory

Courtney Vandersloot’s career-high 27 points helped get the women’s basketball season at Gonzaga off to a rollicking start with a 101-44 blitz of Eastern Oregon on Friday night at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

It was the second-largest margin of victory in Gonzaga women’s history – just a point behind the 117-58 crushing of Warner Pacific in 1985.

Vandersloot, a 5-foot-8 sophomore from Kent, Wash., made 10 of 16 shots from the field, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range, and added eight assists. Kayla Standish added 16 points, Janelle Bekkering 12 and Jami Schaefer 10 as the Bulldogs shot 55.4 percent from the field – 65.7 in the second half.

The Bulldogs trailed 7-4 early before going on an 11-0 burst, seven of those coming on Vandersloot jump shots. Gonzaga broke open the game by outscoring the Mountaineers (1-1) 19-6 over the last 4:38 of the first half.

The Bulldogs were dominant on the boards, outrebounding EOU 46-18 and getting 36 second-chance points while the visitors had none. The Mountaineers, who got a 15-point effort from former Eastern Washington player Breanna Olson, were also victimized by 28 turnovers resulting in 39 GU points.

•Cold shooting doomed Idaho in its first game under coach Jon Newlee as the Vandals fell 90-55 to Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas.

A 20-8 run at the end of the first half allowed the Red Raiders to surge to a 45-27 lead, fueled by 54.8 percent shooting.

The Vandals, meanwhile, shot just 34.9 percent for the game, including 8 of 30 from 3-point range.

Yinka Olorunnife and Dersa Taleni each scored 12 points for the Vandals, with Olorunnife adding nine rebounds. Maddy Brown led five Red Raiders in double figures with 18 points.

•Dellena Criner scored eight straight points midway through the second half to break open a two-point game and lift Nevada to a 64-49 victory over Eastern Washington in their season opener in Reno.

Kyla Evans hit a 3-pointer to pull the Eagles within 42-40 with 13:45 left to play. But Eastern, shooting just 25.7 percent in the second half, managed just nine points the rest of the way.

Evans led the Eagles with 15 points – all from beyond the arc, on 5-of-8 shooting. Julie Piper added 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Criner had 20 points for the Wolf Pack, who shot 18 more free throws and outscored EWU by 14 points at the line.

•Katie Baker, a senior at Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy who plays at Lake City High School, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Montana next season. A 6-foot forward, Baker led the Timberwolves to the 2007 Idaho 5A title as a sophomore and has been Inland Empire League MVP the past two seasons.

Volleyball

Washington State remained winless in Pac-10 play, dropping a 25-15, 25-23, 25-18 decision to No. 8 Oregon in Eugene, Ore.

Brittany Johnson and Brittany Tillman each had eight kills to lead the Cougars (7-18, 0-14 Pac-10). WSU’s best showing was jumping to a 13-4 lead in the second set, but Oregon (21-5, 9-4) rallied with five straight points and later outscored the Cougars 8-3 to close out the set.

•Jessica Swarbrick’s 13 kills paced Washington (20-4, 11-3 Pac-10) to a 25-19, 26-24, 25-16 victory over Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore. Rachel Rourke had 25 kills for the Beavers (14-12, 3-10).