No. 15 Gonzaga women clamp down on San Francisco 64-44

Feb 23, 2019, 07:14 pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- Chandler Smith scored 14 points, Zykera Rice added 12 and No. 15 Gonzaga handed San Francisco its seventh straight loss 64-44 on Saturday.

Jill Townsend added 10 points for the Bulldogs (25-3, 14-2), who used defense to overcome a sluggish offense.

Shannon Powell had 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting for the Dons (6-21, 2-14). Her teammates combined to go 11 of 46 (24 percent).

San Francisco scored the first seven points and led 11-2 before the Bulldogs reeled off 10 straight, six by Smith. Rice and Smith scored to open the second quarter, Melody Kempton and Jessi Loera to close it for a 27-20 Gonzaga lead, otherwise the teams swapped baskets

After an even third quarter, a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter broke the game open.

When Gonzaga won the first meeting 78-51, the Bulldogs had their second-best shooting game of the season at 59.3 percent and held the Dons to 36.7.

The Bulldogs shot 44 percent on Saturday and it took an 8-of-14 fourth quarter to get that high. San Francisco shot 30.5 percent, GU's fourth-best defensive effort of the season for shooting percentage and tied for third in points.