Big third quarter helps Gonzaga turn back Portland 69-55

The final score is going to suggest that the Gonzaga women’s basketball team had no difficulty with the Portland Pilots.

But that would be inaccurate. The Bulldogs went from scoring six points in the first quarter to 34 in the third.

After a sloppy start, GU wrested control in the second half on its way to a 69-55 West Coast Conference victory before a season-best crowd of 5,713 at McCarthey Athletic Center in a game between co-WCC champs from a year ago.

The Kennel sounded like any other WCC arena in the first half with groans from the crowd resulting from turnovers. Then the Zags gave their faithful plenty to cheer about in the second half.

While the first 20 minutes were difficult on the eyes, the final two quarters showed the Zags’ abilities when they find cohesion, and don’t turn the ball over.

Gonzaga (12-6, 4-1 WCC) had 15 turnovers in the first half and had no turnovers in the third quarter when it erupted for 34 points. The Zags trailed 28-22 at halftime, but it was a 20-point turnaround in the third.

“The way (the Pilots) defend, it’s always difficult,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “… It’s very effective. And when you get into halfcourt it’s still challenging because is it zone that turned into man? You’re just trying to run offense and trying to make plays.”

For whatever reason, Portland’s all-over-the-court defense was less effective in the second half. And the Zags took advantage.

Fortier thought her team was fortunate to score six points in the opening period.

“I was happy to get six points actually,” Fortier said. “Then we had zero turnovers in the third quarter, which led to 34 points. So that’s what we were saying all along – if we could just take care of the basketball, stop trying to do the hard things, stop trying to do the crazy things, then we would have success which we obviously did.”

The Zags found themselves trailing 12-4 in a stretch where they committed seven turnovers. But a basket from Laura Whittaker allowed Gonzaga to go into the second trailing 13-6. All six points were from Whittaker.

Then Whittaker picked up a second foul 39 seconds into the second quarter and she went to the bench for the rest of the period.

Freshman forward Jaiden Haile scored a basket with 5:45 to go before halftime, pulling Gonzaga within 17-15. But the Pilots (9-8, 3-2) outscored the Zags 11-7 the final 5:13 of the half for a 28-22 lead.

The first of two 3-pointers from Whittaker gave Gonzaga the lead for good at 35-32 at the 6:16 mark of the third.

Sophomore guard Allie Turner followed with a 3-pointer in transition off a cross-court pass from Zeryhia Aokuso, who made two free throws moments later to extend Gonzaga’s lead to 40-32.

Whittaker completed a three-point play off an assist from Haile to give Gonzaga a 56-42 lead with 11.8 seconds left in the third.

Gonzaga twice led by 16 points in the fourth.

“We broke the pressure … we didn’t hold it and allow them to trap us,” Fortier said of the Zags’ second-half approach. “We didn’t (pick up the dribble) in bad spots, we didn’t casually make passes. We did a little bit in the gourth quarter, but they looked confident. It was better execution of the game plan.”

Fortier said the Zags will learn from the first half.

“I wish we didn’t have a 13-6 quarter, but at the same time it’s good for our team to have to push through adversity,” Fortier said.

Whittaker had her ninth double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

“We just brought the energy that second half – kind of dug in and a little bit more poised,” Whittaker said. “We were a bit frantic at the start, probably weren’t seeing open players. We just played team basketball at the end of the day. And that’s how we play normally. That’s how Gonzaga basketball is constructed to play. When we execute that, good things happen.”

Aokuso had 12 points and Turner added 10. Haile had eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.

It was Gonzaga’s 23rd straight regular-season win over Portland. A Lisa Fortier team hasn’t lost to a Portland team in the regular season in her 12 seasons.

Gonzaga has won 32 straight regular-season games against Portland, dating back to 2007-08.

Gonzaga plays the second of three straight home games Thursday when San Francisco visits.