Zags head to WCC off victory
Bowman has career night to lead GU
Well, there was that one little stretch in the second half, but other than that the message from the final Gonzaga women’s non-conference basketball game was: Look out.
The Bulldogs head into West Coast Conference play next week riding the high of a 93-70 dismantling of Saint Joseph’s before 1,611 fans at McCarthey Athletic Center on Friday night.
“I think we’re ready,” said sophomore Janelle Bekkering, who helped the Bulldogs jump on the Hawks (7-7) early. “We had a tough non-conference schedule. We played solid. That helped us prepare for the WCC.”
The four-time defending WCC champions (12-4) shot a season-high 55 percent and put all five starters in double figures, led by the career-high 33 points of junior forward Heather Bowman, who moved up to eighth on the career scoring list.
“Milestones are something you can look back on, but they’re not to cherish now. You have to think about the next game,” said Bowman after moving past Shannon Mathews on the career scoring list with her third 30-point game, one short of Ivy Safranski’s school record.
Bowman also had 12 rebounds for her 18th double-double, sixth this season.
Vivian Frieson had her fourth career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, plus a career-high six assists. Freshman Kelly Bowen had a career-high 17 points and Bekkering had a season-high 16 points, 10 coming early in the first half when the Bulldogs built a double-figure lead for good 10 minutes into the game.
“This week in practice I focused on looking for my shot and it followed into the game,” said Bekkering, who also had eight rebounds.
Leading the Hawks 44-29, the Bulldogs quickly pushed that to 20 as Bowmen opened the second half with a 3-pointer – one of eight in 17 attempts for GU – and sophomore point guard Courtney Vandersloot, who had 10 points and is now sixth on the career assists list, hit a short jumper.
It was still 20 at the 14:04 mark when the Hawks, picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10, used a press to go on a 12-3 run to make it 67-56 with 10:44 to play. Bowen answered with two quick baskets and the Bulldogs steadily pulled away.
“I thought we looked pretty good offensively,” Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves said. “There was that stretch in the middle. We slacked off on defense and lost our composure a little bit.”
Graves said the Hawks used pressure they hadn’t shown so it wasn’t addressed in practice. He also said his players appeared relieved to have the game with No. 8 Tennessee behind them and had their two best days of practice.
“I told them this was like a league game,” he said. “They’re a solid team – they play hard. I’m excited.”
The Hawks had three players in double figures, led by the career-high 19 of sophomore Dominique Bryant, who hit all seven of her shots, including four 3s.
The Bulldogs had a 45-29 advantage in rebounding and hit 9 of 11 free throws in addition to hitting 38 of 69 shots.
Gonzaga opens league play at Portland next Saturday then plays at Santa Clara and San Francisco before returning home Jan. 22.
“A 12-4 record is solid with the schedule we have,” Bowman said. “We have to get ready now. We’re 0-0.”
Eastern Washington 70, Northern Arizona 64 (OT): Nicole Scott scored 18 points and Julie Piper had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Eagles (6-8, 1-0) outlasted the Lumberjacks (3-11, 0-1) in a Big Sky Conference opener at Cheney.
Kyla Evans added 10 points for EWU.
George Fox 68, Whitworth 50: Elise Kunezi led a quartet of Bruins in double figures with 18 points and the Bruins went on to victory over the Pirates in a Northwest Conference opener at Whitworth.
Keisha Gordon had 17, Kristen Shielee 12 and Sage Indendi 10 for George Fox (10-0).
Tiffany Corigliano, Liz Horiatis, Leah Pomante and Alida Bower scored eight points apiece to pace Whitworth.
North Idaho 76, Cochise 45: The Cardinals (12-2) beat the Apaches (5-8) at the Yavapai College Classic at Prescott, Ariz. No details were reported.