Zykera Rice, Laura Stockton lead No. 15 Gonzaga women to 74-61 win

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Zykera Rice scored 15 points and Laura Stockton added 13 while moving into third place on No. 15 Gonzaga’s career assists list and the Bulldogs defeated Santa Clara 74-61 on Thursday night.

Jenn Wirth added 12 for the first-place Bulldogs (24-3, 13-2 West Coast Conference), who bounced back after their second two-point loss to BYU this season. Stockton had seven assists, giving her 446 and moving her ahead of Amy Simpson.

Naomi Jimenez gave Santa Clara a 20-19 lead with the first points of the second quarter, but Leeanne Wirth had consecutive baskets for the Zags. Lexie Pritchard pulled the Broncos even with a 3-pointer, but Chandler Smith answered with a 3-pointer for Gonzaga to start an 11-0 run.

“We were a little bit more aggressive (tonight) and changed a few defensive things, which was nice,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said in a team release. “… I thought we had good intensity and a lot of passion in this game.”

A 12-2 run in the third quarter put the Bulldogs in control.

Rice had nine rebounds and Jenn Wirth eight as GU had a 41-31 advantage on the boards. Ashlyn Herlihy had 13 points for the Broncos (11-15, 4-11) and Tia Hay added 12.