Feb. 23, 2008

Box Score

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Gonzaga University women's basketball squad captured its fourth-straight West Coast Conference regular-season title with an 87-67 victory at the University of Portland Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs has now become the first program to win four straight regular season titles since Santa Clara University captured four straight from 1991-94.

With the win, Gonzaga improved its record to 20-7 on the season and are now 11-1 in conference play. Portland dropped its record to 15-12 overall, 5-7 in the WCC.

It was a complete team effort for Gonzaga in the 20-point victory. Ten of the eleven Bulldogs scored in the lopsided win, including four who closed out the contest in double-figure points. Gonzaga was led by sophomore Heather Bowman and sophomore Tiffanie Shives. Bowman posted her seventh double-double of the season with a 20 point, 10 rebound performance. Shives on the other hand scored a career-high 19 points, sinking 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the three-point arc.

Courtney Vandersloot, the court leader for Gonzaga, dished out a career-high 11 assists in the game, including nine coming in the second half. Vandersloot also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and scored nine points.

The Zags finished the game shooting 50.0 percent (34-68) from the field, including 50.0 percent (5-10) on three-pointers, and was 77.8 percent (14-18) at the charity stripe. Gonzaga out rebounded Portland 47-36 and also had a season-high eight blocks.

Gonzaga went into the locker room with the slight 34-29 advantage. Eight of ten players scored for the Bulldogs in the opening half, including junior Jami Bjorklund who sank two three-pointers and finished the half with a team-leading eight points. Junior Elaina Renius came off the bench to contribute six points for the Zags, while Vandersloot posted seven points.

The Pilots bullied the Bulldogs down low in the first half, scoring 20 of their 29 points in the paint. Karlie Burris scored seven points while Rachel Warren and Lauren Angel both scored four points to keep UP in the contest.

Gonzaga exploded in the second half, outscoring the Portland 53-38. The Bulldogs used a strong 17-7 run, after leading by just seven at the 15:59 mark, to overtake the Pilots 66-41 with 9:29 left in the contest. Bowman and Shives were huge for Gonzaga, as Bowman scored eight-straight at one point, while Shives drained one huge three-pointer and made two jumpers.

The Zags pushed their lead to 26, their largest of the contest, after Shives hit her third three-pointer of the contest with 2:30 remaining.

Gonzaga, who clinched the number one seed in the WCC Tournament, will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 28 at Santa Clara University. Game time is set for 7 p.m.