Gonzaga women look to ride wave of momentum into visit from Loyola Marymount
Dig a little deeper and you never know what you’ll find, especially on the basketball court.
Their depth challenged like never before, the Gonzaga women uncovered a few gems Thursday night in their 70-36 win over Pepperdine.
The short-term rewards include a 17-game winning streak that’s the longest in the nation going into Saturday’s game against Loyola Marymount.
More important, even with LeeAnne Wirth and Kayleigh Truong sidelined indefinitely with ankle injuries, little has changed.
Certainly not the Zags’ attitude, which was feisty from the tipoff.
“We came out, right from the punch,” junior guard Jill Townsend said after the game. “That was our first key coming into the game was to throw the first punch. I thought we executed that.”
Or as Melody Kempton said after the game: “Beat them up on defense and destroy them on offense.”
Pepperdine never had a chance.
Down 19 points at halftime and 30 after three quarters, the Waves couldn’t hang around long enough to see whether a short lineup would catch up with the Zags.
By then, the backups had played plenty of minutes – productive ones, too. Post Anamaria Virjoghe got nine boards and two assists while Louise Forsyth added three points and as many boards.
As her twin sister watched from the bench, Kaylynne Truong served up her best game of the season: seven points on 3-for-4 shooting, four assists and two steals.
“It was great to give them more minutes,” Zags head coach Lisa Fortier said. “They did what they were supposed to do when they were out there.”
In that respect, the GU women are charting the same course as the men: Despite injuries, each has lost just once all year while running away with their respective West Coast Conference races.
They’re having fun, too. On Thursday, it was Kempton in her first collegiate start and Katie Campbell with her first double-double. Gillian Barfield also got into the action, playing 6 minutes and scoring her second field goal of the season, to the loudest ovation of the night.
Another highlight: eight assists from Jessie Loera, who has 398 in her career to rank sixth in GU history.
Expect more of the same Saturday against LMU, as the Zags seek their 20th win against one defeat.
The Lions, who haven’t won in Spokane since 2002, are coming off a 74-49 loss at Portland despite a career-high 26 points from Jasmine Jones.
Jones averages 11.9 points a game, just behind the 12.8 of Chelsey Gipson. Jones also averages 8.3 boards, while the Lions average 41.5 rebounds to lead the WCC.
GU counters with a defense that gives up only 52 points a game to rank sixth nationally. Pepperdine’s 36 points were the fewest by a Zags opponent this year.
GU also ranks fifth nationally in 3-point shooting, at 39.4%.