No. 23 Gonzaga women pull away from Portland to take control of WCC, still ‘have a lot of work ahead’

In her postgame interview Saturday afternoon, Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier sounded like she meant it – that beating Portland wasn’t the most important thing on her plate.

But the Zags did anyway, 63-53, taking over first place alone in the West Coast Conference and making the weekend that much sweeter.

“I’ve had a lot of fun,” Fortier said.

Earlier, Fortier emceed a jersey ceremony for former GU star Courtney Vandersloot. Up next was a trip to Jack and Dan’s for a gathering of basketball alumni.

“The game part has been a secondary thing,” Fortier said. “Which is a blessing, if you’re prepared.”

For that, Fortier thanked assistant coach Stacy Clinesmith for the game plan.

Those preparations didn’t pay off until after halftime. Trailing 19-18 after their worst offensive first half of the season, the Zags scored 27 points in the third quarter to take a nine-point lead .

Riding that momentum, 23rd-ranked Gonzaga pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 23-3 overall and 13-1 in the WCC. More important, the win gives the Zags a one-game lead over the Pilots with four to go.

Fortier acknowledged that winning the regular-season title is a point of pride with the program, which claimed 16 of 17 until finishing second to BYU last year.

“We always want to do that, but we have a lot of work ahead of us,” said Fortier, who pointed to home games next week against Pacific and Saint Mary’s, followed by a regular season-ending road trip to San Diego and BYU.

Apart from the first half, the formula for success in those games will likely follow Saturday’s script.

Four players scored in double figures, led by Kaylynne Truong with 20. She scored four 3-pointers, including one with 4 minutes left to give the Bulldogs an 11-point lead that Truong later stretched to 13 with a pair of free throws.

With those foul shots, Truong reached 1,000 career points as a Bulldog.

“It’s a good accomplishment,” Truong said.

GU’s Brynna Maxwell kept her streak alive of making a 3-pointer in every game this season with two makes and 13 points. Zags Yvonne Ejim and McKayla Williams added 11 points each.

Alex Fowler, the WCC’s leading scorer, and Maisie Burnham (Liberty High/Eastern Washington) scored 13 points each for the Pilots (18-7, 12-2), who had a six-game win streak snapped.

Defense dominated the first quarter, which ended with Portland ahead 8-7 and Ejim on the bench with two fouls. The Zags were already without forward Eliza Hollingsworth, who has missed three straight games while under concussion protocol.

Portland made just 4 of 13 shots in the first quarter, but GU was even worse at 3 for 15 overall and 1 for 7 from long range.

Hesitant to shoot at times in the first half, the Zags also “had a hard time finding rhythm, especially with (Ejim) out,” Fortier said.

“At halftime, we talked about being comfortable in the muck,” Fortier said. “I think we switched our mindset.”

Portland also struggled, shooting 22 for 56 (38%) from the field.

The Zags scored 17 points off 17 turnovers . The Bulldogs outrebounded the Pilots 37-34, led by Ejim and Calli Stokes with six apiece.

The Zags are back home Thursday for a 6 p.m. tipoff against Pacific.