GU women rise to the challenge

SPOKANE — Home court advantage is nice. Responding to a challenge with career-best games is even nicer.

Gonzaga’s Courtney Vandersloot and Kayla Standish electrified a loud, packed McCarthey Center as their career-high scoring carried the No. 11-seeded Bulldogs past No. 6 seeded Iowa 92-86 in an opening-round NCAA tournament game Saturday afternoon.

Vandersloot tallied 34 points, seven rebounds and assists, and four steals, but the three-time West Coast Conference player of the year still had enough energy to raise her arms in triumph and flash a huge smile as the final seconds ticked away.

“I was happy for all my teammates and all of the fans that came out to support us,” Vandersloot said of her on-court celebration. “The joy that was going through me was just incredible.”

Gonzaga (28-4) advances to face UCLA at 6:30 p.m. Monday as the Bulldogs seek back-to-back trips to the women’s tournament Sweet 16.

The full house of red and blue-clad GU fans (along with a tiny island of black and gold) was on its feet for much of the second half, when many of the game’s 12 ties and nine lead changes took place.

Trailing 44-37 at intermission, some of those Bulldog fans might have wondered how the home team would respond after rolling through lesser competition in its conference schedule and tournament.

But Vandersloot’s steal and layin finished off a 7-0 Gonzaga run to start the second half, and the battle to advance was on.

“We knew we weren’t going to come out here and roll them like we were able to in conference,” Vandersloot said. “At the end of the game we were making plays and that’s what helped us win.”

No one made more second-half plays than Vandersloot and Standish.

Limited to eight points in 12 minutes due to first-half foul trouble, Standish used an array of spinning post moves and high-rising jump shots to shoot 11-for-12 after intermission.

Her 30 points and 15 field goals were career highs.

“We couldn’t do anything to stop Standish,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “She’s strong, she’s so athletic. She’s hard to guard when she elevates and gets up with that jump shot. She has a pretty, pretty jump shot.”

Iowa (22-8) tied the game for the final time as Jaime Printy’s 3-pointer knotted the score at 65 with nine minutes remaining. It was one of a school-record 13 Hawkeye 3-pointers in the contest.

Standish immediately answered with a baseline jumper, and her putback gave Gonzaga a 69-65 lead. Vandersloot’s steal and the resulting fast-break basket by Claire Raap finished off an 8-0 run and the Bulldogs never trailed again.

“Kayla’s one of those players that once she gets it going, she’s difficult to defend because she’s got the perimeter part of her game — the step out, the jump shot,” Zags coach Kelly Graves said of his 6-foot-2 post player.

Iowa never let Gonzaga get comfortable, as the gritty play of senior guard Kachine Alexander kept the Hawkeyes nipping at the Bulldogs’ heels. She nearly had a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Alexander squeezed between two Gonzaga players to cut the lead to 79-77 with three minutes left, but Standish scored on her team’s next two possessions, and Vandersloot made all six of her free throw attempts in the final minute to ice the victory.

Gonzaga shot 57 percent from the floor in the second half and outrebounded Iowa 44-37 in the game, including 15 offensive rebounds. Janelle Bekkering (11 points) and Katelan Redmon (10) gave the Zags four players in double-figures.

But there was no denying who willed Gonzaga to its second-half comeback.

“Obviously, Vandersloot had another great game ... she’s terrific. It will be fun to watch her play at the next level,” Bluder said.

“She kind of showed it all tonight — the tremendous passes, the perimeter game, the driving to the basket, tough shots, and then the composure to hit free throws,” Graves said. Then, noting the game was broadcast on ESPN, he added: “Everybody in the nation got to see how great Courtney is.”

Printy led the Hawkeyes with 25 points, while Kelly Krei added 15.

GONZAGA

Standish 15-20 0-0 30, Bowen 1-2 1-2 3, Bekkering 4-10 1-2 11, Vandersloot 10-23 11-11 34, K. Redmon 5-15 0-2 10, Reader 0-1 0-0 0, J. Redmon 0-1 0-0 0, Raap 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 37-77 13-17 92.

Krei 4-10 3-4 15, Johnson 5-10 0-0 10, Whalin 2-8 2-2 8, Alexander 7-13 4-5 18, Printy 8-19 4-6 25, Hansen 2-3 0-0 5, Cermak 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 30-67 13-17 86.

Halftime — Iowa 44-37. 3-point goals — Gonzaga 5-14 (Vandersloot 3-5, Bekkering 2-6, Bowen 0-1, K. Redmon 0-1, J. Redmon 0-1). Iowa 13-29 (Printy 5-11, Krei 4-9, Whalin 2-4, Hansen 1-1, Cermak 1-2, Alexander 0-2). Rebounds — Gonzaga 44 (K. Redmon 9), Iowa 37 (Alexander 11). Assists — Gonzaga 21 (Vandersloot 7), Iowa 19 (Alexander 9). Steals — Gonzaga 15 (Vandersloot 4), Iowa 5 (Printy 4). Team fouls — Gonzaga 16, Iowa 15. Fouled out — Alexander. Attendance: 6,000.