Gonzaga Women upset #8 Stanford

Gonzaga got 15 points from Katie Campbell, 20 from Chandler Smith, and held off a furious Stanford rally to upset #8 Stanford 79-73 on Sunday.

Gonzaga, who has struggled all season to score the ball, blitzed Stanford to the tune of 43 first half points and an 11-point advantage. The Zags went 16-for-29 from the field, including six threes, four of them from Campbell.

Gonzaga extended the lead to 17 in the third quarter with a phenomenal defensive performance. Stanford committed 15 turnovers on the day and shot just 44 percent to Gonzaga’s 54.

But you knew Stanford would make their run. And they did. Gonzaga had to win this thing multiple times. Stanford cut the lead all the way down to three with 2:30 to go before Jill Townsend hit an enormous three. The Zags extended the lead to 10 with free throws, but then committed a couple turnovers that led to easy baskets and Stanford was back within three with 40 seconds to go. Stanford elected to play out Gonzaga’s offensive possession and Chandler Smith nailed an elbow jumper with 10 seconds to go to provide the dagger.

The victory is one of the biggest home wins in Gonzaga history. It’s only their fifth Top 10 victory in program history. Gonzaga improves to 8-1 and should launch themselves into the polls next week.