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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gonzaga women defeat Waves, take over first place alone

Elle Tinkle accounts for 18 of her GU-high 22 points in 2nd half

Pepperdine scratched within four points with just more than a minute to play, but the Gonzaga women’s basketball team hit free throws when they mattered Thursday night to secure a 73-64 win in front of 4,981 at McCarthey Athletic Center. With the win, Gonzaga (13-4, 6-0 West Coast Conference) moves into sole possession of first place in the West Coast Conference after Pacific (14-4, 5-1) fell to BYU (14-4, 6-1) in Provo, Utah. “I’m proud of our team for overcoming ourselves, really,” GU coach Lisa Fortier said. “I told the team, ‘It doesn’t matter how it looks. We got the victory.’” Gonzaga started the game rather sluggish and the teams traded leads four times in the first half. On the other side, Bria Richardson got hot and scored 15 points to pace the Waves (6-11, 1-5 WCC). The Zags finished off the half with a 6-2 run in the final 3 minutes to go to the break with a 35-29 lead. Fortier said the Bulldogs struggled on defense, which allowed open looks for Waves’ shooters. But the Zags won the rebound battle 48-33 and outscored Pepperdine 32-16 in the paint and never surrendered the lead after halftime. The Waves crashed back to within striking distance at 62-58 when Keitra Wallace hit a shot with 1:24 remaining. Zags shooters hit free throws to finish the game on an 11-6 run. “It was huge for us to add a little separation at the end,” said junior guard Elle Tinkle, who again led Gonzaga with 22 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Tinkle also grabbed 10 rebounds and had four assists and two steals. “In the first half, my shot wasn’t there yet,” Tinkle said. “I just had to be aggressive and get to the rim.” Senior guards Keani Albanez scored 16 points; senior forward Sunny Greinacher scored 15 points and had eight rebounds; and junior guard Georgia Stirton had 10 points and four assists. Junior center Shelby Cheslek scored seven points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. The 6-foot-5 center also had two blocks and two steals. Richardson finished with 18 points for the Waves. Wallace also scored 18 points and Allie Green scored 10 for Pepperdine. Gonzaga prepares for a visit Saturday from Loyola Marymount (2-15, 0-6). Gonzaga has won 27 consecutive home conference games. “There are some things, defensively, we need to fix before Saturday,” Tinkle said. “I think that’s what we have to focus on.”
GU lands Utah St. transfer
Gonzaga announced that it has added 5-10 guard Makenlee Williams, who transferred to from Utah State. Williams played seven games this year and averaged 14.4 points for the Aggies. She will not be eligible this year and Fortier said she doesn’t know whether Williams will have one or two years of eligibility remaining.