Gonzaga Pushes Past Pacific, 83-65

The Pacific Tigers tried their best against the stellar Gonzaga Bulldogs’ defense but it wasn’t enough as the Zags won their 21st-straight game, 83-65.

The Tigers are one of the higher scorers in the conference, and they put up the third-most points on the Zags this season. None of that mattered, however, because the Gonzaga offense was clicking at a rate it doesn’t hit too often. Led by Jill Townsend’s 17 points, the Zags shot 53.1 percent from the floor and went 8-of-18 from long range.

It was the first game without sharpshooting senior guard Katie Campbell, who left the BYU game on Saturday with a knee injury. Campbell is the Zags best shooter, and as a team, Louise Forsyth helped pick up the slack, hitting 3-of-5 from long range.

For the better part of the first half, the game was rather close. Gonzaga took a sizable lead, and Pacific battled back with big long range shots, shooting 5-of-8 from three-point range. Gonzaga went into halftime only leading by four.

In the second half, the Tigers went absolutely cold from long range, and with it, any hope of winning the game. Pacific shot just 3-of-10 from three-point and 10-for-31 overall in the second half, allowing Gonzaga to end the game with a much more standard looking score we’ve come to expect this year.

Gonzaga owned a big rebounding advantage, thanks to LeeAnne and Jenn Wirth. The latter Wirth finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and LeeAnne chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds. In total, Gonzaga outrebounded Pacific, 36-24.

With the absence of Campbell, Lisa Fortier gave some more minutes to Kaylynne Truong, who responded nicely nine points, five rebounds, and four assists, while chipping in a couple of three-pointers as well.

The Zags will look to continue the win streak on the road in Moraga against Saint Mary’s on Saturday.