Gonzaga women sail past Air Force for 88-35 victory

Gonzaga opened its women’s basketball season Friday night with an 88-35 win over Air Force at the McCarthey Center.

Gonzaga, the defending West Coast Conference champions, took command from the start, holding the Falcons without a rebound for the first 8 minutes while taking an 28-7 lead after the first quarter.

By halftime, the Bulldogs stretched the lead to 43-13 while outrebounding the Falcons 26-9.

Guard Elle Tinkle led a balanced GU offense with 13 points. Kiara Kudron had 12, Georgia Stirton 11 and Emma Stach 10.

Gonzaga hosts 16th-ranked Stanford on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Bulldogs took their first 50-point lead on Zhane Templeton’s 3-pointer that pushed the advantage to 75-23.

Cortney Porter led the Falcons with 9 points.