Yvonne Ejim becomes Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer in 69-58 win over Saint Mary’s
With 1 minute and 11 seconds left in the first half Thursday, Yvonne Ejim became the all-time leading scorer in Gonzaga women’s basketball history.
Ejim hit a 14-foot jumper, giving her 15 points at the time – exactly what she needed to eclipse Heather Bowman, who had the record for 15 years at 2,165 points.
Ejim led the Bulldogs to a 69-58 win over Saint Mary’s, a 10th consecutive victory, in a West Coast Conference game at Moraga, California.
Ejim finished with a game-high 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, posting her 35th career double-double with 11 rebounds. She reached double figures for a 66th straight game.
“Feeling definitely super proud,” Ejim said of breaking the record. “I saw on the scoreboard at halftime (I had 15 points), so I knew I broke it then.”
“Just proud of her and happy for her for the work she’s put in to get to this place,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. … She’s a special player.”
The victory had to be especially satisfying for Fortier, who was diagnosed a year ago Thursday with breast cancer.
Fortier praised her team for another solid start.
“We’ve consistently been having some good starts. Maybe, technically, it was the best,” Fortier said.
“Our team was definitely dialed in to start. We were taking care of the ball. Everything we were doing was working. The second quarter we let them have their way a little bit. They got some momentum and we weren’t getting stops … and that affected our offense.”
Saint Mary’s continued its improved play from the second quarter at the start of the third, pulling within 34-32 on Mia Jones’ leaner at the 7:34 mark. But that’s as close as the Gaels got.
Gonzaga led from start to finish.
“Not taking our best shots on offense and letting up on defense, and getting away from what we did in the first quarter,” Ejim said of Gonzaga’s inconsistent play in the second quarter.
Freshman point guard Allie Turner, who didn’t attempt a shot in the first half, caught fire in the second half for Gonzaga. She hit three shots in a row, two from 3-point range, to extend the Zags’ lead to 50-40 with 1:55 left in the third.
Gonzaga (16-8, 11-2 WCC) had perhaps its best start of the season, getting out to a 22-5 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Zags didn’t commit a turnover in the opening quarter, a first this season.
The Zags, though, couldn’t continue the fast start. Saint Mary’s (11-11, 7-6) used a 13-2 run to start the second quarter, taking advantage of six Gonzaga turnovers.
The Gaels, who made 1 of 13 shots from the field in the first quarter, pulled within 26-20. Saint Mary’s made 10 of 14 shots in the second quarter.
Gonzaga settled down, getting Ines Bettencourt’s 3-pointer and four points from Ejim to go to halftime with a 34-26 lead.
Turnovers caught up with the Zags after the first quarter as they still managed to get their average at 18.
Turner supported Ejim with 13 points and Esther Little added eight points, 12 rebounds and two steals.
Portland (10-3) stayed a game behind the Zags with a 66-64 win at San Diego.
The Zags turn around and host Washington State (15-10, 10-4) on Saturday in what is expected to be a sellout. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. The Cougars were off Thursday.