Bulldogs’ tuneup turns into a romp
Southern Utah, with a seven-game winning streak, appeared to be a good tuneup for the Gonzaga University women with West Coast Conference play opening Saturday.
Instead, the Thunderbirds were barely a speed bump Monday night as the Bulldogs rolled 102-61 before 2,538 fans at McCarthey Athletic Center.
“We’re typically better than that but your opponent always has something to do with how well you play,” Thunderbirds second-year coach J.R. Payne, a former Gonzaga assistant, said. “It’s nice for our kids to see, because, obviously, what they’re doing here is the same thing we’re trying to do there.”
The tone was set early when all five GU starters had scored for a 13-4 lead less than 3 minutes in, and was definitely decided by the time crowd-favorite walk-on Carter Schick entered well before halftime, which ended 63-36. Challis Pascucci had half of the points for the Thunderbirds (9-6), but she was shut out in the second half.
By the end, when the Bulldogs (12-4) cracked the century mark for the fourth time this season, star Courtney Vandersloot, in just 25 minutes, had her eighth double-double with a game-high 20 points and 12 assists. That moved her into fifth on the school career scoring list (1,612) and seventh on the NCAA career assists list (904).
Janelle Bekkering added 18 points, Katelan Redmon had 16 and 10 rebounds for her second double-double, WCC Player of the Week Kayla Standish had 13 points and reserve Megan Winters had 10.
“I thought we played really well offensively,” GU coach Kelly Graves said. “It was just nice. It gives us a little confidence, gives everybody a chance to play.”
The Zags shot 55.7 percent with 26 assists from 11 players, hit 8 of 18 3-pointers and had a whopping 52-29 rebounding advantage, 24 on the offensive end.
It was painful to watch for Payne and associate coach and husband Toriano Towns, also a former Zags assistant, back in the days when Graves was rebuilding the program. Graves credited Payne with recruiting several key players who won the first of what is now six-straight WCC titles.
“They’ve built themselves into a tradition of success,” Payne said. “Every time they step on the floor they expect excellence. I’m sure that’s a daily thing for them. Confidence in what they do and how they do it is a great thing.”
• North Idaho 80, Central Arizona 73: Coeur d’Alene High product Kama Griffitts, hitting 4 of 7 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 29 points, led the Cardinals (12-2) past the four-time former NJCAA champion Vaqueras in Phoenix in a matchup of two nationally ranked teams.
Camille Reynolds of Lakeland added 18 points for NIC, which overcame a 31-29 CA margin from the field by outscoring the Vaqueras 7-1 from 3-point range, 15-10 on free throws and posting a 41-32 rebounding advantage.
Men
• North Idaho 91, Columbia Basin 73: Sophomore point guard Michale Hale III had 20 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds to lead the Cardinals (15-2) past the Hawks (3-8) in Coeur d’Alene. Deandre Taylor added 13 points as four Cardinals reached double figures. Jordan Poynor led three Hawks in double figures with 19 points.