Gonzaga women win WCC opener

Jill Barta and Zhane Templeton came off the bench to combine for 29 points and Shelby Cheslek tied the school record for career blocked shots as Gonzaga opened West Coast Conference play with a 74-57 win at Pepperdine on Monday.

Templeton had eight of her 13 points early as the Bulldogs (9-4) led 21-10 after one quarter. The Waves (4-8) battled back to cut the deficit to two at halftime as the Bulldogs only made two of their final 11 shots. The Zags shot 34.5 percent but made 6 of 18 3s.

Gonzaga missed its first two shots in the third quarter but then made five of six and outscored Pepperdine 25-13. Gonzaga, which outrebounded Pepperdine 42-31, shot 52 percent in the second half, leading by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter.

Cheslek, who had 10 rebounds to go with her seven points, had two blocks to tie Kayla Standish’s record of 176.

The Bulldogs, who play at Loyola Marymount on Wednesday at 1 p.m., were without Elle Tinkle, who has a sore knee.