Redmon’s 11 assists help Gonzaga women defeat Idaho

Jazmine Redmon distributed her gifts a few days early.

Redmon’s career-high 11 assists Thursday night energized Gonzaga’s women’s basketball team in the final game before holiday break.

“My teammates were feeling their shots, so I was like, ‘Hey, I’m going to give you guys the ball and just make them and I’ll get an assist and you guys get two points or three points,’ ” Redmon said after the Bulldogs (10-3) powered past Idaho 97-62 in nonconference play at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Gonzaga finished with 31 assists, two shy of a team record set in 1988 against Saint Martin’s.

Redmon, a junior out of Mead High, also tied a career high with five steals while playing just 23 minutes.

“She’s looking to create more in transition and that’s something we’ve asked her to do,” Bulldogs coach Kelly Graves said. “She adjusted tonight and she did a great job.”

Gonzaga shattered its season high for scoring, despite having no player with more than 12 points. The Bulldogs’ previous high had been 83 points against Cal State Fullerton.

GU shot 55 percent from the field in the first half and 53 percent in the second half as Redmon, Maiki Viela (five assists) and Taelor Karr (four) constantly found open targets inside.

Bulldogs junior center Stephanie Golden, a former starter, tied her season high with 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field.

“Honestly, I think it’s a little less pressure for me and I’ve been playing a lot better coming off the bench,” said Golden, who will turn 21 on Wednesday. “I like it, to be honest.”

Sophomore forward Sunny Greinacher tied Golden for team-high honors, shooting 6 for 7 from the floor while playing just 12 minutes.

Redshirt freshman center Shelby Cheslek, who took Golden’s spot in the starting rotation, played 13 minutes and scored 10 points on 5-for-8 field-goal shooting.

“We did a great job in the paint tonight,” Graves said. “If we can continue to get that kind of production from our inside people, we’re going to be tough.”

The balanced scoring included 10 points from Haiden Palmer, nine from Danielle Walter in 7 minutes, and eight apiece from Karr, Redmon and Keani Albanez.

“Everything Coach called we practiced to execute and to own each possession, and I feel like we did that really well today,” Redmon said.

The Vandals (3-8), playing their sixth consecutive road game, jumped ahead 5-0 and held their last lead at 9-8. Gonzaga followed with a 12-0 run, guided by Golden’s six points, and was never challenged again.

Idaho junior Alyssa Charlston led all players with 21 points in 25 minutes. Charlston hit 7 of 12 from the field, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers.

The Vandals completed their nonconference schedule and will host Seattle University on Dec. 29 in a Western Athletic Conference opener.

Gonzaga will host Washington State on Dec. 29 before turning its attention to West Coast Conference play.

Eastern Washington 88, Weber State 60: The Eagles shot 55 percent from the field, including 53 percent from the 3-point arc as EWU (4-5 overall) won its Big Sky Conference opener against the winless Wildcats (0-10) in Ogden, Utah.

Aubrey Ashenfelter and Laura Hughes scored 18 points each for the Eagles, who missed only one free throw in 17 attempts. Lexie Nelson added 14 points and Carrie Ojeda 13.

The Eagles defeated the Wildcats for the ninth consecutive time.