Gonzaga women clinch seventh straight WCC title

SAN FRANCISCO — Courtney Vandersloot had 28 points and 12 assists, Janelle Bekkering scored 24 points and No. 25 Gonzaga clinched its seventh straight West Coast Conference title with a 103-59 win over host San Francisco on Saturday. The Bulldogs (24-4, 12-0) used a 23-0 run bridging halftime on the way to their 14th consecutive win. Kayla Standish added 21 points and Katelan Redmon had 16 for Gonzaga, which held the Dons scoreless for nearly 12 minutes. Vania Singleterry scored 16 points for San Francisco (4-22, 1-11). Gonzaga beat the Dons by 37 points on Jan. 22. It wasn’t much different in the rematch after the Bulldogs shrugged off an unusually slow start to post their seventh win by 40 or more points this season. It’s also the sixth time Gonzaga has scored at least 100 points. Vandersloot, the Division I leader in assists, had nine in the first half then took over the scoring load in the second half when Gonzaga led by as much as 48. The senior point guard scored 18 points in the second half, going 7 for 9 from the floor after the break. The only miscues Vandersloot made came at the free-throw line. She went 8 for 10 while the rest of her teammates were 12 for 12. Gonzaga led 27-22 with 5:05 left in the first half then scored 19 consecutive points to take a 46-22 lead into halftime. Redmon had eight of her points during the burst, including a 10-foot fadeaway shot at the buzzer. The Bulldogs then scored the first four points of the second half and pulled away with a 23-5 run.