Everett, Wash. Published: Sunday, November 16, 2008
Gonzaga beats Washington women 64-59
Associated Press
SEATTLE -- Courtney Vandersloot had 20 points and Tiffanie Shives added 19 to help Gonzaga beat Washington 64-59 in a nonleague game Sunday.
Shives scored 12 points in the final seven minutes as the Bulldogs rallied from a 46-43 deficit in the season opener for the Huskies.
Laura McLellan scored a career-high 16 and had eight rebounds to lead Washington (0-1). Kristi Kingma and Sami Whitcomb each had 11 points.
Gonzaga (2-0), picked to win the West Coast Conference in a coaches poll, stayed close despite shooting poorly from the field most of the game.
The Bulldogs, who rallied from a 10-point deficit in the first half, beat the Huskies for the second consecutive game after losing the first 17 games in the series.
Janelle Bekkering made a free throw to give Gonzaga a 47-46 lead with 5:04 remaining that the Bulldogs never lost.
The Huskies, picked to finish seventh in the Pac-10 coaches poll, had 31 turnovers.
Vivian Frieson had a career-high 10 steals for Gonzaga, and a team-high eight rebounds.
Jami Schaefer hit a jumper to give the Bulldogs their first lead, 43-42, with 9:17 left. The Huskies made four free throws to regain the lead before Shives heated up.
Shives hit a 3-pointer, two inside shots and five free throws in the final seven minutes to keep the Bulldogs ahead.
