Rice leads GU women past Pepperdine
MALIBU, Calif. — The No. 17-ranked Gonzaga women’s basketball team topped Pepperdine 79-54 Monday afternoon at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the floor and won the rebounding battle 37-34 to defeat the Waves and sweep their two-game West Coast Conference road trip.
“It’s a tough place to play here at Pepperdine every year,” GU women’s basketball coach Lisa Fortier said. “I’m really happy with our effort; we played very well offensively.”
Gonzaga (13-1, 2-0 WCC) was led by Zykera Rice’s career day, posting a career-high tying 23 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the floor to go along with a career-high five assists, six rebounds and two steals. Rice’s 11-of-12 equates to 91.7 percent shooting, a program record for field goal percentage in a single game.
Freshman Melody Kempton, a former Post Falls High standout, added six points and three blocked shots off the bench against Pepperdine (7-5, 1-1).
The Zags were solid defensively, forcing Pepperdine (7-5, 1-1 WCC) to shoot just 26.5 percent through the first three quarters while limiting the Waves’ leading scorer, Yasmine Robinison-Bacote, to just 14 total points, well below her season average and league-leading 19.0 points per game.
“We did a good job, for the most part, especially in the second half of forcing their players into their weaknesses,” Fortier said. “Robinson-Bacote is a tough player, and holding her to 14 [points] is not an easy job.”
The Bulldogs claimed the early 7-3 lead following a trey from Katie Campbell at the 7:42 mark, but Pepperdine put together a 10-0 run to take a 13-7 lead with 2:40 remaining in the first period. Rice converted an old-fashioned three-point play to spark a 10-0 Bulldog run over the final two minutes, including a last-second running three-point attempt from Loera, to give the Zags a 17-13 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
Gonzaga continued its run into the second period, scoring four unanswered in the first 90 seconds. The Zags shot 63.6 percent in the second quarter, outscoring the Waves 20-15 to take a 37-28 lead at halftime.
Gonzaga returns home to Spokane for a three-game swing, beginning with Saint Mary’s at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3, at the McCarthey Athletic Center.