No. 20 Gonzaga uses efficient offense to beat Arizona 81-69

The Arizona women’s basketball team used full-court pressure to try for turnovers and easy baskets against 20th-ranked Gonzaga on Wednesday.

When Gonzaga settled down and worked through its offense, though, Arizona was no match.

The Zags shot 62.7% from the field, overcoming eight first-quarter turnovers, and won going away 81-69 in the Jerry Colangelo Hall of Fame Series at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Gonzaga countered Arizona’s full-court tactics with effective offense in the third quarter, building on a six-point halftime lead for a 67-46 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

The Zags made 12 of 16 shots from the field (75%) in the third quarter. Brynna Maxwell scored 12 points in the quarter, including four 3-pointers.

“The biggest thing is how many options our team has,” said Maxwell, who had 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. “You take away one thing there are four other options that are just as much or more of a threat. You have to pick your poison on who you want to defend. What’s so special about our team is how many options we have.”

Once Gonzaga got rolling and stopped committing turnovers in bunches, things went its way quickly. The Zags trailed most of the first quarter until Yvonne Ejim scored in the key to give them a 15-14 lead going into the second quarter.

Gonzaga (12-2) never trailed thereafter.

“I thought we played really well most of the game, especially in the middle two quarters,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said.

Gonzaga outscored the Wildcats (8-4) 52-32 in the middle quarters.

“For the most part, we were able to work through the pressure,” said Fortier, whose team finished with 20 turnovers, seven more than its season average. “(Arizona) brings a lot of energy and they tried to pressure us the whole game. A lot of people made good plays at times when we needed a big play.”

Ejim did most of the damage early, especially in the first half.

Ejim scored 21 of her game-high 27 points in the first two quarters, making 10 of 12 shots from the field. When she made her last field goal in the fourth quarter, she tied Caitlin Clark of Iowa for the nation lead in field goals made (124).

“Once we got physical and made sure passes, the offense just came to us,” Ejim said. “I try my best to focus on a lot of my finishes, but most of it comes from my teammates making good passes to me. Once we leaned into our offense and doing what we needed to do, it just comes to us naturally.”

Kayleigh Truong made a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, giving Gonzaga its largest lead at 70-46.

“We wanted to come out (in the second half) with a lot of energy to match Arizona’s intensity and slow down and handle their pressure,” Maxwell said. “We were just trying to run our stuff and see who was open.”

The Zags outrebounded Arizona 32-21. Eliza Hollingsworth led the charge with 11.

Kayleigh Truong added 16 points and five assists. Her sister, Kaylynne, had six assists to push her career mark to 502.

Gonzaga caps its nonconference schedule Friday at home against New Mexico (9-3).