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Gonzaga Women's Basketball

No. 15 Gonzaga women clamp down on San Francisco 64-44

Gonzaga’s Chandler Smith shoots over a San Francisco defender on Saturday  in San Francisco. (Nadine Masarweh / USF Athletics)
Staff ,wire reports

SAN FRANCISCO – Chandler Smith scored 14 points, Zykera Rice added 12 and No. 15 Gonzaga handed San Francisco its seventh straight loss, 64-44 on Saturday.

Jill Townsend added 10 points for the first-place Bulldogs (25-3, 14-2 West Coast Conference), who used defense to overcome a sluggish offense.

“It took our full effort for 40 minutes to get this one done,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said in a team release. “We made a couple big baskets at critical times.

“I’m proud of the way our players persevered through a very physical game.”

Shannon Powell had 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting for the Dons (6-21, 2-14).

San Francisco scored the first seven points and led 11-2 before the Bulldogs reeled off 10 straight, six by Smith.

After an even third quarter, a 15-2 Gonzaga run in the fourth broke the game open.

When Gonzaga won the first meeting 78-51, the Bulldogs had their second-best shooting game of the season at 59.3 percent and held the Dons to 36.7. The Bulldogs shot 44 percent this time and it took an 8-of-14 fourth quarter to reach that mark.

Gonzaga is down to its final two regular-season games, both at home next week.