No. 20 Gonzaga women overwhelm LMU in 2nd half, win 78-53

Dec 30, 2018, 12:01 am

LOS ANGELES -- Zykera Rice scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack and No. 20 Gonzaga dominated the second half to defeat Loyola Marymount 78-53 on Saturday in the West Coast Conference opener.

The Bulldogs (12-1) shot just 29 percent in the first half and trailed the Lions (7-6) 29-23. But the second half was a different story.

Gonzaga was 12 of 19 shooting in the third quarter for a 29-10 scoring advantage and went 10 of 16 in the fourth for a 26-14 advantage. On the other end, Loyola Marymount, which shot 41 percent in the first half, went 2 of 11 in the third quarter and 7 of 26 in the second half, including 1 of 11 from 3-point range after a 4 of 6 first half. The Zags had a 20-2 run in the final quarter.

All nine scholarship players scored for Gonzaga, which has won eight straight, and played at least 13 minutes.

Gabby Green scored 16 points and Cierra Belvin 14 for the Lions. Belvin had 11 at halftime and her 3-pointer closed the game. LMU had 25 turnovers the Zags turned into 24 points.