Gonzaga Outlasts Rutgers

The Gonzaga women bounced back from their loss to Notre Dame and defeated Rutgers 57-40 in the second round of the Vancouver Showcase on Friday. Even though Rutgers isn’t great, a win over a Big 10 team will go a long way on a resume in March.

As you can probably tell from the score, points were at a premium in this one. The game was tied 21-21 at halftime with both teams shooting under 30 percent. It was Gonzaga’s offense that finally took off in the third quarter. The Zags shot 55 percent, including a trio of three-pointers and outscored the Scarlet Knights 21-10. Gonzaga lived at the free throw line in the final 10 minutes, scoring 11 of their 15 points at the charity stripe and holding Rutgers to just nine points.

Gonzaga’s defense has been their calling card all season. They held Rutgers to 31 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers. They also out-rebounded Rutgers 36-26 and had 10 second chance points.

Zykera Rice was the only Zag in double figures, putting up 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Katie Campbell hit a pair of threes off the bench and grabbed five rebounds in 23 minutes. Eight of the 10 Gonzaga players who stepped foot on the floor scored, and all 10 of them grabbed at least one rebound.

Gonzaga will face Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in the Consolation Championship game.