No. 20 Gonzaga women take over in fourth quarter to beat San Francisco 63-52

After missing eight of her first nine shots Thursday night, Gonzaga guard Kaylynne Truong leaned on some long-ago fatherly advice at halftime.

“My dad once told me that no matter what, we’re going to play for 40 minutes,” Truong said.

And so she did, helping the Zags outlast San Francisco 63-52 in a tense defensive game in the Kennel.

Along with a game-high 17 points, Truong had nine assists, five rebounds and four clutch free throws to help GU improve to 15-2 overall and 5-0 in the West Coast Conference.

While the Zags never quite found their offensive rhythm, neither did the Dons.

USF guard Ioanna Krimili came into the game with a WCC-leading 18 points-per-game average but finished with 12. And she needed 16 shots to get them.

“She had to work hard for her points,” said GU coach Lisa Fortier, who cited a team mentality on defense.

Good shots were hard to come by, especially for USF (12-4, 2-2). For the game, the Dons shot just 36% while GU hit 45%.

“They’re a high-scoring team just like we are,” Fortier said. “They’re a really good offensive team with the most offensive firepower of any team we’ve played since Stanford.”

Gonzaga negated that firepower with a rebounding and defense. Forward Yvonne Ejim led the way with 12 rebounds and 15 points, but she was quick to spread the wealth in the postgame interview.

“Those guys are defensive monsters,” Ejim said of Esther Little and Calli Stokes. “We can trust in them, and they can help us, too.”

GU struggled early on the boards but eventually won that battle 36-28.

Tied 25-all at halftime – GU’s lowest-scoring first half of the season – the teams plodded through the third quarter and part of the fourth before the Zags pulled away for good.

Part of the credit went to forward Eliza Hollingsworth, who had 13 points, eight boards and a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter that gave GU a 43-40 lead and a bit of momentum.

It was still a two-point game with 4 minutes left, but Truong made several big plays down the stretch.

She drove the lane for a layin and converted the three-point play, then drove for another after a USF miss. Less than a minute later and the shot clock winding down, Ejim had the ball at the top of the arc.

She’d made just two of her previous seven 3-point attempts , but she let fly and found nothing but net. The shot gave GU a 10-point lead with 2:41 to play, and USF never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

The first half was a struggle for both teams.

In the first quarter, the Zags shot just 27% from the field, made just 1 of 5 from beyond the arc and were outrebounded 9-6.

Yet they trailed only 14-11, a deficit made up seconds later on a 3-pointer from McKayla Williams.

The Dons made five of their first six shots for an 11-7 lead, with all five Dons scoring. GU got even on a steal and downcourt pass from Truong to Ejim.

Loren Christie gave USF a 21-14 advantage on an open 3, then Truong followed with a long-range airball.

Fortier had seen enough with 6 minutes, 34 seconds left in the half.

Almost 2 minutes later, Truong launched again from the top of the arc and found the bottom of the net.

GU is home Saturday against Santa Clara. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.