Gonzaga women build big lead in first half, turn back UC Davis 83-72

For 23 minutes Saturday, the Gonzaga women’s basketball team played its best for the longest stretch this season.

The final 17 minutes, not so much.

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they made a 31-point lead hold up in an 83-72 victory over the UC Davis Aggies before 4,686 at McCarthey Athletic Center.

“There’s no question it was the best half we’ve had,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “I don’t know if it was our defense was dialed in … to allow our offense to flow freely. Or, if it was we were playing so well offensively that it helped us defensively. A huge key for us was how we started with energy.”

It was both to be sure.

And what a difference in two days. After playing one of its more discombobulated games but still getting a victory Thursday, Gonzaga came out blistering. The Zags scored 28 points in the first quarter.

They needed two quarters to score 32 in the second half.

Somebody forgot to tell UC Davis the game was over after Gonzaga (6-4) took a 60-29 lead when Taylor Smith scored on a drive at the 7:33 mark of the third quarter.

Before one could blink, UC Davis (7-3) had cut Gonzaga’s lead to single digits. A 3-pointer by Nya Epps pulled the Aggies, who had won four straight, within 71-64 with 5 minutes remaining.

Two jumpers by Smith against a zone that flustered the Zags in the second half steadied Gonzaga moments later. Then Ines Bettencourt hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead back to double digits at 78-66 with 2:15 to go.

“We allowed their offense to affect us defensively,” Fortier said of the second half. “They were scoring baskets and we weren’t.”

About her back-to-back jumpers, Smith said, “that was open so I let it go.”

Fortier said the Zags have seen zone for “less than 10 total possessions in our prior games. We don’t see a lot of zone and we have a little bit of inexperience (against it).”

The Aggies’ zone effectively bottled up redshirt freshman forward Lauren Whittaker, who had 15 points in the first half but only four in the second half.

Bettencourt said the Zags will learn from watching much of a 31-point lead dissipate.

“It’s the hardest part when you get up (by) that many points and then you have to sustain it,” Bettencourt said. “That’s been one of our issues is being able to sustain the intensity, the mental focus, and everything.”

Bettencourt credited the Aggies’ zone for disrupting the Zags’ offense.

“They were trying to deny a lot of passing lanes to guards and we just got a little frantic sometimes,” Bettencourt said.

Gonzaga made a season-low one 3-pointer (1 of 8) on Thursday. The Bulldogs nearly fed the crowd free tacos by halftime, making 9 of 16 beyond the 3-point arc in the first half.

The 10th 3-pointer came 87 seconds into the second half. The Zags made 12 of 27 from distance.

In addition to Whittaker, three other Zags reached double figures. Bettencourt had 16 points and three assists, Allie Turner had 13 points and six assists and Zeryhia Aokuso added 10 points. Smith chipped in eight points and six assists.

Gonzaga gets an extended break between games, returning Dec. 16 to face Arizona State at home. ASU (10-0) is off to its best start in its history.

Fortier said she’s going to give her players extra time off this week to focus on finals.

“We have a bunch of high achievers,” Fortier said. “… They’ll take some time to study, rest, recover (before Arizona State).”