Women's Basketball Falls to Gonzaga 90-42
Feb. 14, 2008
(Spokane, WA) - It was Paint the Kennel Pink Night at the McCarthey Athletic Center, but things weren't rosy for the University of San Francisco as it fell to Gonzaga 90-42 on Thursday night in West Coast Conference action. The Bulldogs (18-7, 9-1 WCC) swept the season series from the Dons (13-11, 4-5 WCC) and hand USF its third consecutive loss.
Junior center Necolia Simmons was a bright spot for the Dons, scoring 17 points with nine rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Heidi Heintz was the only other Don in double figures, scoring 10 points with two rebounds. Simmons and Heintz together put up over half of the Dons points (27-of-42). Senior guard Dominique Carter added four points to her career total (1,714), and is now 29 away from surpassing Saint Mary's Cheree Tappin (1987-91/1,742) for fourth place on the WCC All-Time Scoring Chart.
Gonzaga hit its first nine shots to build a 23-6 advantage to start the game. USF brought the score to within 12 (29-17) with nine minutes left in the first half before the Bulldogs went on a 15-3 run to end the half 44-21. Gonzaga led in every offensive category including, field goal percentage (.556/35-63 to .310/18-58) and free throw percentage (.750/15-20 to .600/6-10). The Bulldogs nearly doubled USF's rebound total (46-28) and took a commanding 31-to-16 defensive board advantage. The Dons turned over the ball 21 times, which resulted in 25 of the Bulldogs 90 points.
Sophomore forward Heather Bowman led the Zags with a game-high 20 points, and freshman guard Courtney Vandersloot added 18.
USF returns to action Saturday in Portland. Tip-off with the Pilots is set for 2:00 PM.