Yvonne Ejim leads Gonzaga women to bounce-back win over San Diego 66-59

From staff reports

SAN DIEGO – Led by star forward Yvonne Ejim, the Gonzaga women’s basketball team erased a double-digit deficit late in the first half and pulled away in the fourth quarter for its first West Coast Conference win of the season, a 66-59 decision against San Diego on Saturday afternoon at Jenny Craig Pavilion .

Ejim poured in 29 points – three shy of her career high. The senior, a top-20 scorer in the nation, shot 10 of 20 from the field, 9 of 15 from the foul line and added eight rebounds.

The Zags (6-7, 1-1 WCC) trailed 24-14 midway through the second quarter as they struggled with turnovers, but Ejim sparked the team to a 13-0 run that spanned the final 5 minutes of the period. Gonzaga led 27-24 at halftime after trailing for about 17 minutes in the first half.

After a back-and-forth third quarter, the Bulldogs used a 7-0 spurt midway through the fourth to fashion a 10-point lead. Gonzaga stayed ahead by at least five points for the remainder of the game.

Ejim was key in the Zags’ breakaway stretch, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter on driving layups to quash signs of life from the Toreros (4-7, 0-2).

Forward Maud Huijbens contributed 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Gonzaga, which had a respectable shooting night to offset its turnover troubles (27). The Zags shot 21 of 45 (46.7%) from the field and went 4 of 8 from 3-point range.

Gonzaga also created an advantage from the foul line, although the Bulldogs weren’t efficient on their free-throw attempts (20 of 35).

The Toreros shot 22 of 66 (33.3%) from the floor and 3 of 17 on 3-pointers. They went 12 of 17 on free throws.

Guard Kylie Horstmeyer paced San Diego with 13 points.

Gonzaga will entertain Oregon State at 1 p.m. Saturday for a WCC matchup at the McCarthey Athletic Center.