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Saturday afternoon in front of 2500 fans in K2, Gonzaga's women basketball team displayed one of their most balanced games of the season in dismantling a good Idaho squad that sported two star players but little else.
It was a classic case of total teamwork trumping a team reliant on only two players. While Idaho's Leilani Mitchell and Emily Faurholt got some decent numbers, Gonzaga countered with multiple solid efforts by numerous players, ie, Ashley Burke, Anne Bailey, Raeanna Jewell, Shannon Mathews and more.
During introductions, starter Ashley Anderson tore her ACL and it obviously affected the Zags.
Idaho seized the opportunity of a slightly stunned Bulldogs team during the opening six minutes as they pushed out to an early 12-8 lead behind the scoring of Emily Faurholt and Leilani Mitchell. Faurholt scored eight of her 15 points in the first six minutes as the Bulldogs essentially shut down the NCAA’s top scorer from a season ago. Mitchell would pour in a team-high 16 points for Idaho as Gonzaga limited the Vandals to just 34 percent shooting for the game including a 4-for-17 clip from 3-point range.
After falling behind by four points early seniors Ashley Burke and Shannon Mathews helped propel the Bulldogs to a 16-4 run that covered eight of the last ten minutes of the first half giving Gonzaga a 32-18 lead with 2:09 remaining. Faurholt would hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the GU halftime gap to 33-25. Burke had 9 first-half points while Mathews added 8.
Gonzaga's defensive pressure wreaked havoc on the Vandals in the 2nd-half and the Zags won by 17 points: 70-53.
Two nights later the ladies hosted the Portland State Vikings who were coming off a big win over Cal State-Irvine. The Zags would start ice cold, missing their first 8 shots. But Kelly Graves' defense held down the fort long enough to limit the Vikings to just 6 points, and the Bulldogs caught them easily, sparked by Shannon Mathews.
Gonzaga's veterans shined again, but freshmen Elaina Renius and Dominique Harris put in great efforts and helped the team jump to an 11 point halftime lead.
Harris' athleticism and aggressiveness made Gonzaga a different team, one which PSU could only stay within 8-10 points for a while before watching the Zags break out to an 18 point win. Katie Prichard was also impressive off the bench, driving, dishing and scoring, providing a spark for the team.
Renius, while not finishing inside particularly well, still dominated and scored 12. And her interior defense was a factor, blocking and altering shots.
The future looks bright with these freshmen but the Here-and-Now is just as exciting with the senior upperclassmen leadership and talent.
Gonzaga would beat Portland State, 66-48. Now they'll take 5 days off for Christmas before returning to K2 to host #25 Utah December 29 at 7pm.