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Gonzaga Women's Basketball

Gonzaga women look to continue domination of San Francisco

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jill Townsend (32) shoots against the San Francisco Dons during the second half of a college basketball game on Thursday, February 13, 2020, at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash. Gonzaga won the game 56-38.  (Tyler Tjomsland/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Jim Allen jima@spokesman.com

The San Francisco women are making a little history.

With a win last Saturday over Pacific, the Dons have a winning record in West Coast Conference play for the first time in three years.

More remarkable, USF has won six straight conference games for the first time in 25 years – before any of coach Molly Goodenbour’s players were born.

“They made big stops and made big shots when they needed to,” Goodenbour said after a 75-67 win over the Tigers.

“It was another great team win,” said Goodenbour, who watched her squad drop six of its first seven before the current streak began.

Not surprisingly, it didn’t begin until after a 24-point home loss to Gonzaga on Jan. 16. Now they meet again, Thursday at 5 p.m. at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

GU is working on a few streaks of its own. A No. 17 ranking in this week’s Associated Press poll means the Zags have either been ranked or received votes for 50 consecutive weeks.

GU also has won 15 straight – the third-longest streak in Division I – and has taken 21 in a row in the Kennel, where USF has never won.

The Dons last won in Spokane in the spring of 2004, just before McCarthey was built.

Want more streaks? The Zags women have taken eight in a row and 30 of the past 32 overall in the series.

Gonzaga (16-2, 11-0 WCC) also comes into the game well-rested. It’s been nine days since the Zags beat BYU, a 63-56 win that also served as a wake-up call after 10 straight blowout wins.

“We definitely showed what our team is made of,” senior guard Jill Townsend said after the game. “We have a lot of veterans who know what to do.”

The Zags also have a lot of weapons. In the first meeting, USF held Townsend and the Wirth sisters, Jenn and LeeAnne, to a combined 21 points – well below their average of 36.

Sophomore guard Kayleigh Truong, however, had a career-high 17 points, five assists and four rebounds. True freshman Yvonne Ejim also had a big day, with 10 points and three boards in the 76-52 win.

USF (11-8, 7-6) is getting double-figure scoring from freshman phenom Ionaa Krimli (19.1 ppg), who also is shooting 44% from long range. Krimli, a 5-foot-10 guard from Greece, has twice been named conference player of the week. She’s also been named freshman of the week on eight occasions.

Dons senior guard Lucie Hoskova averages 13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds.