Bowman sets Gonzaga scoring mark

Don’t think the Heather Bowman Watch is going to end any time soon.

The prolific Gonzaga senior, who set the West Coast Conference women’s basketball scoring record two weeks ago, added the school record to her list of accomplishments Saturday afternoon during the Bulldogs’ 93-53 win over San Francisco before 3,202 fans at McCarthey Athletic Center.

With 2,018 points, Bowman also passed former GU men’s player Jim McPhee (2,015) and trails only legendary Frank Burgess, who scored 2,196 points at Gonzaga from 1958-1961.

“I remember coming in as a freshman, my goal was playing time,” Bowman said after her historic game. “My wildest dream was starting on a college team. I didn’t have any idea it would go this far.”

Bowman has started all 118 games and missed six with injuries while the Bulldogs have gone 94-30.

“We all thought she was going to be a great player,” GU coach Kelly Graves said. “It was a coup when she came here. We were really thrilled, but I don’t think anyone can ever envision that, that’s a lot of points.”

The women’s record, on her third basket and sixth point, came with 7:03 left in the first half.

“It was kind of an intense time of the game,” Bowman said. “I actually can’t remember the basket.”

Bowman cut across the key and reserve guard Tatriana Lorenzo fed her for an uncontested layup. That bumped the 2,011 points Tammy Tibbles scored from 1984-88 to second place.

“It was perfect because it was just another play,” Bowman said. “It’s not only Tatri making that pass – it was whoever set that screen for me to get open … it’s just the execution of the play.”

“Her key is consistency,” Graves said. “Never too high, never low. That’s the reason she’s there.”

Battling foul trouble, Bowman, a Lewis and Clark graduate, finished with 11 points.

Maybe the record run was a slight distraction because the Zags (18-4, 7-0) had a little trouble putting away the last-place team.

Despite holding the Dons (4-20, 0-7) without a field goal for 11 minutes to make an 18-2 run that produced a 15-point lead, the Bulldogs led just 42-29 at the half. USF got off to a quick start in the second half to get within six, but then came a patented Zag run.

A little 8-1 spurt boosted the lead back to 15. Then the Bulldogs scored 27 straight points to lead 85-46 with 4:04 left. The Dons went 9½ minutes with a point and almost 12 minutes with a field goal.

Courtney Vandersloot led five players in double figures with 20 and dished out 11 assists. Janelle Bekkering and reserve Kayla Standish had 15 points as the Bulldogs shot 55.4 percent.

Gonzaga had 10 turnovers and forced 28 for a 28-0 margin in points after turnovers and had a 58-16 margin in points in the paint. The Bulldogs also shot 55.4 percent while holding the Dons to 34 percent.

But the day belonged to Bowman.

“The record is something that we joked about, my teammates said they weren’t going to give me the ball so I would get that three or four points,” Bowman said.

Tibbles, who played at Creston, attended the game and was given flowers in the postgame ceremony.

“I’m happy for Heather,” Graves said. “She deserves it. She’s not only a tremendous player, she’s just a tremendous teammate and a great human being. I’m happy she was able to do it here at home.

“And I’m happy for Tammy Tibbles, who was a great player back before a lot of people paid attention to college basketball. It was nice to have her here.”

Portland State 67, Eastern Washington 60: Kelli Valentine (Mead High) scored a game-high 16 points and Lexi Bishop (Shadle Park) added 10 as the Vikings handed the Eagles their first Big Sky Conference loss of season at Portland.

Eastern (13-7, 7-1) led 31-26 at halftime, but the Vikings (12-9, 6-2) gained the lead with 17:47 left and never looked back.

Julie Piper led the Eagles with 15 points. Brianne Ryan had a team-best seven rebounds.

Whitworth 90, Willamette 39: Leah Pomante tossed in 14 points and teammate Liz Horiatis added 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds as the Pirates stormed past the Bearcats in Northwest Conference play in Spokane.

It was the third straight win for Whitworth (9-9, 5-4), which breezed to a 56-16 halftime lead. Willamette (3-15, 1-8) got a game-high 15 points from Alex Zennan but shot just 22.2 percent (12 of 54) from the field.

Louisiana Tech 74, Idaho 71 (OT): Reigning Western Athletic Conference player of the year Shanavia Dowdell finished with game highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Lady Techsters (13-6, 4-3) edged the Vandals (5-15, 2-5) at Ruston, La.

Idaho’s Yinka Olorunnife, Shaena Kuehu and Rachele Kloke combined for 49 points and 26 rebounds.

CC Spokane 64, Columbia Basin 58: Brooke Randall scored 22 points, and Meghan Eisenmann added 19 points and seven rebounds as the Sasquatch (11-7, 3-4) defeated the host Hawks (12-6, 4-3) at Pasco.