When the Gonzaga women’s basketball team gets out of its own way, there’s no telling what could await it at the end of the season.
For a third game in a row, the Bulldogs committed more than 20 turnovers. But they found a way to overcome those mistakes and Eastern Washington, 79-60, in a nonconference game Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 5,018 at McCarthey Athletic Center.
During a 4 minute, 33-second stretch in the third quarter, Gonzaga had six turnovers, and the Zags watched an 18-point lead trimmed to 54-48.
By the middle of the fourth, though, Gonzaga found its way – thanks in large part to Boise State sophomore transfer guard Teryn Gardner.
The former three-sport Mead standout came off the bench and hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers and just like that the game was back in hand with the Zags ahead 75-55 with 3 minutes remaining.
“She gave us a big lift there,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “She was sidelined with fouls in the first half and so she didn’t play a lot of minutes. She actually sat for quite a while and I actually was on her about a defensive missed assignment right before she knocked down those 3s.”
Gardner’s nine points in a 1:25 span was the spark Gonzaga (3-3) needed coming off two straight losses.
Fortier said Gardner’s flurry was an example of what pleased her the most about the win.
“I’m grateful that the ball didn’t stick,” Fortier said. “That was one of the high points was the ball was moving pretty freely around. So when she was open and the ball needed to find her, it did.”
It was Gonzaga’s 20th straight win in its series against Eastern (2-3).
Gonzaga, which hasn’t played well overall during second quarters, took control of the game in the first half with a solid second period. The Zags led 20-17 after the first.
Allie Turner and Lauren Whittaker hit back-to-back 3s, giving Gonzaga a 29-19 lead. Moments later, Whittaker added two more baskets sandwiched around a 3-pointer from Julia Wilson followed by another 3-pointer from Turner. That pushed the advantage to 41-26. Gonzaga took a 43-28 lead into halftime.
Turner, who didn’t shoot in the first quarter, had 11 points in the second to match 11 from Whittaker in the opening 20 minutes.
A driving basket by Saint Mary’s junior transfer guard Zeryhia Aokuso stretched Gonzaga’s lead to 50-32 with 7:37 to go in the third.
That’s when EWU went on an 11-0 run, taking advantage of six Gonzaga turnovers.
“We just had defensive breakdowns,” EWU coach Joddie Gleason said of the decisive stretch in the fourth. “They were running exactly the things that we knew they were going to run and we would bite for every ball fake and leave that corner (Gardner) shooter. We will learn from it. To beat a good team you have to execute on both sides of the ball and we just had too many mental breakdowns defensively.”
Gonzaga had 22 turnovers, matching its season-high in a loss against South Dakota State on Thursday.
“There are turnovers of aggression and that’s better than those turnovers of omission or the unforced ones … trying to turn in transition,” Fortier said.
Whittaker had a team-high 21 points and six rebounds, Turner finished with 15 points and five assists and Aokuso had 12 points and five rebounds.
Gonzaga freshman forward Jaiden Haile had nine rebounds and six points in 17 minutes off the bench.
EWU freshman point guard Elyn Bowers, who entered the game averaging 16.8 points per game, had a team-high 21 points, six rebounds and three assists. Kourtney Grossman added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Gleason gave credit to Gonzaga.
“It’s easier to scout them than it is to play them because they have such good players that execute really well,” Gleason said. “But I thought we did a nice job with our scout. We just had too many mess ups.”
Gonzaga heads to Coconut Hoops in Estero, Florida, for two games, beginning Friday when it faces Indiana (5-0). The Bulldogs wrap up the tournament two days later against either Iowa State (6-0), which is ranked No. 12 in the AP poll, or Marquette (4-1).
The Eagles go to the Portland Invitational, taking on Nevada (3-2) on Friday and Portland on Sunday.
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