Zags Crush Pepperdine, 95-49

The Gonzaga Bulldogs bounced back from their first loss in conference play and took out all of their anger out on the Pepperdine Waves, absolutely steamrolling them for 40 minutes in a 95-49 win.

Jill Townsend led the Zags with 21 points, scored in an astonishing 15 minutes, as she largely sat a majority of the second half, alongside the starters, with the game well out of reach. Jenn Wirth finished with five points, but they were important points, helping push her over 1,000 career points as a Zag.

Things got going immediately in the first quarter of the game. At the first break, Gonzaga led Pepperdine 27-8 and had force nine turnovers in 10 minutes. At halftime, that lead had been increased to 53-19, aided by freshman McKayla Williams’ first bucket of her career.

In the second half, head coach Lisa Fortier went to the extended bench almost immediately. Kayleigh Truong played the most of the starters, and she only hit 18 minutes. In total, 15 Zags saw minutes and 11 scored.

The Zags saw impressive minutes from freshman Eliza Hollingsworth, who showcased an offensive versatility with eight points, hitting all three of her shots and one free throw.

Ultimately, Pepperdine never had a chance between their own unforced errors and the relentless defensive pressure by the Zags. After those nine first quarter turnovers, the Waves settled down a bit, finishing with 17 on the game. That translated to 30 points off turnovers for the Zags.

Gonzaga was hustling on all ends of the ball. The Zags finished with 18 second chance points as well.

With the win, the Zags secured yet another WCC regular season championship. They play their last conference game on Saturday against LMU.