No. 18 Gonzaga women top San Diego, clinch share of WCC

Feb 24, 2023, 04:18 am

SAN DIEGO -- — Brynna Maxwell and Kaylynne Truong led a balanced attack with 14 points each and No. 18 Gonzaga pulled away from San Diego in the fourth quarter for a 73-61 win on Thursday night to clinch a share of the West Coast Conference title.

Yvonne Ejim added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (26-3, 16-1) and Eliza Hollingsworth scored 10.

Gonzaga is a game ahead of Portland, which had its game at BYU postponed because of travel cancellations due to snow in Portland. No makeup has been set, but the WCC tournament doesn't start until Thursday. The Pilots play at San Diego on Saturday afternoon when Gonzaga is at BYU.

The Bulldogs led 49-43 entering the fourth quarter and then made 10 of 17 shots, including all four of its 3-pointers. The nation's leading 3-point team at 42% went 11 of 18 behind the arc, including 2 of 2 for Maxwell, who leads the nation at 50.6% and has had a deep ball in every game this season.

Truong's 3-pointer made it 60-45 at the 8:05 mark. Maxwell made it a 16-point game with a 3 90 seconds later. MaKayla Williams hit the last 3 to make it 73-55 before San Diego scored the last six points in the final two minutes.

Myah Pace scored 16 points for the Toreros (16-12, 10-7), Kasey Neubert added 11 points and Kiera Oakry 10.

San Diego shot 36%, going 3 of 14 from long range, while the Bulldogs finished at 51%.

Gonzaga got a boost with the return of starting point guard Kayleigh Truong, a three-year starter who only got to start four games with her twin sister this season before injuring a foot. She scored six points. With Kaylynne Truong in contention for Player of the Year, they announced before senior day last Saturday they would return for another year.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP--Top25