Gonzaga women use solid free-throw shooting to hold off Toledo

It was the type of game the Gonzaga women’s basketball team found a way to lose a year ago.

The Bulldogs had difficulty finishing last season, but they shrugged off a contest that proved tight for 40 minutes Sunday to hold off the Toledo Rockets 72-69 before a crowd of 4,127 at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

Gonzaga (2-0) used free throws for the final margin. The Zags made 6 of 6 in the final 1 minute, 24 seconds – two each by Ines Bettencourt, Lauren Whittaker and the final two from Allie Turner with six seconds remaining. The Bulldogs finished 16 of 17 from the free-throw line.

“Some of those games were hard last year,” GU coach Lisa Fortier said of games the Zags had difficulty in late. “We have a totally different team. I wouldn’t necessarily correlate them to anything the team is doing differently. Allie (Turner) and (Ines Bettencourt) have one more year with us so that experience does help. We had three players out there on the floor and sometimes four who are new.”

The hard-fought game featured 10 ties and 17 lead changes.

The final tie came at 63-63 with about two minutes to go. The Zags shot ahead at 68-63 thanks to Bettencourt’s free throws and a 3-pointer from Turner.

Whittaker’s two free throws with 17 seconds left gave Gonzaga a 70-66 lead. But Toledo (0-2) pulled within 70-69 when Evalyse Cole made a 3-pointer with eight seconds to play.

Toledo had to foul, sending Turner to the free-throw line for the game securing points.

Offense was difficult to come by for both teams in the first half.

Toledo did a nice job defending Turner, who didn’t take a shot in the first quarter. But she bounced back in the second, scoring seven points including a 3-pointer.

Boise State transfer and Mead graduate Teryn Gardner came off the bench to make two 3-pointers for Gonzaga. She finished with four big 3s on six attempts for 12 points.

“Teryn came in and gave us a big lift with those shots,” Fortier said. “They were well-timed.”

Toledo led 25-20 late in the first half before a 7-0 spurt by the Zags, their best stretch of the opening half.

A 3-pointer from Turner gave Gonzaga a 27-25 lead with 52 seconds before the half. Toledo knotted the score at 27-27 going into intermission.

“We struggled a little bit offensively but I’d say the biggest concern for me was the overall toughness in the first half,” Fortier said. “They (the Rockets) were tougher, they were dialed in and they were focused and we lacked a little bit of focus where the turnovers came from.”

The Zags want to get the most out of their nonconference schedule, especially looking toward improving seeding in the NCAA Tournament. A win over Toledo won’t help that much, but a loss would have been troubling in the big picture.

“Just grateful for the fact that our team saw some adversity and we were able to work through it,” Fortier said. “This was the first time this group has been in (these situations) and there’s going to be a lot more learning going forward.”

Gonzaga makes its home debut Thursday against Colorado State (2-0). Stanford visits on Sunday.

Turner managed to finish with 16 points, tying Whittaker for game-high honors. Turner also had five assists and Whittaker added six rebounds.

The Rockets had four players reach double figures, led by Kendall Carruthers’ 16 points.

The Zags were slowed by self-inflicted mistakes Sunday. They had 18 turnovers. It’s too early to call it a pattern, but it bears repeating that Gonzaga committed the most turnovers ever in a single year under Fortier last season.