Gonzaga women defeat No. 11 Stanford 68-63 behind 26 points from Jill Barta

Coming in, Gonzaga was winless in seven all-time games against Stanford, including a 65-48 loss last season in which the Bulldogs led 47-46 with 6:23 to play and missed their final 12 shots.

This time, the Cardinal were the ones who went cold, missing their final seven field-goal attempts and scoring just two points in the final 4 minutes and the Bulldogs beat No. 11 Stanford 68-63 on Friday night in Stanford, California.

“I am so proud of our team, we played tough mentally and physically,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “Stanford is as well-coached and talented as any team in the country. Everyone on our team made huge contributions tonight. Our team followed the game plan and this is a huge team win.”

Jill Barta made 8 of 10 from the field and finished with 26 points, including two late free throws and Elle Tinkle added 18 points and three blocked shots, including a block on a layup attempt by Brittany McPhee with 24 seconds to play.

McPhee made a layup to give Stanford a two-point lead with 4 minutes remaining but the Cardinal wouldn’t make another field goal.

Tinkle made a layup and then assisted on a 3-pointer by Laura Stockton that gave Gonzaga (3-0) a 64-61 lead with 3:07 left. McPhee hit two free throws with 56 seconds left to make it 64-63, but Barta and Stockton made two foul shots apiece in the final 16 seconds to seal it.

McPhee had 22 points and eight rebounds, while Erica McCall scored 17 with 11 boards for Stanford.

The Zags led for 18-plus minutes in the first half and a jumper by Tinkle gave them their biggest lead, 43-33, with 6:24 left in the third quarter.

McCall and McPhee scored six points apiece during an 18-3 run – capped by Karlie Samuelson’s 3-pointers – to close the quarter with a 51-46 advantage.

Makenlee Williams hit two 3s and Barta added another to cap a 10-5 spurt that gave Gonzaga a 59-56 lead with 6 minutes left.

The Bulldogs made 25 of 50 shots, including 8 of 13 (62 percent) from 3-point range, while Stanford shot 17 percent (3 of 18) from behind the arc and 22 of 58 overall.

Stockton had 12 points, four assists and two steals.

There were three ties and three of the game’s 12 lead changes in the final 6:57.