No. 20 Gonzaga women beat Portland, 79-61

The Gonzaga women keep finding more ways to win basketball games.

Battled to a standstill on the boards Sunday at Portland, the Zags dominated everywhere else to take an easy 79-61 West Coast Conference win over the Pilots.

It was Gonzaga’s 12th straight win.

“We are focused on learning every game, every practice, and this one is no different,” coach Lisa Fortier said. “We executed well in the half court and got enough stops, which is definitely something to be happy with on the road.”

GU shot 59% from the field, held the Pilots to 36% and recorded seven blocks in a game that for most of the afternoon was almost as one-sided as their earlier meeting in Spokane.

Leading 27-23 midway through the second quarter, the Zags ended to half on a 19-2 run to take a commanding 46-25 lead at intermission.

GU led by as many as 26 late in the third quarter, but Portland cut the lead to 11 with 4 minutes left before the Zags put the game away.

“Our team played three really good quarters tonight,” said Fortier, whose squad improved to 13-2 overall and 8-0 in the WCC. “We relaxed a little in the fourth, and it showed.”

The 20th-ranked Zags also got a scare late in the game, when starting point guard Kayleigh Truong went down awkwardly on her right leg.

Truong, who led the Zags with 17 points – the second-most of her career – was helped off the court by trainers. GU gave no details on her condition Sunday night.

However, the Zags got a boost from the return of forward Melody Kempton, who missed last week’s road trip to the Bay Area for undisclosed reasons.

Sunday’s game, originally scheduled for Feb. 6, was the product of a hasty rescheduling after both teams lost home games against San Diego and BYU, due to COVID-19 protocols.

Gonzaga beat the Pilots 75-43 two weeks ago in Spokane, and for much of the game were in the running to make this one just as one-sided.

However, Portland used a 14-2 run to close within 11 points before Jenn Wirth scored a pair of layins, putting the game out of reach.

Wirth joined Truong in double figures with 14 points, while senior guard Jill Townsend added 12, including a bucket late in the first half, becoming the 24th player in program history to score 1,000 points in her career.

Townsend also grabbed a team-high six rebounds, helping the Zags edge Portland 33-30 on the glass. GU had entered the game with a plus-14 rebounding margin.

The Bulldogs finished with 19 assists and controlled the paint with a 40-32 scoring advantage. They also forced 17 turnovers.

Portland (7-6, 4-3) finished with three players in double figures, led by Haylee Andrews with 25 points. Alex Fowler added 13 and McKelle Meek chipped in 10.

The Zags are at Pacific on Thursday and at Saint Mary’s on Saturday. GU beat both teams handily earlier this month in Spokane.