Townsend, No. 18 Zag women start fast, sink Saint Mary's

Posted January 30, 2021 6:00 am

The Associated Press

MORAGA, Calif. (AP) - Jill Townsend scored 18 of her 20 points in the first half, Jenn Wirth had a double-double and No. 18 Gonzaga won its 14th straight game, rolling over Saint Mary's 79-52 on Saturday.

Wirth had her eighth double-double of the year with 14 points and 14 rebounds, which made her the 19th Zag to reach 600 rebounds (612). Cierra Walker added 11 points for the Bulldogs (15-2, 10-0 West Coast Conference) and Kayleigh Truong a career-high nine assists.

Madeline Hollard led the Gaels (5-12, 3-8) with 15 points and Taycee Wedin added 12.

Gonzaga beat Saint Mary's 69-36 in Spokane on Jan. 2.

The Bulldogs limited the Gaels to three 3-pointers in the first quarter and 20% shooting to open a 16-9 lead.

Cierra Walker opened the second quarter with a layup and Townsend hit a 3-pointer, the first of her 13 points in the quarter, and Gonzaga was in double figures for good. Making 8 of 11 shots, including all four of their 3s, three by Townsend, the Bulldogs outscored the Gaels 24-14 and led 44-25 at the break.

Gonzaga owned a 43-25 rebounding advantage.

Gonzaga is home against second-place BYU on Tuesday in a rescheduled game. Saint Mary's is at San Francisco on Thursday.

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More AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25.

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