No. 19 Gonzaga women roll past Pepperdine 77-63
A strong first half was more than enough for the Gonzaga women to put away Pepperdine on Thursday afternoon.
Then again, Zags head coach Lisa Fortier still saw plenty of room for improvement after the Zags rolled to a 77-63 West Coast Conference win over the Waves.
“Our team just needs to keep getting better,” Fortier said after the 19th-ranked Zags improved to 13-2 overall and 3-0 in the WCC. “We can’t be a two-quarter intensity team. We have to be intense for all four quarters.”
Strong shooting and lockdown defense carried the Zags to a 44-28 halftime lead, which stretched to 21 midway through the fourth quarter before Pepperdine rallied to within eight points with 7½ minutes left.
“That was a big-time grinder game,” Fortier said. “Our team thankfully had a really good first half, but we didn’t shoot the ball as well in the second half.”
No one was hotter than point guard Kaylynne Truong, who went 3 for 3 on 3-pointers on the way to an 11-point first quarter.
Truong finished with perhaps the most complete game of her career: 6 of 11 from beyond the arc, a career-high 26 points, four rebounds, three assists and only one turnover in 32 minutes.
Brynna Maxwell carried the Zags in the second quarter, making 2 of 3 long-range shots and finishing with 10 points and six boards.
At the other end of the court, GU held Pepperdine (6-7, 1-2) to 30% shooting from the floor, including 1 for 9 from long range.
After shooting 52% (16 for 31) from the field in the first half, the Zags were just 37% in the second.
But Pepperdine couldn’t make a dent in the lead – in fact the advantage reached 21.
“We made big plays at big times,” Fortier said. “Thankfully, we were able to put enough of them together, to be successful at the end.”
The Zags also dominated on the glass 44-35, with Yvonn Ejim collecting nine along with 17 points.
GU’s Eliza Hollingsworth added 16 points and nine boards.
Pepperdine cut the deficit to 59-51 with 7:27 to play, but Truong made a pair of 3-pointers to restore the double-digit lead for good.
Ally Stedman led Pepperdine with 16 points but needed 24 shots to get them.
The Zags are at Loyola Marymount on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
They return home Thursday to play San Francisco.